Udupi hijab ban: Karnataka competing with UP and Assam

One does not know what should shake us more - the murder of Sameer by a violent Hindu mob or the forcible ouster of eight Muslim students from their classes by the authorities of a government college in Udupi for wearing hijab and disallowing them to speak in Urdu or use 'salam' to greet others.

The two images are from Karnataka and tell you that Karnataka is competing with states like Uttar Pradesh and Assam to be known as the most dangerous, unsafe and insecure for Muslims and Christians. Sadly that is a race various state units and chief ministers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are involved in: Who can be the most vicious, the most uncouth hatemonger?

The two incidents mentioned above also tell you about the ecology of Islamophobia spread by the BJP, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and other extremist Hindu organisations like the Ram Sene in Karnataka, which affects nearly all aspects of the lives of Muslims and Christians.

Sameer was murdered by a mob instigated to attack and beat up Muslims by a Bajrang Dal leader. Sameer died while his friend Shamsher suffered grave injuries. A video has gone viral in which a Bajrang Dal leader openly calls for violence against Muslims and challenges the police to do whatever it wants. The police officers can be seen watching his violent call. Soon after, the attacks took place, and Sameer was murdered.

Also Read -- No solution in sight to Hijab row in Udupi govt college

The lives of Muslims and Christians are being made difficult by law, violence, and vicious propaganda demonising them in the eyes of Hindus. Laws to hit the practices of these two religious groups are enacted. Street thugs attack Muslims and Christians without any fear of law. The leaders of the RSS network and sections of Kannada media keep spewing hatred against them.

Laws against conversion and so-called 'Love Jihad' have been talked about. The bogey of forced conversions of Hindu women has been used to justify these proposed laws. Christian groups have objected strongly, but the Karnataka government is adamant. The propaganda of the threat of the increasing Muslim population never ceases.

Muslims are also portrayed as people fracturing the universal and uniform Kannadiga identity. The decision of the Udupi government college to not allow some hijab-wearing Muslim students to attend their classes is the most recent example. The chairman of the managing committee of the college, a BJP MLA, defended the decision claiming that it is being done to ensure uniformity.

The students rightly say that hijab does not violate any law. The Constitution of India sanctions them to observe their religious beliefs. If Muslim students say that hijab is part of their religious practice, college authorities cannot deny that. Moreover, there is no rule prescribed by the college or made a condition for enrolment which prevents the students from wearing a hijab.

The students are on record claiming that the college authorities and some faculty members also took offence to their use of Urdu and 'salam' as a form of greeting. If true, it should shock us. But we know it does not.

In an article in Scroll, Umang Poddar has cited the judgments of the Kerala High Court, which hold that the right to wear hijab flows from Article 25(1) of the Constitution, which ensures the "freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion". It can, of course, be regulated keeping in mind the demands of public order, morality and public health. But the orders of the Kerala High Court leave no room for ambiguity in the matter of wearing the hijab.

In 2016, the court held that the hijab forms an essential part of the Islamic religion. It does not offend public order, morality or health, nor hampers other fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. The article quotes from an earlier judgment of the Kerala High Court stating clearly, "It cannot be insisted that a particular dress code be followed failing which a student would be prohibited from sitting for the examinations." In the matter of wearing of hijab as a religious right, the orders of the Kerala High Court remain the law of the land. No authority can violate that.

The authorities of the government college are violating the law of the land by denying the students entry into their classes for wearing hijab. The debate should end here. Is the insistence of the students for hijab is internalised patriarchy, or is it a method of subjugating women using religion are not the questions to be discussed at this stage.

The allegation of the college authorities that some organisations have instigated these students to wear hijab is irrelevant. It is also immaterial that other Muslim students do not wear hijab. It only shows that there is diversity in the ways of living of Muslims. Even if they are only eight, all that matters is that they want to wear hijab and have the Constitution's sanction to do so. The insistence of the college authorities that they can access their classes only after removing the hijab is a violation of constitutional law and practice.

The students have rightly asked, "We are practising Muslims, and the hijab is a part of our faith. Along with that, we are also students with aspirations for a career and a good life. Why are we suddenly expected to choose between our identity and our education? That isn't fair at all."

It must disturb us that the college authorities have turned a non-issue into a major controversy. The secularism of India is unique in the sense that it takes a relaxed view of the public presence and demonstration of religious symbols. Unlike Laïcité, the model of French secularism which seeks to outlaw any public display of religion, Indian secularism makes room for them. It has helped Indians get initiated into the modern practice of secularism without feeling any violent break from their traditions.

But recently, the Hindu mode of living is being presented as the only universal Indian way of living and other ways as sinister ploys to distort it. Urdu has been a language of Karnataka for long, and 'salam' isn't unfamiliar to the ears of the Kannadigas. But now, the RSS and its affiliates are promoting an aggressive Hinduisation of all social and public spaces. It is alienating Muslims and Christians from all kinds of publicness. The refusal of the college authorities to allow the students education and the reluctance of political parties to stand for their rights must disturb us. It is this which emboldens open calls for violence against Muslims. The erasure of identity markers ultimately leads to physical elimination.

(The writer teaches at Delhi University)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.