Some of the teachers of the Government Pre-University College for Girls, Udupi, were threatened by the Campus Front of India (CFI) and the teachers were scared to lodge a complaint, it was alleged before the High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday during the hearing of the petitions on hijab issue.
Stating that one of the teachers has recently lodged a complaint with the police, it was claimed on behalf of the college that there was peaceful and harmonious atmosphere in the college till some persons belonging to CFI instigated students and other parents on wearing of hijab during college hours, contrary to the dress code, during the last week of December 2021.
Senior advocate S.S. Naganand made these submissions before a three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S. Dixit and Justice Jaibunnisa M. Khazi while defending the actions of the college, its principal and some of the teachers.
On CFI
To a query by the Bench about CFI, Mr. Naganand said that CFI seems to be “a very radical type of voluntary organisation” while pointing out that some persons belonging to this organisation had met the principal on December 30, 2021, and insisted that Muslim girls should be allowed to wear hijab.
At this stage, the Bench asked the advocate-general about the details of CFI while also asking why the Government had not informed the court about threats to the teachers.
Denying allegations against teachers and reiterating that no Muslim girls were wearing hijab till December, 2021, Mr. Naganand contended that the teachers are in loco parentis in the college in place of parents and the teachers have discharged their duties to ensure discipline.
Stating that students should come to the institute without wearing any external symbols of religion, he said that because of hijab agitation now, some students want to wear saffron shawls, and tomorrow Mohammedan boys may say they want to wear skull cap. Where would this end, asked Mr. Naganand. “Let the drum beaters on the road not threaten a harmonious society in Udupi,” he said.
In Turkey
Advocate Raghavendra Srivatsa, representing vice-principal, said that the European Court for Human Rights had upheld Turkey’s ban on wearing of hijab in Government-funded religious schools and only when the girls attend classes in Quran they were allowed to wear hijab.
Senior advocate Sajan Poovayya, representing the College Development Committee, argued that religion is irrelevant to an educational institution, which has a legitimate right and duty to ensure secular education, and uniform is a part of secular education. Cohesion in educational institutions can be achieved through uniform irrespective of class or religion of the students, he added.
Citing the Turkey case, Mr. Poovayya said that allowing hijab in classroom would discriminate among Muslim girls who want to wear and those who don’t want to, and pointed out that among 100 Muslim girls in the Udupi college, only a few wanted to wear hijab.
