Women who do not wear hijab shouldn't be considered "less Muslim," India's Karnataka government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday, claiming that it does not qualify as an Essential Religious Practice (ERP).
"When a student or administrators are enrolled in an educational institution, both are governed by the Education Act. And people should dress according to the School Act," Karnataka's Advocate General, Prabhuling Navadgi, said adding that the restriction applies only inside the classroom, not on the campus premises or while travelling to or from the establishment.
The state further stressed that by allowing the hijab to be worn, it would be opening up the floodgates to all sorts of other demands - today one person says it is their right to wear hijab, and tomorrow another will say they want to wear a shawl, and so on.
Navadgi concluded that a secular educational institution cannot have religious symbols.
The court has invited the petitioners' counsel to make a rebuttal argument on the state opinion on Thursday.