Karnataka government withdraws 2022 order banning hijab in classrooms, allows “limited traditional symbols”

The Karnataka government has withdrawn a February 5, 2022, order on school and college uniforms and issued fresh guidelines permitting students to wear “limited traditional and faith-based symbols” with prescribed uniforms.

The move, implemented with immediate effect, comes after an April 24 incident in which a student’s sacred thread was allegedly cut at a school.

The then BJP government in Karnataka had, in February 2022, issued an order prohibiting the wearing of hijabs in classrooms.An order issued by the Congress government in Karnataka said that students “are permitted to wear limited traditional and custom-based symbols with the prescribed uniform”. “However, such traditional and custom-based symbols must be complementary to the uniform and must not alter, modify, or defeat the original purpose of the prescribed uniform,” it said.

The order said that such permissible traditional and custom-based symbols “may include turbans, sacred threads, Shiva beads, Rudraksha, headscarves or any other similar traditional and custom-based symbols commonly worn by students”.

However, these should not interfere with discipline, safety and student identification.”No student shall be denied entry to an educational institution, classroom, examination room or academic activity on the grounds of wearing such limited traditional and custom-based symbols along with the prescribed uniform,” the order said.

It said that no student shall be compelled to wear such traditional and customary symbols. Similarly, no student shall be compelled to remove the limited traditional and customary symbols permitted by the Government.”However, in examination situations, the national and state dress code rules and regulations shall be adopted by the concerned authorities as appropriate,” it said.

The government said that implementation of this order shall be “uniform, religious, traditional and non-discriminatory”.

“It must be in accordance with the constitutional values of equality, dignity, fraternity, secularism, scientificity, rationality and the right to education,” the order said.

“School Development and Monitoring Committees (SDMC), College Development Committees (CDC), Governing Bodies, Heads of Institutions and all concerned authorities should not make any student suffer through discriminatory attitude, humiliating behavior. All these institutions should adopt the noble inclusive stance of “this is ours” as Basavanna said. Through this, they should ensure that the institution maintains discipline in such a way that no student is denied education,” the order said.
The government said any circular, resolution, instruction, rule or directive of the institution which is contrary to this order shall be null and void.