Rahul Gandhi reacts to hijab row in Karnataka colleges

Amid a raging debate in Karnataka over the right to wear hijab in classroom, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi weighed in.

In a tweet, Gandhi said that by letting hijab come in the way of education, the future of the daughters of India was being robbed. He added that Ma Saraswati gives knowledge to all, without differentiation. His comments came on the occasion of Saraswati Puja, a festival in honour of the Hindu goddess of wisdom and knowledge.

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Karnataka has been seeing a spate of protests and face-offs between students and college authorities over the issue. The Bhandarkars Arts and Science Degree College, and the Junior PU Government College in Kundapur, and the Government Girls PU College in Udupi have been among those seeing confrontations.

Women students have been asked to remove their hijab, or Islamic headgear, inside classrooms, leading to protests. In some institutes, the situation arose when some students of another community insisted on wearing saffron shawls to counter the practice of wearing of hijab, as per reports.

Officials reportedly said that the ban on religious symbols was to ensure harmony. Some women students subsequently moved the Karnataka High Court for permission to wear hijab.

Leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have blamed outfits like Popular Front of India, or PFI, and its student wing Campus Front of India for provoking students. Meanwhile, former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, Siddaramaiah said that the Congress would raise the issue in the House.