BY RUMKI CHOWDHURY
Throughout the history of India, we have seen verbal and physical battles between religious groups. However, this is the first time we have seen the Indian government encouraging disparity by enforcing laws against a particular religious group-Muslims and even more specifically, Hijabi Muslims.
You may have become familiar with the viral videos of Indian Hijabi women protesting their right to enter the classroom despite their wearing hijabs. You may be asking, “What is happening in India?!”
It all began back in 2018: after being denied entry into their classrooms because of their hijabs and long-sleeved attire, two Indian Muslim students filed a case against their school in thes southern state of Kerala. The Kerala State Court upheld the rights of the school, thereby denying the students justice.
Since then, the debate on hijab has reached Kerala’s neighboring state of Karnataka, in the city of Udupi. It all began after lockdown, in December of 2021, when students of one college were permitted to physically attend, but denied entry into their classrooms if they wore their hijabs.
The college’s principal, Rudre Gowda, told BBC in January of 2022, “All we are saying is that when their classes begin, they should remove the hijab.” He expressed that the teachers needed to see the students’ faces and that nowhere in the uniform guidelines does it state that hijabs are permitted.
“There is no rule in any book or document that the hijab is banned. We have only been told that if it is permitted, others will demand to wear saffron shawls,” said Masood Manna, a CFI leader. Saffron shawls are worn by Hindus.
And others did bear saffron shawls most recently, but not because they were inspired by hijabi women; rather, some young men, outside of the college, wished to threaten the Muslim hijabi students. According to the hijabi students, while saffron scarves and turbans have been permitted in the classroom, this fact begs the question, “Why is the hijab not permitted?!”
As per a viral video on social media, the Indian hijabi college student, Muskaan Khan, parked her scooter and stormed her way through an angry mob of men in saffron scarves, who demanded she remove her hijab to enter. Khan yelled, “Allahu Akbar,” which is Arabic for, “God is Great.”
“Yes, I did scream, ‘Allahu Akbar.’ When I get scared, I call out to Allah and it gives me strength,” Khan told BBC. “I reached my college to attend class and found that there were a lot of youngsters wearing saffron stoles. They blocked my path and said that I could not enter the college premises. I have no problems with what they wear, ” she said. She went on to express that this isn’t about Hindus versus Muslims or vice versa. “All that I want is to stand by my rights and education.”
Another image that went viral following heated debates back in January, was that taken by Ashwan Sadiq, of a group of hijabi girls studying on the staircase.
“We all go to college every day despite not being allowed inside the class so that later, we are not told we don’t have adequate attendance [to sit for exams],” some hijabi students told BBC.
A third instance of a video on social media, showed hijabi students braving their way through their college gates. One such student is seen telling the reporter how devastated she felt that her teachers, who said their students were like their own children, denied her entry into their classrooms.
Now, there are a couple of colleges in Karnataka that are considering a hijab ban and it may not stop there. As of Wednesday, February 9th, 2022, after Muslim hijabi protests gained international attention, Karnataka shut down their high schools and colleges for three days.
If only the Indian government would follow Mahatma Gandhi’s perspective; after all, he is the father of India: “I become more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place in Islam in those days. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement [Humility].”
That is exactly what is happening in India right now and that is exactly what the hijab is all about-humility. There are no swords, but there are peaceful protests. There are no swords, but there are words. There are no swords, but there are headscarves.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rumki Chowdhury is Editor of World Hijab Day Organization. Moreover, she has her own editing services. She is an award-winning published author. She has an MA in English Literature from Queen Mary University of London, a BA in English Writing from William Paterson University of New Jersey and an English Subject Teaching Degree from Gävle Högskolan in Stockholm, Sweden. She speaks Bengali and Swedish fluently! She has years of experience in the media and publishing worlds. Rumki lives with her husband and their three daughters.