Hijab ban order to be withdrawn: Karnataka CM

The Congress party government in the southern Indian state of Karnataka has decided to reverse a ban imposed by the previous BJP dispensation on wearing hijabs in schools and colleges.

Karnataka Chief Minister K Siddaramaiah tweeted yesterday that he has directed the withdrawal of the ban order in the state from today, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

Stating that the restrictions on wearing hijab in educational institutions in the state will be lifted from December 23, Siddaramaiah said choice of dress and food is personal and no one should interfere in those.

Earlier yesterday, addressing an event, Siddaramaiah, when asked by a member of the audience about restrictions on wearing hijab, said “No (restrictions). You can wear hijab. I have instructed (the officials) that there will be no restriction from tomorrow onwards. You can wear and eat whatever you want. It’s up to you… your choices are yours and my choices are mine. it’s that simple,” he added.

The then BJP government in Karnataka had, in a directive in February 2022, prohibited Muslim students from wearing the hijab arguing “clothes which disturb equality, integrity and public law and order should not be worn”.

The ban had triggered massive protests in Karnataka with several students moving the Karnataka High Court against the order. The court in March last year upheld the ban and dismissed the petitions stating that wearing a hijab was not an essential religious practice of Islam.

In October 2022, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court delivered a split verdict on appeals challenging the March 15, 2022, Karnataka High Court judgment upholding the ban on wearing the hijab in classrooms in pre-university colleges.

The BJP, having been voted out of power in Karnataka in May this year, today strongly reacted to Karnataka government’s decision to withdraw the ban on wearing hijab in educational institutions in the state, saying the Congress is carrying forward the British policy of “divide and rule”.