August 10, 2026

Hijab Row: Students Wrong In Not Following Interim Order Of The Court

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2022-02-17 03:33:35

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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

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When the hijab controversy erupted in Karnataka, some students approached the Karnataka High Court for relief in what they alleged was an attempt by school and college authorities to suddenly prevent them from wearing something that they had been doing for the past many years and also said that since it was a part of their religion, they should be allowed to wear it. Given the urgency of the situation, the high court is hearing the matter in daily sittings.

But as the matter was escalating and would have perhaps gone out of hand, the court had passed an interim order which banned the wearing of hijab and all other kinds of religious/ non-uniform apparel, like the saffron stole which some Hindu students had started wearing in retaliation, till the matters of constitutional and religious significance were finally settled by the full bench of the court. That was a wise step in view of the fact that the issue could have led to enmity between communities and maybe even riots.

But since the schools and colleges reopened after a short break (the state government had closed them for three days to diffuse the situation), defying the court order, students insisted on wearing the hijab and stoles in classes, arguing with school authorities and speaking to the media about how they were not being allowed to wear them. This is wrong. The students should not have approached the court for relief and should have fought a political battle. But since the matter is now sub judice, they should respect the court's interim order and maintain peace.