Hijab row: Agitating girls keep fingers crossed

The girls, who demanded hijab at Government PU College in Udupi, are keeping their fingers crossed and waiting for the court verdict.

One of the girls, Aliya Assadi, told reporters that they believe strongly in the court, but were slightly disheartened by the delay in the announcement of the verdict.

The issue is simple and simultaneously urgent. It is a matter of a shawl that matches with the uniform and is rolled around the head. The issue should not have been dragged so far, she said.

Aliya said she and other girls were upset looking at the incidents that were taking place and more importantly they were shocked to see their own friends turning against them.

Aliya added, “We had eaten food on the same plate and were in fact soulmates. These friends only turned against us, which has hurt us a lot.”

She also appealed to the court not to drag the matter further and announce the judgment immediately because their lab exams are fast approaching.

The practicals cannot be studied at home. We need laboratories to learn, she insisted.

Holding MLA Raghupathi Bhat responsible for the current tense situation, Aliya said that the provoking statements by the MLA, in the beginning, made her classmates and others protest wearing saffron stoles.

He is responsible for misguiding students and making them stand against their own classmates. Or else the issue would not have been escalated to this extent, she lamented.