The refusal to allow Muslim girls wearing hijabs to attend schools in India's southern state of Karnataka has escalated into a national row pitting freedom of religious belief against "communalism".
In the southern Indian state of Karnataka, protests have erupted in colleges and schools over the right of female students to wear the hijab or headscarf – the latest flashpoint in a series of religion-fuelled controversies that have gripped Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
