Hijab and examination: An appeal to the Chief Minister of Karnataka
Prof. Varadesh Hiregange writes urging CM to allow Muslim students in SSLC exams with Hijab
Mangaluru: In the wake of the commencement of the SSLC Examination in the state on Monday, the Director of MAHE’s Gandhian Centre for Philosophical Arts and Sciences, Professor Varadesh Hiregange has written a letter to Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai urging him to allow Muslim students in Hijab to appear for their SSLC examinations.
“We may get into very scholarly arguments on Hijab and other matters – ideological, historical, legal, religious and philosophical – but, I am sure, you will agree with me, basic human values transcend time and space, region and religion, culture and nation, dress code and the code of conduct,” he wrote in his letter.
“Now, as a born Hindu I earnestly appeal to you, to the High Court of Karnataka, to all the Hindus opposing Hijab – to keep all other arguments aside and allow Muslim girls to write their examination even with Hijab. We may continue our debate on Hijab later too, but a young student facing examination (and you know it very well), will look for certain immediate relief from the Government, from the Court, from their classmates, at this critical hour,” he added.
“Perhaps, Muslim girls are caught between two compulsions. They are the victims. The Government, the Court, and Hinduism, perhaps, need to recognise this and bail them out of this crisis. They need to be, at least, saved from this immediate crisis (of being prevented from writing examination) and our ideological/legal debate may go on later too. There must be a certain way to make it happen – to allow Muslim girls to write the examination even with Hijab - and perhaps, that would be genuine governance, genuine law, and genuine Hinduism.” He further added in his letter.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
