Victory for Religious Freedom: Karnataka Allows Hijabs in Schools
The new order keeps uniforms mandatory while allowing symbols such as hijabs, janivara and rudrakshi if they do not affect discipline or identification.
- On Wednesday, the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka withdrew a controversial 2022 dress code order, replacing it with a framework that mandates uniforms while permitting students to wear 'certain limited traditional and religious symbols.'
- The Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government issued the 2022 order amid a hijab controversy, making uniforms compulsory and banning headscarves, which sparked massive protests across the state.
- Following an incident where three students were allegedly forced to remove sacred threads during the Karnataka Common Entrance Test in April, Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa confirmed the policy shift.
- Schools and colleges cannot deny entry to students wearing permitted items like hijabs, turbans, or rudraksha, provided these symbols complement the prescribed uniform and do not compromise institutional discipline.
- Officials cited reformer Basavanna's inclusive principle 'Ivanammava'—meaning 'he is one among us'—to emphasize that constitutional secularism requires institutional neutrality and non-discrimination rather than opposition to personal religious beliefs.
34 Articles
34 Articles
Karnataka revokes Hijab ban in schools, decision sparks outrage
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government’s controversial decision to officially withdraw the 2022 hijab restriction order and permit students to wear hijab along with school uniforms has triggered a fresh political storm across the state, with the BJP accusing the Congress government of indulging in “selective secularism” and “minority appeasement politics” for electoral gains. The Siddaramaiah-led government on May 13 issued a revised dress code gui…
Karnataka govt withdraws 2022 hijab ban order
Bengaluru: The Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government has officially withdrawn the 2022 order issued by the previous BJP government that effectively restricted the wearing of hijab in educational institutions. The state government on Wednesday issued a fresh dress code order allowing students to wear traditional and religious symbols, including hijab, along with prescribed school uniforms. The new uniform policy will apply to students from Class …
Karnataka Revokes 2022 Order, Allows Hijab, Sacred Thread In Schools
The fresh order formally revokes the earlier directive that had required strict adherence to uniforms without religious symbols, a move that had sparked a political flashpoint centred on the wearing of the hijab.
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