Karnataka hijab row: Schools to reopen on Feb 14, colleges later

News Network

February 10, 2022

Bengaluru, Feb 10: Karnataka CM on Thursday announced that classes for students upto 10th standard will resume from Monday, February 14, while the classes for PU and degree colleges will begin at a later date.

The decision was taken following a meeting of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai with Home Minister Araga Jnanendra, Higher Education minister C N Ashwath Narayan, and Primary and Secondary Education minister B C Nagesh.

Bommai said that the reopening of high schools will be based on directions issued by the three-judge bench of the High Court, which issued oral instructions against wearing any religious attire in schools and colleges.

After the hijab row in the state turned violent, the government had declared three-day leave till Friday, February 11 to all classes beyond ninth standard and for PU and degree classes.

The CM will also convene a meeting with officials from all districts on Friday to assess the ground situation in colleges of the state.

The petition on uniforms which was being heard by a single judge bench is now in front of a three-judge bench consisting of Chief Justice of Karnataka Ritu Raj Awasthi. "He has decided to hear the petition on a day-to-day basis and has directed students not to wear any religious attire in school and colleges. The bench has also issued directions to restart classes," the CM said.

A video conference scheduled Friday by Bommai will include all ministers, DCs, SPs, zilla panchayat CEOs and officials of higher and primary education departments. "In the coming days, till there is a High Court order, we will take all required measures to continue classes for students and to maintain law and order," he said.

Senior government officials will be regularly in touch with school development and monitoring committees, parents, students and teachers to take the necessary measures to prevent untoward incidents, he said.

The CM noted that there has not been any untoward incident since schools and colleges were shut two days ago. "(Earlier) we had noticed some provocation by external elements and I have urged them to maintain calm," Bommai said.

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Film on Gaza girl ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ receives Oscar nomination

News Network

January 23,2026

The Voice of Hind Rajab, inspired by the tragic final moments of a young Palestinian girl killed by Israeli fire in Gaza, has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Best International Feature Film category.

Directed by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, the film recounts the true story of five-year-old Hind Rajab, who lost her life in January 2024 while fleeing Israeli bombardment with her family.

The film features the real audio of Hind’s desperate call to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, where she pleaded for help moments before the vehicle she was in was struck by 355 bullets.

The haunting narrative begins with a brief call made from the besieged Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza, where gunfire and armored vehicles drowned out every sound.

After witnessing the brutal killing of her family, she made a trembling call, her voice reduced to a whisper as she spoke of the massacre and her unbearable loneliness as the sole survivor.

Premiering at the Venice International Film Festival in September 2025, The Voice of Hind Rajab garnered widespread acclaim, receiving a record-setting 23-minute standing ovation and the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize, the festival’s second-highest honor.

In her acceptance speech, Ben Hania dedicated the film to humanitarian workers and first responders in Gaza, emphasizing that Hind's voice symbolizes countless civilians affected by war.

She aims to give voice to victims often reduced to mere statistics, highlighting the broader suffering of civilians in war zones.

The film’s Oscar nomination underscores its powerful storytelling and ethical approach to depicting real-life tragedy, making it a crucial piece of contemporary cinema.

It serves not only as a narration of individual tragedy but also as an artistic and documentary response to the silence and censorship that often overshadow West Asian struggles and wars.

Using an innovative method she calls docufiction, Ben Hania bridges unvarnished reality and narrative structure, creating a work that is both artistically valuable and socially impactful.

Born in 1977 in Sidi Bouzid—later the epicenter of the Arab revolution—her background profoundly influenced her worldview and artistic approach.

She is a graduate of the Higher School of Audiovisual Arts of Tunis, Pantheon-Sorbonne University, and La Fémis in Paris, where her studies equipped her with the technical and theoretical tools needed to address complex subjects.

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