Karnataka High will hand down a ruling on the hijab ban tomorrow, which sparked much controversy in the state earlier this year. A group of students from Udupi went to court and challenged the ban on wearing headscarves in state education institutions.
The students said there is no law banning the use of headscarves in educational institutions.
The Hijab, they argued, is protected by the religious freedoms enshrined in the Constitution and there is no university development body equipped to call whether it can be banned in violation of public order.
The quarrel began in January, when teachers at a school in Udupi refused to remove their headscarves and stop using them, despite a request from teachers. Five students then went to court.
As the protests spread, part of the students appeared in saffron scarves, arguing that they were also associated with religious identity. Dalit students took blue to show their support for the hijab.
The judge hearing the case in the National Court, however, referred it to a larger table and in a controversial interim order, ruled that schools and universities could be reopened, but no religious attire will be allowed, including hijabs.
The order became controversial before students from various schools were forced to remove their headscarves before entering campuses. In protest, some students went home. Social media has been flooded with many such cases and the clash over headscarves has been seen as an obstacle to the education of Muslim girls.
