Hijab Row: Karnataka minister BC Nagesh said, "No one can take law and order into their hands".
A minister in Karnataka, BC Nagesh, claimed today that the burqa-clad college student who was caught on camera yesterday standing up to a mob in saffron, made the first move in her show of defiance, and questioned why she "provoked" them.
"They did not want to gherao the girl. but when she was shouting... when she was shouting Allah-hu-Akbar, there was not a single student around her. Why she provoked saying Allah-hu-Akbar in a college campus? Can't encourage "Allah-hu-Akbar' or 'Jai Shri Ram' on campus," Primary and Secondary Education Minister BC Nagesh said.
"No one can take law and order into their hands. The government will not spare any miscreant," the minister said.
Videos of the confrontation at the Mandya pre-University college, were widely shared yesterday amid the escalating row over the use of hijab in educational institutions.
In the videos, the young woman, identified later as Muskan, is seen parking her scooter and heading for classes when a group of men shout "Jai Shri Ram" and advance towards her, brandishing saffron scarves.
Without breaking her stride, she responds with "Allah-hu-Akbar!" raising her arm in the air. As the men rush towards her and follow her, she keeps walking, shouting "Allah-hu-Akbar!"
Within minutes, college officials approach her and escort her away.
Muskan later told NDTV, "When I entered the college they were not allowing me just because I was wearing the burqa... They started shouting Jai Shri Ram. So I started screaming Allah hu Akbar".
"The principal and lecturers supported me and protected me," she added.
She also said most of the men heckling her appeared to be outsiders. She said she knew about 10 per cent of the men in the group as students at the college.
The hijab controversy started in Karnataka last month as six students of the Udupi's Government Girls PU college alleged that they were barred from attending classes for insisting on wearing their headscarves.
The matter escalated as right-wing supporters got involved. As staff in many colleges banned hijab - though rules allow it - many students took a confrontational position by showing up in saffron scarves and shouting slogans.
The protests have spread to colleges in other areas like Mandya and Shivamogga. Its ripple effect is being felt in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Puducherry.
The Karnataka High Court, which is hearing petitions filed by five women from a government college in Udupi, questioning hijab restrictions, appealed for peace yesterday.
"This court has full faith in the wisdom and virtue of public at large and it hopes that the same would be put to practice," said Justice Dixit Krishna Shripad.
Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai has ordered the closure of all high schools and colleges for three days "to maintain peace and harmony".