Kamal Haasan on Hijab row: What’s happening in Karnataka shouldn’t be allowed in Tamil Nadu

Actor-politician Kamala Haasan has expressed concerns about the political controversy over allowing Hijab in classrooms in Karnataka.

By: Entertainment Desk

Bengaluru | February 9, 2022 02:06 PM IST

3 min read

Kamal Haasan called on “progressive forces to be more vigilant than before”. (File photo)

Actor-politician Kamal Haasan on Wednesday expressed shock over the incidents that unfolded in Karnataka on Tuesday. He also called on the “progressive forces” in the state to ensure it doesn’t spread to Tamil Nadu.

“What’s happening in Karnataka is causing me distress. A poisonous wall of communalism is being raised among innocent students. What’s happening in our neighbouring state should not come to Tamil Nadu. It is time for all progressive forces to be more vigilant than before,” he wrote on his Twitter page.

The ongoing protests in Karnataka against allowing girls wearing Hijab to attend classes in government-run schools and colleges hit a crescendo on Tuesday, with incidents of stone-pelting and lathicharge being reported in several districts.

National Award-filmmaker PC Sreeram also reacted strongly to the Hijab controversy. “They talk about development but end up doing what they are known for and what they have been doing when ever elecrction r round the corner. The fall is not far of,” he tweeted while sharing a drawing of the burqa-clad girl who stood up to a mob of boys who heckled her over her clothing choice at a college.

“It is just heartbreaking that we have come down to this. Why do we hate our own so much ! I have just been numb watching this,” tweeted director Bejoy Nambiar while sharing the video of the burqa-clad girl standing up for herself.

Filmmaker-actor Lakshmy Ramakrishnan also slammed those who supported banning Hijab in schools and colleges. “I studied in a convent, we were not allowed to wear ‘pottu’ & flowers, after much protest ban was lifted. What do you folks who r supporting #Hijab ban say for that? If in a Muslim school, Hindu girls are forced to wear #Hijab as uniform, will u agree? It has to be left to girls,” she wrote on her Twitter account.

After the situation went out of control on Tuesday, the Karnataka government announced a three-day holiday for all educational institutions across the state.

From the homepage