Hijab ban: Student allegedly replaces tricolour with saffron flag in Shimoga

As protests for and against the hijab intensified at colleges in different parts of Karnataka section 144 has been imposed in Shimoga Incidents of stonepelting aggressive sloganeering and lathicharge were reported on Tuesday morningMeanwhile a video has surfaced which shows a boy climbing up a pole at an institute and hoisting a saffron flagReacting to the incident Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar said The situation in some Karnataka educational institutions has gone so out of hand that in one case the National flag was replaced by a saffron flag I think the affected institutions should be closed for a week to restore law and order Teaching can continue onlineThe situation in some Karnataka educational institutions has gone so out of hand that in one case the National flag was replaced by a saffron flag I think the affected institutions should be closed for a week to restore law and order Teaching can continue onlinemdash DK Shivakumar DKShivakumar February 8 2022States Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Tuesday while appealing for peace said no one should give an opportunity to use the police forceThe Home Ministers warning came as tension prevailed at some educational institutions in Udupi Shivamogga Bagalkote and other parts forcing the police and authorities to interveneThe Karnataka High Court is today hearing the petitions filed by five girls studying in a Government Preuniversity College in Udupi questioning hijab restriction in collegeYou students are all educated you have to think about your future After two years of COVID19 this year classes have been conducted in a good way This is the time for you to prepare for your exams that are coming up in a couple of months Jnanendra saidNoting that religious forces behind such incidents have to be quelled and everyone should think about the country the Minister in a video statement said we should all stand together as brothers as the children of this country Uniform is a sign of equality Educational institutions are not the place for practicing our religion or to showcase our costumes Everyone should maintain peace Dont give an opportunity to use the police force I appeal to parents to guide their children and lets all work towards colleges functioning in a peaceful manner he addedProtests erupted at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College in Udupi today after a large group of students wearing saffron stoles and headgears raised slogans in the college campus as hijab clad Muslim girls were staging a protest demanding justice forcing the police and college authorities to interveneSome colleges have declared holidays in the districtA minor stone petting incident has been reported near a college in Bagalkote and few students even tried to barge into the campus whom police dispersed using a mild forceSimilar incident has also been reported at a college in Shivamogga district and police had to intervene to bring the tense situation under controlAccording to sources some students even tried to hoist the saffron flag at the college premisesSimilar protests have been reported at colleges in Mandya Vijayapura and Gadag districtsLast week the state government had issued an order making uniforms prescribed by it or management of private institutions mandatory for its students at schools and preuniversity colleges across the stateThe issue that initially began in January at a government PU College in Udupi where six students who attended classes wearing headscarf in violation of the stipulated dress code were asked to leave the campus has spread to different parts of the state with Hindu students too responding with saffron shawlsHindu students coming with saffron shawls are also being barred from classesThe row has also taken a political colour as the ruling has BJP stood strongly in support of uniform related rules being enforced by educational institutions calling the headscarf a religious symbol while the opposition Congress has come out in support of Muslim girlsWith PTI inputs