The hijab row in Kerala refuses to die down. Some days after, much of the melee was caused after a Kochi-based Christian school, which objected to a muslim girl wearing a hijab, describing it as an act of flouting school uniform rules, the issue has taken over the entire Kerala by storm and escalated further.
The Christian school in question is run by the Latin Catholic Church, whose followers have been the victims of the infamous Munambam land row, where the Waqf board is in direct conflict with the Christians.
It all started when a Class 9 student coming from the Muslim community was not allowed to wear hijab at the Latin Catholic Church run St. Rita’s Public School in Palluruthy, Kochi. This brought school authorities into confrontation with the parents of the girl and thus turned into a religious issue.
The ruling LDF has been sympathetic towards Muslims. Kerala Education Minister V. Sivankutty has been consistently stating that his government was ready to assist the concerned girl who was barred from wearing a hijab at St. Rita’s Public School. He has earlier also asserted that the LDF government would not allow schools in the State to become religious flashpoints over students’ rights to freedom of religion and freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Constitution.
But the catholic newspaper Deepika which reflects the opinion of Kerala Christians, strongly criticised the move to challenge the dress code at St. Rita’s Public School in Palluruthy, Ernakulam. The editorial argued that those demanding the right to wear the hijab are “twisting the true meaning of religious freedom.”
Muslim organisations on other hand too are in no mood to compromise. The Congress’s strongest ally in Kerala. Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) national general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty has described the hijab controversy at St. Rita’s Public School at Palluruthy, Ernakulam, as a “shame on secular Kerala.”
“But we cannot remain silent on it any longer. Incidents of such intolerance are on the increase in Kerala. It is a shame. Sad that it has led to the termination of a girl’s education,” said Kunhalikutty.
Another Muslim organisations, have, on other hand launched a statewide campaign to identify schools that restrict students from wearing religious attire, including the headscarf. The Samastha Kerala Sunni Students Federation rolled out the survey via Google Forms to collect details of schools imposing such restrictions. This could be an effort on part of muslim organisations to further foment trouble in schools in the coastal state.
Muslim groups in Kerala in the month of June recently had opposed introduction of Zumba dance in schools by the state government. Zumba dance, a high-energy fitness programme introduced in schools in Kerala by the General Education Department as part of its anti-drug campaign when certain Muslim groups opposed it arguing that it goes against their moral values.
The hijab issue in Kerala has now snowballed into a major controversy. Both the Church and Muslim bodies have come into confrontation. The tense relations between the two communities had now left Congress worried, which claims the right over their vote bank. The forthcoming local bodies elections, followed by assembly elections in Kerala next year could see a sea change in Kerala’s fast diminishing bipolar politics in the days to come.
