Hijab vs saffron shawl controversy spreads to other colleges across Karnataka

Mangaluru: The controversy over hijab and saffron shawl in coastal districts in Karnataka that has grabbed national and international attention has started spreading to other parts of the state.

On Monday, incidents of arguments between saffron shawl-clad students and college authorities were reported from different parts of the state.

In Udupi, students of the MGM College tried to attend classes wearing saffron shawls. At the Field Marshal KM Cariappa College in Madikeri, students objected to the girl students wearing hijab and chose to sport saffron shawls themselves.

In Theerthahalli, the constituency of State Home minister Araga Jnanendra, students of Balebailu Govt Degree College protested outside the college not allowing them to attend classes wearing saffron shawls.

At Chikkamagaluru’s IDSG Government College, in addition to the hijab and Saffron shawls, there was a third group of the Dalit students who wore blue shawls and shouting slogans of “Jai Bhim.” All the while, saffron shawl-clad students shouted “Jai Shri Ram.”

The college management had a harrowing time controlling the situation. In Vijyapura, the college authorities suspended classes for a day. Whereas, in other places, students were counseled to remove the shawls and allowed to attend the classes.

At a time when the studies have been affected by the pandemic-induced lockdown, many are of the opinion that the learning can be further affected if the controversy doesn’t end soon. There is talk from the public that the government and various religious leaders should wake up and end take steps to end the row as soon as possible.