Religion should not divide but unite people, while dress codes are inherent in any institution and those in it should follow the prescribed discipline or join some other place, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan told News18, commenting on the ongoing Hijab controversy in Karnataka. LIVE UPDATES
“In the past, veil in north India came up due to invaders. But now women in north India women don’t put-up extremely long veils, and are not mandated to do so; as time changes, so do the customs," he said.
Khan said previous governments used to bow down in front of people who broke rules, and/or discipline, but that the present government was not bowing down, adding that change would take time. The Kerala governor said that in the past, girls and women ‘were buried under the earth’, and now they were suppressed and hidden under norms like the veil and Triple Talaq.
He said students had knowingly taken admission in educational institutions while being aware of the dress code, and could not suddenly revolt against it. “You are being used to gain certain political, ulterior, motives," he said.
A section of Muslim girls are demanding permission wearing headscarves to college, while the state government has cracked the whip making uniforms mandatory for students attending classes in educational institutions. There have been several instances during the last few days, especially in coastal Karnataka, where some Muslim girl students, turning up in hijab, were not being allowed into classes, and Hindu boys and girls responding with saffron shawls, also being barred from classes.
Khan called the controvery a “non issue". “They (students) are not quoting the Quran, they keep citing religion. Nowhere has the word ‘hijab’ been named, the word used by Quran is khimar meaning dupatta. The word used in Quran is jilbab which is like shirt. It does not say pull over your scarf over your face but over your jilbab. The word Hijab, wherever used, is in terms of curtain, seclusion, separation and not as any cloth. Hijab has been used seven times in Quran, but nowhere has it meant cloth," the leader explained.
He said religion in today’s times religion was used to divide the society and country, even though religion is for uniting the people, instead.
The Kerala governor said the law was not made to be followed selectively but by all and as a whole. “It is not a question of Islam, it is about those few who want to use opportunities to divide the people. Who is denying your democratic rights? But when you join an institution you agree to following the codes of that institution," he said.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka government on Thursday had decided to resume classes for high school students from next week, even as Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai stated the High Court has said students should not wear religious dress to colleges. The government’s decision to resume classes up to Standard X from February 14 and for Pre-University and Degree Colleges thereafter, came at a meeting chaired by the chief minister with his cabinet colleagues holding the Home, Primary and Secondary Education and Higher Education portfolios, and senior officials.
“The three-judge bench (of the Karnataka High Court) has said that they will hear the case on a day-to-day basis and that everyone should maintain peace, and not to wear religious dress at colleges until then (order). They have also given instruction for reopening of educational institutions," Bommai said. Speaking to reporters here, he said, discussions were held at the meeting aimed at establishing peace at school and college campuses and creating an atmosphere for students to study together, and to maintain law and order.
The issue has snowballed into a major controversy across India, with various protests, against and for the anti-Hijab rule in Karnataka colleges, being reported. In Karnataka, protests are being witnessed in various districts, with violence, such as stone-pelting, also having been reported in some incidents.
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