Mumbai: Six students from Karnataka’s Government First Grade College, Uppinangady were suspended on Thursday for wearing hijab, according to the institute’s authorities.
The college authorities claimed that the students were asked to stop wearing the hijab inside the classroom and were warned on several occasions.
College officials said the students were suspended “to prevent violence and prevent further escalation of the issue”. He said that this decision has been taken in compliance with the order of the High Court.
After a long dispute over wearing hijab in educational institutions in Karnataka, the state high court on March 15 upheld a ban on wearing hijab with uniform for Muslim girls in schools and colleges.
The High Court had dismissed petitions by Muslim girl students seeking permission to wear the hijab in colleges, holding that the garment was not a part of an ‘essential religious practice’ and there was no binding case against it to invalidate the government order.
Earlier in May, 13 students of Mangalore University were barred from attending their classes because they were wearing hijab. The students claimed that the High Court order was being misinterpreted and misrepresented as it did not mention uniforms for undergraduate level students.
In April, two students, Aliya Asadi and Resham enrolled at the Government PU College for Girls, Udupi, was not allowed to take their pre-university exams (class 12 board exams) and were asked to leave the exam hall wearing hijab.
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