Sachidananda Murthy on the BJP's silence in select states on the hijab ban

BJP units in Bihar, Punjab and Delhi are not asking for a ban for different reasons

If there is a quiz on which party is the most aggressive on the issue of banning the hijab, many caught in the swirls of the current headdress controversy would answer that it is the BJP. The BJP government in Karnataka has been ferocious in its attempt to enforce a school uniform code that would prohibit dresses that are identified with a religion. The chief minister insists the code, which is being evolved, would make the school uniform religion-neutral. Ministers in other BJP-ruled states also have spoken about the need to follow the Karnataka model, while the saffron party leaders in the states where the BJP is in opposition say they would agitate for banning the burqa and skull cap of Muslims. There is a counter-campaign by Muslim student organisations insisting on the right, which they say has been in existence for decades; these organisations are asking more Muslim girls to wear hijab. Now the dispute is before the Karnataka High Court, and the losing side will inevitably knock on the doors of the Supreme Court.

But if there is another question in the quiz as to which is the least aggressive party on this issue, the surprising answer would be again BJP—at least in Bihar, Punjab and Delhi. The silence of the BJP in these states is for different reasons. In Punjab and Delhi, the saffron party cannot oppose the headdress as the Sikhs, who have voted for the BJP, would react even more strongly if there is an attempt to enforce the ultimate dream of One India, One Uniform. Even aggressive secularist countries like France and Denmark have faced resistance from the Sikh and Muslim populations. In countries with large minority populations like Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, relaxation has been provided in school uniforms.

Illustration: Bhaskaran Illustration: Bhaskaran

In Bihar, the lack of noise from the BJP has a different explanation—though it is a ruling party, it is a junior partner to the Janata Dal(United). Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is a strict enforcer of the coalition dharma fashioned during the A.B. Vajpayee-L.K. Advani years, compared with the more assertive Narendra Modi era. Nitish has insisted that his socialistic and secular politics would be the political philosophy for the Bihar NDA. On many hindutva causes, Nitish refuses to react, and when he does, the cryptic comments brook no murmurs of disagreement or disturbance from the junior partner. As the JD(U) is a very junior partner in the Union government, the chief minister has told his leaders not to comment on any decisions taken by Modi or his senior ministers unless the rights of Bihar are impacted.

When asked about the hijab, Nitish came out with his standard response that it was a non-issue in his state. “When someone puts something on the head, no need to interfere. We respect religious sentiments,” was his reply. Nitish controls the police department and general administration; the education portfolio, too, is with the JD(U).

But there are BJP leaders who are itching to initiate moves to topple Nitish and install a BJP chief minister. Over the years, Nitish has measured the potential of every BJP leader and has checkmated their moves to enforce diktats on issues of faith, school curriculum and food habits. He has also been supportive of issues like the ban on instant triple talaq—which his party believes is a progressive measure—without the shrill rhetoric used by the BJP against the orthodox sections of the minority community. The moves to depose Nitish or bring him down a few notches have remained as wishes so far, as the BJP high command knows how Nitish can fight back—as he did in 2015 by teaming with Lalu Prasad to defeat a rampaging BJP. Secularism is Nitish’s political headscarf, which may be difficult to ban.

sachi@theweek.in