Indian southern state to withdraw hijab ban: Official

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) - The Indian southern state of Karnataka decided to revoke a ban on wearing headscarves inside educational premises, the state's top elected official said Friday.

“I have told (officials) to withdraw the hijab ban,” Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wrote on X, while pointing the finger at the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which he said is “doing the work of dividing people and dividing society on the basis of clothes, dress, caste.”

The Press Trust of India reported that Siddaramaiah said restrictions on wearing the hijab will be lifted Dec. 23 in the state, which is ruled by the Indian National Congress party.

The issue of the hijab ban started when female Muslim students were barred last January from entering classrooms at a government college in the state’s Udupi district because they were wearing hijabs. The issue spread to other institutions in Karnataka state, then ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party. Muslim girls were barred from wearing hijabs inside educational premises.

Students approached the Karnataka High Court, which upheld the ban and ruled that "wearing of hijab by Muslim women doesn't form a part of essential religious practice in the Islamic faith."

In October 2023, the Indian Supreme Court delivered a split ruling on a ban imposed by educational institutions on wearing headscarves inside educational premises in Karnataka state.