The Karnataka hijab row was becoming more of a mystery. Everyone knows how it started from the state’s Udupi district. But no one knew the people who started it. However, things now seem to be getting clear, as the role of some organisations becomes clear.
‘Campus Front of India behind hijab row,’ says Education Minister B.C. Nagesh
Karnataka Education Minister B.C. Nagesh has said that the SDPI-backed CFI (Campus Front of India) is behind the hijab conflict. He also said that everything will be known after a probe in the matter. The CFI is affiliated with the Popular Front of India (PFI).
The Minister said, “An investigation is underway and a report is coming soon. I have already spoken with the Home Minister. We have investigated and solved the problem. There will be an investigation to find who is behind it. The investigation is underway, not an order. Some people feel they need to be investigated when they are spreading across the state. After investigating the matter, everything will become clear. Who is behind this incident will be investigated. We will take action on that”.
Meanwhile, a report by TNM has revealed that the government pre-university college for girls in Udupi, where the entire controversy started, has been a hub of political activity. In October last year, a few Muslim students of the institutions were pictured with a Campus Front of India banner.
Some of the students from the October incident are the ones who are now insisting on their right to wear the hijab in the classroom. One of the students told TNM, “We approached the CFI (over the hijab issue) after talks between parents and the college authorities did not lead anywhere.”
The students say that they started wearing the hijab only in December 2021, after realising that there was no particular rule in the college handbook banning it.
One of the students said, “Initially, when we joined the college, we thought that our parents had signed a form which had barred the hijab, but though there is a form, there was no mention of the hijab in it. So, our parents met the college authorities thrice and requested them. But there was no response and so, we decided to wear the hijab in school. This was in December (2021).”
Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind announces a reward of Rs. 5 lakh for the girl chanting ‘Allah-u-Akbar’ while wearing the hijab
Amidst the ongoing protests and heated debate over the hijab row in Karnataka’s educational institutions, the left-liberal ecosystem has been using one incident in particular. It has been lavishing praise on a hijab-wearing girl who shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ to confront a group of boys chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’.
Read more: Guess who all are hijacking the Hijab row and making it communal?
Now, it is beyond comprehension as to why anyone should find a group of boys chanting in praise of Bhagwan Ram objectionable. But as is the case, the left-liberals have tried to make it a pivotal moment in the ongoing hijab row.
Meanwhile, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for the said girl student. In a tweet, the religious group said that Bibi Muskan Khan stood up amid protests to protect her constitutional and religious rights.
Hijab row reaches Maharashtra
The row started as a highly local controversy. And it should have been sorted at a local level. But larger political forces are now getting involved in the matter.
In fact, as per recent reports, AIMIM workers put up ‘First Hijab, Then Books’ banners at several junctures in Maharashtra’s Beed district on Wednesday. Bearing the name of a student leader of AIMIM, the banners also stated, ‘Hijab is our right’ and ‘Precious things should be kept under cover’.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi himself said, “If one goes to a school or college, the Indian Constitution doesn’t get suspended. The Indian Constitution is a living document. They have the right (to wear hijab) as per the Constitution. Many of those girls are wearing hijab from before. No one should have a problem.”
Hijab row is therefore being taken over by political forces. And there is a clear attempt at snowballing it into a political issue. The hijab row seemed to be a highly local issue when it started, but the organisations behind it are now coming into the spotlight.