This Article is From Feb 09, 2022

"No Controversy... No Proposal To Ban": Madhya Pradesh Minister On Hijabs

What began with six girls protesting in Karnataka's Udupi district has snowballed over into protests at colleges in several others, including Mandya and Shivamogga

'No Controversy... No Proposal To Ban': Madhya Pradesh Minister On Hijabs

Narottam Mishra is also the spokesperson of the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh (File)

Bhopal:

The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh said Wednesday that it is not considering a proposal to ban the wearing of the hijab, or headscarf, in educational institutions in the state.

"There is no controversy over (the wearing of) hijab in Madhya Pradesh. No proposal is under consideration by the state government regarding a ban," Home Minister Narottam Mishra said.

"There should be no confusion in this regard," he told reporters in Bhopal.

The statement comes amid protests in Karnataka, where right-wing groups have targeting Muslim girls over their right to wear a hijab in classrooms. Asked to comment, the minister said he would not discuss matters of another state and that the Karnataka High Court is hearing arguments.

Mr Mishra's statement also comes a day after his cabinet colleague, School Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar, appeared to support the anti-hijab protesters and argued that it should be banned.

Mr Parmar claimed today that his statement had been "wrongly interpreted".

"Some people wrongly interpreted my remarks... We are not going to implement a new uniform code. Present arrangement in schools regarding uniforms will continue," he said.

However (and ominously), the minister also said: "If this (the wearing of hijab) happens then it (the ban) will be brought in here also. We will take action accordingly."

What began with six girls protesting in Karnataka's Udupi district has snowballed over the past few weeks into protests at colleges in several others, including Mandya and Shivamogga.

On Tuesday disturbing footage emerged of a young girl being heckled by a mob of frenzied men in Mandya waving saffron scarves and shouting 'Jai Shri Ram'. That was after two men were arrested by police in Kundapur taluk for carrying knives near a group of protesting students.

Apart from Karnataka (and Mr Parmar's "wrongly interpreted" comment), there have also been reports from Puducherry of a teacher objecting to a student wearing the hijab.

Karnataka's BJP government, meanwhile, has been largely silent as it waits for a decision by the High Court on a petition by five women questioning the restrictions on wearing hijabs.

This evening the High Court referred the matter to a larger bench.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai yesterday ordered all schools and colleges to close for three days, and protests near educational institutions in capital Bengaluru have been banned for two weeks.

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