Karnataka: Decision on Hijab ban is in students’ favour, says education minister

The state's education minister, Madhu Bangarappa, said on Tuesday that the Congress government will make a "decision that will benefit all students" a day after academics met with Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah to discuss the hijab ban in educational institutions and textbook changes implemented by the previous BJP administration.

Bangarappa declined to comment on the hijab controversy due to the ongoing legal proceedings, but he did say that “The case is currently in the court and the law department will fight it legally. It would be wrong to comment on it further. But we will take a decision that will benefit all students.”

About 30 academicians presented CM Siddaramaiah with a memorandumon Monday in Bengaluru that included a number of proposals for reforming the educational system.

In the document, they urged the government to lift a prohibition on students wearing the hijab to school, claiming that "thousands of girls are deprived of education due to the hijab controversy."

Six students from a government pre-university college in the Udupi district protested after being denied access to courses because they were wearing a headscarf in December 2021, sparking a stir in the state. On January 31 of last year, the Karnataka high court heard the case after the state government issued an order prohibiting students wearing the hijab from entering classes. Although the high court determined that wearing the hijab is not "essential" to practising Islam, the Supreme Court forwarded the matter to a bench led by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud in October of last year.