Bhopal, (Samajweekly) A college in Madhya Pradesh witnessed a row over wearing hijab in the college premises, following which its administration issued a notice instructing students to follow proper dress code on the campus.
The fresh controversy over wearing headscarves erupted at a government college in Datia district.
The row was triggered after a student wearing burqa-hijab was seen in the college following which students associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students’ wing of the RSS, staged a protest raising ‘Jai Shree Ram’ sloguns.
If that was not enough, the members of Durga Vahini, the women’s wing of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), staged a protest against the institute for allowing Muslim students to wear headscarves on campus.
Subsequently, D.R. Rahul, principal of the Government Autonomous College, Datia, put out a notice banning headscarves on campus.
“All the admitted students/girls in the college are informed that they will not be allowed to enter the college in clothes belonging to any particular community or other special dress like hijab etc. All the students should enter this temple of education in a decent dress,” said Rahul in the order.
The row surrounding Hijab is being witnessed in many colleges in Madhya Pradesh, despite the state government maintaining that there is no proposal to ban hijab in the state.
On Tuesday, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra, who belongs to Datia district, told the media that he has directed the district collector to investigate the matter.
“The Madhya Pradesh government has already stated that there is no proposal to ban burqa-hijab in the state. I have directed the Datia district collector to investigate the matter as to why the college administration ordered a ban on hijab. I request you not to create any confusion about it,” Mishra said on Tuesday.
