Karnataka hijab row: Pakistan flag in students’ WhatsApp chat sparks protest

Mangalore Today News Network

Shivamogga, Mar 09, 2022: Students in Karnataka’s Shivamogga staged protests on Tuesday after a college student allegedly shared the stickers of the Pakistani flag on a WhatsApp group. The student shared a sticker in the group with a message that read ‘hijab is our right’ a few days ago when the states witnessed violent protests over the hijab row.

 

The Karnataka hijab row started on January 1 after the management of a government pre-university college in the coastal town of Udupi in Karnataka barred six Muslim girls from attending classes for wearing hijab as the dress was against prescribed norms of the college.

The issue later spiralled into a massive controversy with many Hindu college students sporting saffron scarves and waving saffron flags, demanding permission to display their religious attires and symbols if hijab is allowed in educational institutions.

The student’s messages on the WhatsApp group, which was purportedly meant for online classes, were met with strong opposition from the other students. One student, in fact, shared the Indian flag sticker to counter her.

Soon, a protest, demanding her suspension, was staged in the district. The BCA student reportedly hails from Tarikere in the Chikkamagaluru district.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has now demanded that the police register a sedition case against the student and the college dismiss her immediately.

Reacting to the protests, the principal of the college said: “The students created a separate [WhatsApp] group where one of them sent a flag symbol during a chat. The ABVP drew our attention to the matter. We have now served a notice to the parents of the student. They have not appeared [before the college] till date and the student’s mobile phone is switched off. We have referred it to the registrar of Kuvempu University (as the college is affiliated to the varsity).”

Alleging delayed response from the institution’s administration, ABVP district convenor Dhanush Gowda said that they were planning a big demonstration against the college authorities.

The Karnataka High Court is hearing the hijab case now and has reserved its judgment. The last hearing in the Karnataka hijab case was held in February.

Courtesy:India Today