Hijab ban to continue in Karnataka schools and colleges till SC verdict: Minister B C Nagesh
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh on Thursday said the Karnataka High Court order upholding the state government's ban on hijab on school and college campuses will remain valid following a split verdict by the Supreme Court on the issue.
The Supreme Court on Thursday delivered a split verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the Karnataka High Court judgement refusing to lift the ban on hijab in educational institutions in the state.
While Justice Hemant Gupta dismissed the appeals against the high court verdict, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia allowed them.
At a time when there is a movement happening against hijab and burqa across the globe and the freedom of women is a talking point, the Karnataka government had expected a better judgment that will bring an order in the education system but a split verdict has come, Nagesh told reporters.
The matter has now been referred to a higher bench, Nagesh said adding the Karnataka government will wait for the verdict by a higher bench.
"The Karnataka High Court order will remain valid. Hence, in all our schools and colleges Karnataka education act and rule, there will be no scope for any religious symbols. So our schools and colleges will run as per the Karnataka High Court order. Children will have to come to the schools accordingly," Nagesh said.
"The ban on hijab will continue. As you know that the Karnataka Education Act and Rule does not permit any religious items inside the class. So we are very clear that no student can wear hijab inside the class," Nagesh explained.
Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said he saw the hijab verdict in the media where one judge has dismissed the petition while the other has dismissed the Karnataka High Court order.
"There is a split verdict and the case has gone to the Chief Justice's bench. It depends on the decision taken by the CJI. The Karnataka government is awaiting an order by the CJI," Jnanendra told reporters.
On January 1 this year, six girl students of a college in Udupi attended a press conference held by the Campus Front of India (CFI) in the coastal town protesting against the college authorities denying them entry into classrooms wearing hijab.
This was four days after they requested the principal's permission to wear hijab in classes which was not allowed. Till then, students used to wear the headscarf to the campus, but entered the classroom after removing it, the college principal Rudre Gowda had said.
"The institution did not have any rule on hijab-wearing as such and since no one used to wear it to the classroom in the last 35 years. The students who came with the demand had the backing of outside forces," Gowda had said.
The High Court upheld Karnataka government's decision banning hijab on school and college campuses.
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Canadian report finds 'no definitive link' between Nijjar killing and India
Ottawa, Jan 29 (PTI): A Canada commission report has said that "no definitive link" with a "foreign state" in the killing of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was "proven", smashing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations that accused the involvement of Indian agents in the killing.
In September 2023, Trudeau said Canada had credible evidence that agents of the Indian government were involved in the murder of Nijjar in British Columbia in June 2023.
The report titled "Public Inquiry Into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions' was released on Tuesday.
In the report commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue said "Disinformation is used as a retaliatory tactic to punish decisions that run contrary to a state's interests."
The report has suggested India spread disinformation on the killing of Nijjar.
"This may have been the case with a disinformation campaign that followed the Prime Minister's announcement regarding suspected Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar (though again no definitive link to a foreign state could be proven)," the report said.
Nijjar was gunned down in Surrey, British Columbia, in June 2023.
The 123-page report also talked of expelling six Indian diplomats.
"In October 2024, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats and consular officials in reaction to a targeted campaign against Canadian citizens by agents linked to the Government of India," it said.
However, India expelled six Canadian diplomats and announced the withdrawal of its high commissioner.
The relations between India and Canada came under severe strain following Prime Minister Trudeau's allegations in September last year of the "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar.
New Delhi had rejected Trudeau's charges as "absurd".
India has repeatedly criticised Trudeau's government for being soft on supporters of the Khalistan movement who live in Canada. The Khalistan movement is banned in India but has support among the Sikh diaspora, particularly in Canada.
On Tuesday, India strongly rejected "insinuations" made against it in the report by a Canadian commission that investigated allegations that certain foreign governments were meddling in Canada's elections.
In a strong reaction, the MEA in New Delhi said it rejects the report's "insinuations" on India.
It is in fact Canada which has been "consistently interfering" in India's internal affairs, it said.
