Muslim organisations in Karnataka have given a call for a ‘bandh’ in the state on Thursday, March 17, to register their protest against the verdict of the Karnataka High Court on the hijab controversy. The High Court had on Tuesday dismissed all the petitions seeking directions to the Karnataka government to allow them to wear the hijab inside classrooms. The court, however, held that wearing of the hijab is not an essential religious practice under Islam and the uniform is a reasonable restriction that the students cannot object to.
The Ameer-E-Shariat of Karnataka, Maulana Sagir Ahmad Khan Rashadi, on Wednesday gave a call for a state-wide bandh on Thursday, which has been supported by hundreds of organisations across the southern state. “Expressing our anger against the sad order of the Karnataka High Court regarding hijab, a state-wide bandh will be observed on Thursday,” Rashadi stated, as he appealed to the entire Muslim community to support the bandh between 6 am and 6 pm on Thursday.
The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and the Campus Front of India (CFI) have also supported the bandh call. Both the organisations maintained that the high court verdict is against the constitutional rights of an individual. CFI office-bearers said that the high court verdict is against individual and religious rights and has backed the bandh call.
