Karnataka Higher Education Minister MC Sudhakar has said that every individual has the freedom to wear what they want. He further underlined that exams like NEET also allow students to appear for the exams in hijab, and people should follow their prevailing rules. The Karnataka minister made these remarks on the state government’s recent decision to allow Muslim girls to wear hijab during competitive exams.
“This is a secular country. People are free to dress however they want,” Karnataka higher education Minister MC Sudhakar told India Today, earlier this week. However, the minister was further reported as urging aspirants of various competitive exams in Karnataka to reach their exam centres an hour before the commencement of exam for frisking. “They (students) will be thoroughly checked. We don’t want any sort of malpractice. This is even allowed in the NEET entrance exam,” Sudhakar further said.
In response to the Karnataka government’s announcement of allowing female students to wear hijab in competitive exams, some pro-Hindu outfits in Karnataka have threatened protests against the move. In response to the protest threats, MC Sudhakar said that in a secular country, one cannot infringe on other persons rights. “I don’t understand the logic of these people. This is a selective protest. One cannot infringe on someone else’s rights. This is a secular country,” he was reported as saying.
Notably, the hijab row sparked off in January last year in Karnataka and created a huge outroar across the country. The row kicked off after some Muslim schoolgirls at Udupi Women’s Pre-University college attended classes wearing the headscarf. WIth the matter escalating, the then BJP government of Karnataka banned wearing the head clothes which “disturb equality, integrity and public order in schools and colleges.” However, the state government’s order was later challenged in the Karnataka High Court. On March 15 though, the Karnataka High Court underlined that the hijab is not a part of essential religious practice in Islamic faith.
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