BENGALURU: Stand-offs between students and parents on one side and authorities of educational institutions and police on the other continued across the state, although no major untoward incident was reported as the row over wearing hijabs in classrooms raged on.
North Karnataka
High drama unfolded at a paramedical college in Belagavi after the management stopped hijab-clad students from entering classrooms. Vijaya Institute of Paramedical Sciences (VIPS) banned headscarves, although the high court’s interim order is limited to only schools and pre-university colleges where uniforms/dress code is prescribed.
On Thursday, staff of VIPS insisted students remove their headscarves at the gates before entering. This led to arguments with students questioning the decision, and the management saying it was only implementing the HC’s order. Police too arrived on the scene.
Meanwhile, a group of men gathered outside the college and shouted slogans, while demanding the girls be allowed into classrooms. Police and the men were involved in an altercation. Ravindra Gadadi, DCP, said six people were detained.
Arguments between staff and students continued even as parents of students arrived. Discussions lasted almost two hours and ended in a stalemate. Prakash Patil, who manages the college, said: “Students and parents returned home, and it looks like they are convinced. They may return to college tomorrow without their hijab. ”
Protests also continued at Saraladevi Government First Grade College in Ballari and at Government College in Vijayapura town. Students skipped practical exams, but the college in Ballari agreed to reschedule it for those who missed out on Thursday.
South & Malnad districts
While protests continued to disrupt the academic environment across the Malnad region and Mysuru, Mandya and Chamarajanagar districts, the situation was by and large peaceful. However, the number of Muslim girls who attended classes was thin across colleges.
DK Srinivasa Murthy, DDPU, Mysuru, said that in a PU college in Narasimharaja limits, 291 students were absent on Thursday. “There are 293 Muslim students on the rolls. Parents and students informed us that they will attend classes only after the HC verdict. We will conduct online classes for these students,” he said.
Staff at PU and degree colleges said most Muslim girls had skipped classes over the past couple of days. “They are worried about being isolated in classrooms,” a staffer said. More than a dozen students of a school in Nanjangud taluk in Mysuru district skipped classes.
In Kodagu, some 30 students refused to attend classes without their hijabs at Field Marshal KM Cariappa College in Madikeri and returned home. At a PU college in Kudige, nine students returned home. Muslim students in many other schools and colleges were sent back after they refused to remove their hijabs.
In Hassan, a group of students at the Women’s Polytechnic College continued protests, leading to a stand-off even as police stepped in to defuse the situation. “There are only 29 Muslim students in out college and 17 of them protested on Thursday. They were joined by outsiders,” said Manjula Kadam, principal.
Coastal districts
The Government First Grade College in Uppinangady declared a two-day holiday as the hijab row simmered and boy students came out in support of their classmates.
Subbappa Kaikamba, principal, said, on Wednesday, students had arrived on the campus with their hijabs on. They were counselled about the high court’s interim order, but they decided to return home. On Thursday, about 50 students arrived with their hijabs on and sought permission to wear the hijab in classrooms.
“I explained to them about the high court’s interim order. That’s when about 50 boys came out in support of the students. They said that if the girls are not allowed to attend classes, they too would boycott classes. I spoke to the joint director, and he suggested that we declare a twoday holiday. ” Meanwhile, a section of students demanded that classes be held. They were pacified and sent home.
(Inputs from Shreyas HS in Belagavi, Shrinivasa M in Mysuru, Deepthi Sanjiv in Mangaluru, Sangamesh Menasinakai in Hubballi, Udaya Sagar in Shivamogga/ Chikkamagaluru and G Rajendra in Madikeri)
