Congress leaders sniff bigger conspiracy behind hijab row

Mangaluru: The hijab issue that is causing disquiet in the State has begun reeking of a deeper conspiracy. Some Muslim political outfits and fringe groups are said to be the driving force behind the issue that has its origins in Udupi city, according to a report given to Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D.K. Shivakumar on Saturday.

The Udupi and Dakshina Kannada district units of the Congress have briefed

Shivkumar indicating that the Social Democratic Party (SDPI) of India and Popular Front of India (PFI) and their fringe groups like Campus Front of India were egging on the students to keep the hijab issue alive. However, these organisations are said to have decided to go slow on unleashing hijab-related controversies in bigger cities like Mysuru, Bengaluru, Mangaluru. However, the Congress fears that it may be matter of time before the disturbance sweeps these bigger cities eventually.

Shivakumar has displayed great restraint on the issue like the mature politician he is and has sent out a stern message to his party men, not to unnecessarily comment on the hijab issue hurting the sentiments of both Muslims and Hindus in communally sensitive parts of the coast and the State capital. He did not hesitate to send out a clear message that there was no need for every Congress leader to issue statements in support of the leader of opposition S Siddaramiah on the controversy.

The report by Congress leaders in Udupi alleges that a group of students backed by the SDPI had a row with the school management, they had also allegedly tried to extract financial benefits for some activity they wanted to organise in the school for which the management had responded in the negative. The group of students at one stage warned the management of serious repercussions and a a few days later the hijab row surfaced, according to the report given by Congress leaders to their State chief.

The State BJP too shares the same view. Party State president Nalin Kumar Kateel and Sunil Kumar, Minister for Energy, have stated unequivocally that SDPI, PFI and Campus Front of India were financing the students to foment the unrest and take legal recourse. Sunil Kumar who is a firebrand Hindu leader has stated, "Hijab issue is the handiwork of Muslim parties to create unrest in the State. The are blowing the issue out of proportion. All that students are expected to do is to wear uniform in the classroom, which means they can wear anything -- hijab or burqa -- up to the school and college compounds. Those who speak about personal freedom, we would like to know why they are not letting the women enter the mosques, and why they are denied entry by restricting their personal freedom? They deny entry for women in the mosques and on the other hand they demand to change in rules to allow entry of students wearing hijab in government schools."

"They should try to understand that the Modi government gave freedom to Muslim women by scrapping triple talaq and to help them to join the mainstream. The statements made by SDPI, Khader or Siddaramaiah on this issue are totally irresponsible," he said.

Nalin Kumar Kateel has asked the Muslim students to look for other avenues if they are keen on keeping hijab. "We will not allow hijab into the government schools and colleges."

Pratap Simha, Mysuru Kodagu MP, has flayed Siddaramiah for his "pro-Muslim" and "anti-Hindu" stance. "Come what may we will not allow hijab-wearing students in our schools and colleges."

Basanagouda Patil Yathnal, BJP MLA from Vijayapur, went one step further and suggested that the girls who insist on wearing hijab should go to madrasas.

Meanwhile, a well-known advocate Dinesh Hegde Ulepady of Mangaluru, who is known for his pro-civil society stance, in a letter sent to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, opposition leader Siddaramiah and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, has claimed that "students from the minority community are treated like second-class citizens by being kept out of educational system which is very unfair and which undermines our spirit of social justice. The hijab issue is being discussed at the national and international levels and may cause a major embarrassment for India in the international comity of nations".

He alleged that all top officials of schools were BJP activists and they were acting according to the wishes of the party.