Hijab Row: High Schools In Karnataka Reopen

High schools in Karnataka reopened today after being shut from last Wednesday. The schools were shut due to untoward incidents in parts of the State over the hijab row.

Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code has been imposed in sensitive areas in the districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada, and Bengaluru.

The Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday expressed confidence that peace and normalcy will prevail.

He had also said that a decision regarding reopening of Pre-University and Degree colleges will be taken after assessing the situation.

The government on Friday said that the holiday announced to universities belonging to the department of Higher Education and colleges under the Department of Collegiate and Technical Education (DCTE), in the wake of the raging Hijab row, has been extended till February 16.

The Karnataka High Court, in its interim order pending consideration of all petitions related to the Hijab row, had earlier requested the state government to reopen educational institutions and restrained all the students from wearing saffron shawls, scarves, Hijab and any religious flag within the classroom.

The Hijab row began when the Karnataka government had issued an order making uniforms prescribed by it or management of private institutions mandatory for its students at schools and pre-university colleges across the state.

The issue that initially began in January at a government PU College in Udupi where six students, who attended classes wearing head-scarf in violation of the stipulated dress code were asked to leave the campus, has spread to different parts of the state, with Hindu students too responding with saffron shawls.

The row has also taken a political colour, as the ruling BJP has stood strongly in support of uniform related rules being enforced by educational institutions, calling the headscarf, a religious symbol, while the opposition Congress has come out in support of Muslim girls.

(With inputs from PTI)