The Karnataka government on Wednesday (May 13) formally withdrew the controversial Uniform Order of 2022 and issued a new directive, under which students are now allowed to wear limited traditional and religious symbols along with the prescribed school uniform. After this decision, it will be legal to wear symbols like Hijab, Janeu, Rudraksha, Shivdhara and Sharavastra in government, aided and private educational institutions as well as pre-university colleges of the state. The opposition party BJP has accused this decision of being taken for the politics of Muslim appeasement.
The Karnataka government has said that the uniform system will continue and all institutions will be able to enforce the dress code as before. However, students will now be allowed to wear limited community, traditional and religious symbols along with the prescribed uniform. The government has said that these symbols will not become an alternative to the uniform nor will the basic purpose of the uniform be destroyed.
The symbols that have been specifically allowed in the new order include Hijab, Janeu, Shivdhara, Rudraksha and Sharavastra. Other traditional symbols are also permitted provided they do not hinder discipline, safety or identification of students.
However, the government has not given permission to come to school and college wearing a saffron shawl. The order said that it has not been considered in the category of religious symbol, whereas symbols like Janeu have been recognized as traditional religious practice. “No student shall be refused entry into any educational institution, classroom, examination hall or academic activity merely because he or she is wearing such limited traditional and customary marks along with the prescribed uniform,” the government order said.
The government also said that no student can be forced to wear religious or traditional symbols, nor can they be prevented from wearing them. “No student shall be forced to wear such traditional and customary marks. Similarly, no student shall be forcibly prevented from wearing them,” the order said.
However, national and state level dress code rules can be implemented during the examination. The new order directs schools and colleges to implement the policy in a secular, non-discriminatory and fair manner. The government said that the policy should be followed in accordance with the constitutional values of equality, dignity, fraternity, secularism, scientific temper and right to education.
The government also asked institutions to ensure that no student is humiliated or discriminated against on the basis of dress. The order quoted 12th century social reformer Basavanna and appealed for an inclusive spirit of “these are our people”.
The Karnataka government also clarified that any old circular, institutional rule or tradition contrary to this new order will be considered invalid. Officials of the School Education and Literacy Department and Pre-University Education Department have been instructed to implement it in the entire state.
After this decision, Bharatiya Janata Party accused the Congress government of Muslim appeasement. Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashok said that Congress is reviving the hijab controversy for vote bank politics. He said, “Whoever speaks evil of Hindus or does injustice to them, the entire Hindu community is united and teaching them a lesson. Hindus should teach the right lesson to Siddaramaiah and all Congress MLAs in the coming days. This is an anti-Hindu government.”
BJP leader Amit Malviya also attacked the Congress government and said that schools should not become centers of religious identity. He said, “This is not empowerment. This is institutionalizing religious identity in the classroom and gradually burying the childhood in layers of fundamentalist thinking.”
On the other hand, Karnataka School Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa defended the government’s decision, saying it was only an order clarifying long-standing religious and traditional practices. He said, “Whatever people have been doing religiously, whether it is wearing the sacred thread, wearing Shivdhara, some people wearing turban, some girls in North Karnataka wearing their traditional clothes, or people from the Jain community wearing their traditional clothes or hijab, all such things which are religiously permitted have been properly mentioned in the government order.”
Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao also said the government was allowing only limited customary practices and it should not hurt anyone’s sentiments.
It is noteworthy that on February 5, 2022, the Karnataka government had issued an order giving educational institutions the right to impose uniforms and ban such clothes which are considered against equality, integrity and public order. After this, Muslim girl students wearing hijab were stopped from entering many colleges in the state. In response, some Hindu students started protesting wearing saffron shawls, making the matter a major national level political and legal controversy.
Let us tell you that religious symbols like Janeu, Kalava, Shivdhara or the turban worn in Sikhism are connected to the soil of this country, which is not a follower or encouragement of any kind of aggressive thinking. Whereas allowing school-college going girls to wear hijab is seen as provoking their feelings of alienation from Hindu society. This is tantamount to Muslim girls being encouraged to separate from the mainstream of society.
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