Udupi, Feb 10: With the Karnataka hijab row snowballing into a major controversy, the protesting students, who have filed petitions in the High Court against the hijab ban in colleges, have vowed to fight until victory.
A three-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court is hearing the matter on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Education Minister B C Nagesh on Thursday stated that the hijab row has been created and discussed at the international level only to denigrate the only BJP government in south India.
Shifa, one of the students of Udupi College from where the hijab row erupted, stated that even if the larger bench gives verdict against them on wearing hijab, they will continue to fight for their right. "We will fight until victory. The legal battle on wearing hijab to attend classes will be continued," she said.
Expressing full faith in the judiciary, another student, Aliya, said: "We will fight for our hijab rights which are our constitutional and religious rights in case the court ruling comes against wearing hijab.
Asked about them being trained and provoked by CFI, she explained that it's not the CFI that has come to them. "After seeing their philanthropic and student-friendly activities, we approached them. They are supporting our struggle. They need not tell us about our rights. We are fighting for it. We don't know why the issue is being made so big. They would have taken a simple decision at the school management level and sorted this out," she said.
Nagesh said It is clear that there is a big conspiracy behind the hijab row.."The hijab is banned by Muslim countries. One particular college issue of one of the districts in the state is an international issue today. This is being done to discredit the nation. To create ill-opinion about India and a negative mindset about the country. It is a conspiracy to put blame on the ruling establishment," he said.
However, no conspiracy is going to work in Karnataka and some elements are not tolerant of the fact that everything is being run smoothly in the state by the ruling BJP government, Nagesh said.
He further said, for about a month, there were no protests in other colleges of Udupi, from where the hijab row has started. Among 12 students who have started the agitation, 6 agreed to attend classes without hijab, he added.
Ataulla, the President of Campus Front of India (CFI), said that they are helping students to get their rights. The organisation is not provoking them. He maintained that there is no link of CFI with SDPI or PFI. Along with CFI, Muslim organisations are also supporting the hijab rights for Muslim students. "Hijab row has been blown out of proportion by ruling BJP to come to power in the 2023 Assembly elections. Their aim is to polarise Hindu-Muslim votes," he said.
The controversy began last month when some hijab-clad students of Udupi Government Pre-University College were denied permission to attend classes. The college authorities maintained that the students who used to come without hijabs have suddenly started coming in hijab.
The students later went on a protest, refusing to attend classes without hijab. The issue spread to other districts snowballing into a major crisis in the state.
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