KARNATAKA: Hardline Hindu groups are calling for more Indian states to impose restrictions on wearing the hijab in schools after a court upheld a ban on the traditional Islamic headgear in Karnataka, alarmed Muslim students who had opposed the prohibition.
The Karnataka High Court's decision on Tuesday, upholding the southern state's February hijab ban, was also welcomed by top federal ministers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who argue that students should refrain from wearing religious clothing in class.
In India, there is no national policy on uniforms and states frequently defer to schools in determining what their pupils should wear. The restriction triggered demonstrations by some Muslim students and parents in BJP-ruled Karnataka, as well as counter-protests by Hindu students. The ban's critics argue that it is another method of marginalising the Muslim community, which makes up around 13% of Hindu-majority India's 1.35 billion people.