- Students at Karnataka college protested peers wearing burqas by wearing saffron shawls
- The college warned students against wearing burqas two months ago and enforced uniform rules
- Some students returned wearing burqas recently, sparking renewed protests on campus
Tense moments gripped a college in Karnataka yesterday after some students turned up in saffron shawls to protest their classmates' attending classes in burqas. To maintain discipline, the CJ Bellad Government First Grade College in Haveri eventually issued a strict direction that students must attend classes only in the college uniform.
The row first erupted two months ago after a few students came to college wearing burqas. They were issued a warning and asked to follow the prescribed uniform guidelines, the college authorities told NDTV.
The matter seemed settled. The guidelines were adhered to, but only until this week. Yesterday, some students from the BA (second year) and BCom (final year) batches turned up wearing burqas.
This left some of their batchmates angered. In their protest, some students started wearing saffron shawls on the college campus, insisting that the uniform code must be one for all students.
Taking note of the incident, the college management held a meeting on Thursday and issued strict instructions for all students to adhere to the official college uniform.
Veeresh, principal of the college, said the matter had come to their notice two months ago. But after being warned, they started following the uniform rules. Since the matter has again come to light, the college staff took it up with the students.
"We will convince the students. The staff keep holding meetings to ensure discipline. We will do it again," he said.
