Parents of two students, who were among the six demanding that they be allowed to wear hijab in the classroom at the Government Pre-University College for Girls in Udupi, have sought action against persons responsible for making the home address, phone numbers, and other personal details of the six girls public on social media.
The parents met Udupi Superintendent of Police N. Vishnuvardhan on Thursday evening and submitted a memorandum in this regard. “I asked the parents to submit screenshots of the information and other details. Further action will be taken,” Mr. Vishnuvardhan said.
K. Raghupathi Bhat, Udupi MLA, who heads the College’s Development Committee, on Tuesday had released the undertakings given by the six students at the time of admission that they will be bound by the dress code of the college. Later, Mr. Bhat while speaking to presspersons alleged that the six students have been “tutored” by the Campus Front of India (CFI) to press for allowing hijab in the classroom. The SDPI and also the Congress have supported the students’ demand.
Mr. Bhat had released undertakings of eight Muslim students and each undertaking had postal address and contact details of the students. These documents were widely circulated in the social media later.
SDPI State committee member Riyaz Kadambu, at a press conference in Mangaluru, said on Friday that parents of the six students should question the release of personal details. Not just the college principal, but even Mr. Bhat should be booked for this alleged misconduct, which has put the students at risk, he said.
Mr. Kadambu alleged that Mr. Bhat and Yashpal Suvarna, vice-president of the College’s Development Committee, were “politicising” the Hijab issue as they are scared about the growing clout of SDPI in Udupi district. “We are hopeful that the court will uphold the personal right of these students to wear hijab,” he said.
Mr. Bhat, on the other hand, said that the six students had no issues earlier and would remove hijab before entering the college. Controversy was created only after they got in touch with Campus Front of India, he said.
In a series of tweets on Friday, Mr. Bhat said the controversy is a result of CFI “instilling a sense of fanaticism” among students and making them demand hijab in the classroom. “This is a premeditated move,” he said.
In Bengaluru, Bahutva Karnataka, a coalition of progressive organisations, on Friday demanded the State Government must withdraw the order that empowered College Development Committees to impose uniforms and allow targeted Muslim students to access education.
Arvind Narrain, president, PUCL Karnataka, said the first action of denying the girls entry because they wore hijab was illegal and the Government compounded this by issuing an order which was unconstitutional and allows other colleges to indulge in such illegalities. The Government has completely failed in its duty and it is necessary that it takes immediate steps to protect the fundamental rights of the students.
Letter to commission
Seven women’s right activists, including Vimala K.S. and Vidya Dinker, have written to the chairperson of Karnataka State Commission for Women and also the director of PU Department seeking action for making public the personal details of the students.
The activists said that by releasing the undertakings, the right to privacy of these students have been infringed upon. It has put lives of not just the six students and also their family members at risk, they said.
