Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, on Tuesday, urged everyone to maintain peace in the wake of the High Court's verdict upholding ban on hijab in educational institutions. He stressed on the importance of education and requested students to not boycott exams.
"The high court has upheld the government order. It is a question of our children's future. There is nothing more important than education for all the children. So, we must all follow the court order and comply with the rule, even as we maintain peace in the society. I urge all the religious leaders to maintain peace. Many students had boycotted the preparatory exams. I urge them to attend the final exams as education is most important,” he said.
The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday dismissed petitions filed by a section of Muslim students from the Government Pre-University Girls College in Udupi, seeking permission to wear Hijab inside the classroom. The prescription of school uniform is only a reasonable restriction, constitutionally permissible which the students cannot object to, a three-judge bench of the court further noted.
"We are of the considered opinion that wearing of hijab by Muslim women does not form a part of essential religious practice in Islamic faith," Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi who headed the full bench of the High Court said reading out portion of the order.
Responding to the HC verdict, Shafi Saadi, state wakf board chief said that the Quran “clearly states that wearing hijab is essential for Muslim women while stepping out of the house.” He said: We will discuss the issue with the community leaders, " he said.
Karnataka education minister B. C. Nagesh welcomed the High Court verdict. "We will study the judgment in detail and perhaps amend the Education Act to rule out any ambiguities in future. We will appeal to the students who, I believe, had been misguided by some people. I am confident we will be able to convince these girl students to attend classes,” he said. “When we prescribed uniforms in schools, it was to make the children feel they are all one. The uniform helps instill a sense of unity and patriotism too and help bring them into the mainstream. There are forces trying to divide the society and deny education to girls. I urge everyone to maintain peace and appeal to all students to attend classes," said Nagesh.
Higher education minister Dr Ashwath Narayan said students should focus on education instead of giving undue importance to religious attires. "By focussing on non-issues, students deprive themselves of good opportunities. The minister also stated that the hijab controversy was manufactured by some forces. "Such controversies over hijab was unheard of on school and college campuses till now. But some forces created a controversy. But the High Court has given the right verdict after a thorough examination of the case. This verdict will help a bright future for the students, " he added.
Former chief minister B. S. Yediyurappa said that the verdict had proven that Constitution was supreme. "The Constitution of India is supreme and above any religion or its beliefs. I request the people to honour the decision if the court rather than unnecessarily escalate the issue, " said Yediyurappa.
-with inputs from Prathima Nandakumar
