A group of 22 prominent parliamentarians from Kuwait has written a joint letter to the Sabah Al Khalid Al Hamad Al Sabah government, demanding anyone linked to India’s BJP be banned from entering the emirate.
Mejbel Al Sharika, a prominent lawyer and the director of International Human Rights, shared the signed letter on Twitter, which states, “We can’t sit back and watch Muslim girls being publicly persecuted. It's time for the Muslim Ummah (Community) to unite.”
The MPs are pressing for a ban on BJP politicians entering the country amid a demonstration staged by Kuwaiti women on Thursday in front of the Indian embassy in support of Muslim students in India.
In videos, these women can be seen holding placards reading messages including "Hijab is a basic human right for Muslim women" and "India land of civilisation, your persecution of Muslims is barbarism."
Shashi Tharoor, a senior Congress parliamentarian and India's former junior foreign minister warned the Narendra Modi government of "international repercussions" in the wake of the hijab controversy.
Congress is India's main opposition party.
"I hear from friends across the Gulf of their dismay at rising Islamophobia in India and the PM's unwillingness to condemn it, let alone act decisively against it," Tharoor said on Friday.
The former UN representative of India also said that several Muslim leaders from the Gulf have expressed their unhappiness over the current situation, saying, "We like India. But don't make it so hard for us to be your friends."
The hijab row began in January when a high school in the Udupi district of Karnataka state asked six girl students to remove their headscarves before attending classes.
Soon, several other educational institutions imposed similar restrictions, forcing Muslim students to take the issue to the Karnataka High Court seeking protection of the right to express their religion.
The BJP-led Karnataka government supports the decision of government colleges, saying students should only wear approved uniforms.
The situation has drawn condemnation from Pakistani activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, the US, and the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Countries, who have called it "horrifying."
Meanwhile, the Indian Foreign Ministry responded on Thursday, saying foreign parties should not comment on India's internal matters.