
Bangalore News Highlights: The Muslim girls who have moved the Karnataka High Court against the ban on Hijab argued on Tuesday that wearing the headscarf was an innocent practice of faith and not a mere display of religious jingoism. They also requested the full bench of the HC to make a leeway to attend classes with headscarves as the court’s interim order had suspended their ‘fundamental rights’. According to PTI report, dwelling on Article 25 of the Indian constitution before the bench, senior counsel Devadatt Kamat, appearing for the Muslim girls from Udupi pre-university college, said the article speaks about ‘freedom of conscience’.
The hearing in the petitions challenging the hijab ban in educational institutions will continue in the Karnataka High Court at 2.30 pm on Wednesday, February 16. On Tuesday, the court continued the hearing as the petitioners argued that they should be allowed to wear headscarves in colours that match their school uniform as even Centre-run Kendriya Vidyalayas allow the same. Kamat referred to a judgment of a South Africa court on the issue whether a Hindu girl with roots in South India could wear nose ring in school. He referred to the judgement which says that this case is not about uniforms, but exemptions to existing uniforms. He further said that our Constitution follows positive secularism, not like Turkish secularism, that is negative secularism. Our secularism ensures that everyone’s religious rights are preserved.
Karnataka on Tuesday recorded 1,405 new Covid-19 cases with a test positivity rate of 1.91 per cent. The state also reported 26 fatalities, health minister K Sudhakar said in a tweet. Among the total cases, 765 cases and 6 deaths were reported from Bengaluru. 5,762 recoveries were also recorded in the state in the past 24 hours.
While tension is simmering in most districts of Karnataka over demonstrations by a section of students in favour of wearing hijab to classrooms, and protests by another section opposing it, colleges in the state are set to resume from Wednesday after remaining closed for a week to alleviate the situation.
On Tuesday, several schools in multiple districts denied entry to students wearing hijab, with many returning home. Such incidents were reported from Kodagu, Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, Koppal and Belagavi districts. Read More
The police on Wednesday said that a couple have been arrested for stealing batteries from traffic signals. They added that 230 batteries stolen from 68 traffic junctions over the last few months have also been recovered. These batteries are used to run traffic signals.
The accused have been identified as S Sikandar (30) and his wife Nazma Sikandar (29), residents of Chikkabanavara. Read More
Mysuru district administration has imposed CrPC Section 144 till 28 February within 200 meters of schools and colleges.
Section 144 imposed in Tumakuru district from 6 am of 16th February till next order ahead of PU colleges reopening. The order is applicable in 200 meters of PU colleges, degree and other colleges: YS Patil, Deputy commissioner, Tumakuru. (ANI)
Karnataka on Tuesday recorded 1,405 new Covid-19 cases with a test positivity rate of 1.91 per cent. The state also reported 26 fatalities, health minister K Sudhakar said in a tweet. Among the total cases, 765 cases and 6 deaths were reported from Bengaluru. 5,762 recoveries were also recorded in the state in the past 24 hours.
The Muslim girls who have moved the Karnataka High Court against the ban on Hijab argued on Tuesday that wearing the headscarf was an innocent practice of faith and not a mere display of religious jingoism. They also requested the full bench of the HC to make a leeway to attend classes with headscarves as the court's interim order had suspended their 'fundamental rights'.
Dwelling on Article 25 of the Indian constitution before the bench, senior counsel Devadatt Kamat, appearing for the Muslim girls from Udupi pre-university college, said the article speaks about 'freedom of conscience'. "This (freedom of conscience) has a lot of depth in that term. The essence of Article 25 is it protects the practice of innocent faith and not a mere display of religious identity or jingoism," Kamat told the full bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice J M Khazi and Justice Krishna M Dixit, constituted to hear the Hijab row following commotion and violence on campuses as it turned out into a Hijab versus saffron row. (PTI)
Officials from the forest department on Tuesday said that a villa has been built over five acres of forest land at Gulakmale village in Bengaluru South taluk without their permission. The villa is reportedly located at a crucial spot on the elephant corridor.
The officials also said that forest land has been repeatedly encroached upon owing to the ‘illegal’ grant of such land to private parties by the revenue department. They added that the revenue department had converted 445 acres of forest land into revenue land in 2014. Read More
"It is very crucial for kids battling cancer to get timely and right care. To ensure that no child battling cancer is deprived of treatment a bone marrow transplant centre has been set up in Kidwai which will provide free treatment for kids from poor families," said Health and Medical Education Minister Dr.K.Sudhakar.
Dr.Sudhakar participated in the stone laying ceremony of the Medical ICU that is being constructed in Kidwai at a cost of Rs.4 crores from the contribution of philanthropist Rajshekhar in memory of Shri Ramalinga Reddy and also inaugurated the newly established bone marrow transplant facility.
The Karnataka government on Tuesday asserted that it was committed to implementing the High Court's interim order on the Hijab row. This was in response to the issue raised by Congress MLA and its deputy leader in the legislative assembly, U T Khader, during the zero hour, expressing concern over "confusion and interpretation" of the court order, during its implementation on ground.
"The Education Minister will give reply to the issue raised by Khader, but I want to assure that the government is committed to implement the court order," Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy said on behalf of the government. (PTI)
Hearing in the hijab ban petitions to continue tomorrow at 2.30 pm in Karnataka High Court.
Senior advocate Devadatt Kamat says - our Constitution follows positive secularism, not like Turkish secularism, that is negative secularism. He says - our secularism ensures that everyone's religious rights are preserved. (ANI)
Senior advocate Devadatt Kamat, for petitioner, refers to a judgment of a South Africa court. Issue was whether a Hindu girl with roots in South India could wear nose ring in school He refers to the judgement which says that this case is not about uniforms,but exemptions to existing uniforms. (ANI)
Senior advocate Devadatt Kamat continues arguments in Karnataka HC on behalf of Muslim girls from Udupi college in pleas to permit wearing of Hijabs in classrooms. Advocate cites judgments from South African higher courts to emphasis protection of rights of minority communities to practice religion and follow cultural practices when these rights are safeguarded by the Constitution of a country.
The Hijab row continued to simmer in Karnataka on Tuesday over alleged denial of entry for girl students into schools with their headscarves on in some places, as one such girl announced boycotting her exam in response to the diktat. Scenes of angry parents of such children arguing with police and school authorities and an instance of a student trying to flaunt a saffron scarf as an apparent retaliation were also reported.
The Karnataka High Court, in its interim order last week restrained all the students from wearing saffron shawls, scarves, hijab and any religious flag within the classroom. High schools were reopened across the state on Monday, even as there were instances of students turning up in Hijab and burqa then, only to be denied entry or asked by officials to remove them, citing the High Court order.
On Tuesday, at a school in the district headquarters town of Shivamogga, a Burqa-wearing girl refused to write her exam when the school authorities asked her to remove her Hijab first. 'We have grown up wearing Hijab since our childhood and we cannot give it up. I will not write the exam and I will go home,' the girl told reporters. In a government school in Indavara village in Chikkamagaluru district, Muslim girls were not let inside the school and were asked to go back. Soon, their parents reached the school and staged a protest. They barged into the campus, raised slogans and demanded that the order should be given to them in writing.
As the protest intensified, another student pulled out a saffron scarf from his school bag. On the direction of his teachers, he put it back inside. Sensing the situation, the principal closed the school for the day. In another institution in Chikkamagaluru town, tension prevailed over denial of entry to the students with hijab. Parents swarmed the school and questioned the school authorities how their children were not allowed inside. Policemen deployed there told the crowd that there was a High Court order not to let anyone wearing Hijab or saffron scarves but the parents were not ready to listen and insisted that their wards be allowed to write the exam.
In SVS School in the district headquarters town of Tumakuru, Muslim parents thronged its premises after their daughters were turned away for wearing hijab. Subsequently, policemen rushed to the spot and made the parents and girls leave the school. They too cited the High Court order. (PTI)
Senior advocate Devadatta Kamat continues his arguments on behalf of two students from Kundapura college.
The Karnataka High Court hearing on the hijab issue is being live-streamed on the court's YouTube channel. Catch the proceedings in real-time here.
The Karnataka High Court will soon begin hearing the petitions in the hijab row case. A full bench, comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice J M Khazi and Justice Krishna M Dixit, is hearing a batch of petitions filed by Muslims girls from pre-university colleges in Udupi who have been barred from classes for wearing hijabs in alleged violation of uniforms prescribed by a college committee.
On Monday, the petitioners had argued that the Centre-run Kendriya Vidyalayas provides an option for Muslim students to wear headscarves in colours that match their school uniform, and hence they should be permitted to do the same. (Read more)
A day ahead of the reopening of pre-university colleges in Karnataka, which were shut due to protests over the wearing of hijab inside classrooms, state Home Minister Araga Jnanendra Tuesday said authorities have been directed to identify and initiate legal action against religious organisations attempting to break the society and corrupt innocent students.
"Some religious organisations are using students to try to divide the society... Instructions have been given to identify them and initiate appropriate legal action against them," the minister said in a statement.
He claimed that not all but a few students were insisting that they be allowed to go to the school wearing hijab. "In my view, it is not their (students) natural view (insisting on wearing hijab). We all must respect the interim order of the Karnataka High Court and act accordingly," Jnanendra said. (PTI)
A student's guardian in Karnataka Public School in Nellihudikeri in Kodagu district said that he will send his niece to school only after the court pronounces its verdict. 'Education is important but hijab is most important to us,' news agency ANI quoted him as saying.
Parents and teachers met for a meeting on the hijab issue in Govt Urdu School, Pakirnagar. The Tehsildar of Kapu Taluk told news agency ANI that the hijab-wearing students have not been made to sit in a separate room.