A bandana ban has detonated an already stubborn religious contradiction in Indian society.
Recently, a school in the Indian state of Karnataka quickly spread across India by banning Muslim female students from wearing headscarves to class, igniting Muslim anger. However, the protest gradually turned into a confrontation between Hindus and Muslims, with Hindus wearing Hindu symbols, saffron shawls, in protest to ban the wearing of headscarves. The two sides clashed, and even threw stones at each other.
To avoid spiraling out of control, on February 8, the Karnataka government announced that it would close schools in the state for three days. Muslim students have now filed two petitions with the Karnataka High Court, but the High Court has yet to rule, and according to the BBC, a judge said the petition had been forwarded to a higher-level adjudication committee.
The dominant religion in India is Hinduism, which accounts for more than 80% of the total population, and about 12% of the population is Muslim. Behind the conflict is the rising tide of Hindu nationalism, which the New York Times said has seen since Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) come to power, as Hindu right-wingers are trying to remake India from a secular republic to a predominantly Hindu religious state, fueling Hindu hatred of Muslims and inciting civil society groups to inflict violence against the Muslim community.
Muslim women in Karnataka protest. Pictured from Al Jazeera
Headscarf or sergeant shawl? The turban ban ignites religious tensions
The controversy over the headscarf began a month ago. At the end of last year, six female students at a high school in the Udupi region of Karnataka, India, wore headscarves to school but were refused entry to the classroom on the grounds that wearing a headscarf was not a school uniform and violated regulations, According to Al Jazeera.
In response, according to the BBC, principal Rudre Gowda explained that students can wear headscarves on campus, but they must be taken off in class. He added that it was necessary for teachers to see students' faces, and that the school uniform was to ensure that there was no discrimination between students.
But the 6 students refused to take off their headscarves, preferring to sit outside the classroom. Students insist that the headscarf is part of their faith and that wearing the headscarf is a legally guaranteed right. "We're not going to give in, it's impossible." One of the students, Aliya Assadi, said.
The Indian Schools Front (CFI), a radical Muslim student group in southern India's states, has also spoken out in support of students, saying the school "refuses to provide education to young Muslim students and forces them to choose between receiving education and belief, which is a human rights issue that must be treated as such." ”
Shortly thereafter, a photo of students sitting on the extracurricular steps wearing headscarves went viral on social media, when several schools in the Udoupi area issued a ban on headscarves, instantly igniting the anger of the Muslim community.
Students sit on the steps to study. Image from social media
On February 3, at another high school in the Udupi region, a group of female students wearing headscarves were barricaded from the school's gates, further fueling the anger of the Muslim community, and demonstrations broke out everywhere, quickly spreading across India. In the southeastern Indian province of Trenjana, hundreds of women chanted together in support of students who were denied access to campus because they wore headscarves. In the capital, New Delhi, a large number of demonstrators also took to the streets with signs and held vigils in protest.
In the face of protests, the local government did not back down and did not amend the ban, and on February 5, in support of the right of schools to impose bans, the Karnataka government also instructed schools to ensure that "they should not wear clothing that interferes with equality, integrity and public law and order".
Muslims held protest demonstrations. Pictured from Al Jazeera
As the Muslims protested, the Hindus could not sit still and began another protest: they began to protest wearing the Hindu symbol, the saffron shawl, demanding that the wearing of the turban be banned and saying that if the turban was allowed, then the saffron shawl should also be allowed.
The Indian Schools Front (CFI), a radical Muslim student organization in southern India's states, said in a statement on the 6th that the ban on wearing headscarves was "an organized national conspiracy initiated by right-wing Hindu groups to dehumanize Muslim women." The two sides do not give in to each other, and conflicts occur frequently.
On February 8, the two sides even confronted each other directly on campus. According to footage released by India's News18 television station, at a university in Mandia County, Karnataka, the two sides were fighting swords, on one side were female students wearing turbans and black robes demonstrating on the campus, shouting "Allah supreme", and surrounded by a group of male students wearing Hindu saffron shawls, shouting the slogan "(Hindu god) Rama long live".
A Muslim schoolgirl said in a television interview that she had worn a headscarf since she was a child, and that "for us, the headscarf is not just a piece of cloth, it has a religious meaning."
Another Hindu male student climbed up the flagpole and hung a shawl representing Hinduism on top of the flagpole. The student said: "The school is not a religious occasion, if Muslim students insist on wearing a headscarf, then I have to wear a shawl." ”
At the same time, the protests that spread across the country are also likely to turn into violence. Also on the 8th, some cities reported stone-throwing and even arson. According to videos posted on social media, Muslims and Hindus confronted each other, and despite the police maintaining order, the two sides continued to sword-fighting and even threw stones at each other.
On February 8, the government of Karnataka, run by the Bharatiya Janatak, announced that it would close schools in the state for three days. After the decision was announced, the state's chief minister, Basavaraj Bommai, called on all parties to remain calm.
Disputes are referred to the courts. A few days ago, the Muslim community filed two petitions with the Karnataka High Court, saying that wearing a headscarf is a basic religious right guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. Karnataka High Court took up the case on Feb. 8 and will decide whether to overturn the bandana ban at the schools concerned.
At present, according to the BBC, the High Court has not yet ruled, and a judge of the Karnataka High Court said the application for repeal of the ban had been forwarded to a higher committee.
Behind the conflict: the rise of the Hindu right
The conflicted Indian state of Karnataka, an area controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, is often referred to as the "laboratory of Hindu majority politics." About 83% of the local residents of Karnataka are Hindus and 12% Are Muslims.
In recent years, as Hindu right-wingers have emerged and religious conflicts have erupted in India, the New York Times said that since the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power, with the acquiescence of Indian officials, Hindu right-wingers are trying to reshape India from a secular republic into a predominantly Hindu religious state, which has stirred up hatred of Muslims among Hindu people and incited civil society groups to inflict violence against Muslim communities.
On Jan. 15 of this year, at a politician-packed Hindu rally in halderval, the Hindu holy site, a group of Hindu monks dressed in Hindu saffron loudly called out in front of a crowded audience and tens of thousands of online viewers to commit violence against the country's minority Muslims. Shakhun Pan Tak Yik-kung, secretary general of India's right-wing Hindu Chatsai Society, has proposed to reduce "their population." "Kill at least 2 million Muslims" sparked outrage among Muslims across India.
Rally organizer Adi Nassinghanand in a speech Credit: Social Media
The rhetoric of Hindu right-wingers has resonated with indian civil right-wing groups and sparked violence. Some Indian civil society groups beat up people accused of disrespecting cattle; they dragged couples out of trains, cafes and homes because they suspected that Hindu women might be "seduced" by Muslim men; and many violent elements broke into gatherings of other religions, suspecting that they were forcing Indians to convert.
However, India's leaders and law enforcement officials have failed to address these extreme rhetoric issues, even offering acquiescence to the extremists' agenda or allowing further normalization of these behaviors. Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party condone these violent extremist groups because Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party sees right-wing groups as the foundation of its political ideology and relies on its vast network of volunteers to mobilize voters to ensure electoral victory. In 2017, Modi appointed Adia Nat as governor of Uttar Pradesh, and Adia Nat founded a youth organization accused of violence.
Rohinton Fari Nariman, a recently retired Supreme Court justice in India, said in a public speech that "there are people who are making hate speech that are actually calling for genocide against entire groups, and we find that the authorities are reluctant to register these people." Unfortunately, other top brass in the ruling party are not only silent about hate speech, but even almost support it. ”
Swami Amritanand, the organizer of the Haldwar Hindu campaign, said the call for the use of force was justified because "in the next 10 to 12 years, India will stage a terrible war." ”
This article is an exclusive manuscript of the Observer Network and may not be reproduced without authorization.