By Special correspondent
Bhopal: It seems that wearing hijab and offering namaz in a classroom has become a ‘crime’ in ‘New India’. The latest Islamophobia case reported from a central university in the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh. The plot and character are the same.
An official at Dr Harisingh Gour University (HGU), a Central varsity in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar, stated on Saturday that a video of a Muslim girl wearing a hijab and supposedly performing namaz inside a classroom prompted the university to launch an inquiry into a right-wing organization’s complaint.
Following the release of a video clip, the Hindu Jagran Manch issued a memorandum to the university requesting action. A complaint, along with a video clip, was received by HGU Registrar Santosh Sahgaura. According to a news agency , HGU Media Officer Vivek Jaiswal said “A five-member committee has been constituted to look into this matter. The committee will submit a report within three days and further action will be taken based on this report”.
However, he said there is no formal dress code for students on the campus of the educational institution but students must attend classes in “basic ethical dressing”.
According to Umesh Saraf, president of the Hindu Jagran Manch’s Sagar unit, the girl in the video has been attending lectures wearing hijab for a long time.
Religious activities of this nature should not be permitted in educational institutions. She had been coming in hijab for quite some time, but on Friday afternoon, she was seen offering Namaz within the classroom. This is reprehensible because educational institutions are a place for people of all faiths.
In reference to the Karnataka High Court’s order, he stated he had filed a complaint with the vice-chancellor and the registrar.
On March 15, the Karnataka High Court dismissed applications requesting permission to wear hijab in the classroom, claiming that it is not an essential religious practise in the Islamic religion.
A group of Muslim students from the Government Pre-University Girls College in Udupi submitted the petition, asking for permission to wear hijab in the classroom. The requirement of a school uniform is simply a reasonable, constitutionally permissible to which students cannot object, per the High Court.
The Supreme Court declined to hear the appeals against the Karnataka High Court’s decision on Thursday.
