Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant on Monday, March 7, issued prohibitory orders in and around schools and colleges in the city till March 22. The order says that any gathering, agitation or protest of any type within the 200-metre area of schools, PU colleges, degree colleges or other similar education institutions in Bengaluru city is barred, and the prohibitory orders have been extended for another two weeks.
Noting that protests and agitations have been held at schools and colleges in the last few weeks in certain parts of the state and disturbed public peace and order in many places, it is considered very essential to initiate proper security measures to maintain public peace and order in Bengaluru city. The issue is still alive and possibility of holding protests far and against over the issue can not be ruled out and hence the order has been issued, the Commissioner of Police said.
The hijab row has surfaced in colleges of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Shivamogga districts. Girl students have objected to college authorities’ decision to turn them away from attending exams for wearing hijab.
The hijab row started as a small protest in the Udupi Government Girl’s Pre-University College by six students, which then snowballed.
A three-judge bench was especially constituted to hear the hijab case comprises Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice J M Khazi and Justice Krishna S Dixit. The bench was formed after some Muslim girls from the coastal district of Udupi, approached the court stating that they were denied entry to the college for wearing hijab. The girls also wanted a government order banning any cloth that would disturb peace, harmony and public order to be quashed.
The government order came following tension on the campuses of educational institutions in various parts of Karnataka as it turned out to be hijab versus saffron scarves, thus leading to communal tension. The HC has heard the case and an order is pending.
