Over 1,000 Muslim girls dropped out of PU colleges in Karnataka during hijab controversy: PUCL report

The study was conducted by the PUCL in five Karnataka districts – Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Shimoga, and Raichur. The PUCL alleged that Hindutva organisations carried out a vilification campaign against hijab-wearing students and the inaction of the government and the police gave implicit encouragement to such fundamentalist forces.

However, the report does not throw light on the purported role of banned organisations like the Campus Front of India (CFI) and the Popular Front of India (PFI) on the hijab issue.

The PUCL study notes that the state government’s response in the monsoon session of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly revealed that a total of 1,010 hijab-wearing girls dropped out of PU colleges “because of the hijab ban and other reasons as well”.

The PUCL said the government has failed to fulfill its obligation to uphold Article 41 of the Constitution (effective provision for securing the right to education).

The PUCL report further states that Muslim girl students faced humiliation and harassment in classrooms at the hands of the faculty, college administration, and classmates.

The PUCL also found that in the aftermath of the hijab ban, students were coerced to remove their hijab and enter college premises and such students who continued their education in the same colleges faced many challenges when they approached the authorities.

“Some faced suspensions and disciplinary action because of organising protests against the imposed ban. Many students who were forced to drop out or collect their Transfer Certificates before the end of the academic year, applied for transfers to minority institutes. Several students were forced to drop out of their studies altogether, due to inaccessibility to alternative paths towards higher education,” the report says.

The PUCL has urged the state government to ensure that students’ rights are protected as mandated under Articles 15, 21, 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. It also asked the government to compensate affected students and urged the Speaker to introduce through a consultative process a code of conduct for parliamentarians to uphold constitutional principles of fraternity.