India’s hijab dispute reaches its most populous state

Women wearing hijabs attend a protest against the recent hijab ban in few colleges of Karnataka state, Mumbai, India, Feb 13, 2022. REUTERS     

LUCKNOW Feb 15 Reuters- A dispute over restrictions on the wearing of the hijab by female students in a southern Indian state has now reached India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, with a group of youngsters asking a college to ban the head covering.   
A group of more than 2 dozen young men handed a memorandum to officials of Dharma Samaj College in Aligarh district, Uttar Pradesh on Monday seeking a complete ban on the hijab within its compound.  
They had saffron shawls around their necks - typically worn by Hindus - said the college’s chief proctor, Mukesh Bharadwaj,. Currently, religious garb is not allowed in classrooms, but can be worn elsewhere on campus.  
Authorities closed colleges in Karnataka in India’s south last week after a new uniform policy barred students from wearing headscarves in classrooms, leading to protests by Muslim students and counter protests by Hindu students.Muslims have criticised the ban as another way of marginalising a community that accounts for about 13% of Hindu-majority India’s 1.35 billion people.  
Uttar Pradesh, estimated to have as many people as Brazil, is ruled by a Hindu monk from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party and is in the midst of a multi-phase election that ends next month. Hindu-Muslim disputes are often used for political gains in the state.  
The hijab issue has already reached court in Karnataka. Hearings will resume on Tuesday on whether the hijab should be allowed in class.