'Motivated Comments Are Not Welcome': India Blasts Foreign Remarks on Karnataka Hijab Row
12:56 GMT 12.02.2022 (Updated: 16:32 GMT 09.03.2024)
© REUTERS / FRANCIS MASCARENHAS
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The row over hijabs started in India's Karnataka in December after some female college students in the city of Udupi were denied permission to attend classes wearing the Muslim headscarf. Subsequently, the protests turned violent, forcing the High Court to intervene, but the state's top judicial body has yet to announce a verdict on the matter.
Amid rising global attention regarding Karnataka's escalating hijab row, India's External Affairs Ministry on Saturday took a jab at foreign organisations and individuals commenting on the matter, saying "motivated comments on internal issues are not welcome."
The ministry's spokesperson Arindam Bagchi argued that "those who know India well would have a proper appreciation of the realities."
The ministry's spokesperson Arindam Bagchi argued that "those who know India well would have a proper appreciation of the realities."
Arindam Bagchi Tweet on Hijab Row
© Photo / Arindam Bagchi's statement on hijab row
Bagchi's response came after the Indian media asked for his reaction over remarks made by a few nations on the Karnataka state government's push to implement a dress code in educational institutions.
On Friday, a US government organisation tasked with tracking and monitoring religious freedom outside America slammed the Karnataka government's handling of the hijab row.
A top International Religious Freedom (IRF) official, Rashad Hussain, tweeted "hijab bans in schools violate religious freedom", as he referred to the Karnataka government's decision to not permit students inside classes to wear any kind of religious attire, including the saffron scarves worn by Hindus.
On Friday, a US government organisation tasked with tracking and monitoring religious freedom outside America slammed the Karnataka government's handling of the hijab row.
A top International Religious Freedom (IRF) official, Rashad Hussain, tweeted "hijab bans in schools violate religious freedom", as he referred to the Karnataka government's decision to not permit students inside classes to wear any kind of religious attire, including the saffron scarves worn by Hindus.
On Tuesday, the state's ruling party announced the closure of educational institutions till the High Court gives its verdict on a clutch of petitions related to the hijab ban.
The Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government's decision to close schools and colleges came after the row took a communal colour, before spreading to other parts of the state with a number of right-wing outfits launching a counter agitation backing Hindu students in their opposition to the hijab.
The Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government's decision to close schools and colleges came after the row took a communal colour, before spreading to other parts of the state with a number of right-wing outfits launching a counter agitation backing Hindu students in their opposition to the hijab.
