Hijab row not controversy but conspiracy, alleges Kerala Governor

Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen has hs opined that uniform civil code and uniform dress code are necessary to stop conflicts. Right to religion is not above the right to education. Nasreen has likened the burqa to a chastity belt of the dark ages. “They've to be worn only when choices are taken away. Just like political Islam, burqa/hijab is also political today,” the author wrote on Twitter. Nasreen’s comments came amid a raging row that has erupted over Muslim girls demanding their right to wear the hijab, a headscarf, in higher educational institutes of Karnataka leading to protests and counter-protests, besides polarised opinions.

Meanwhile, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Saturday termed the ongoing hijab row as a “conspiracy” and said it was not a question of choice but whether a person would follow the regulations, dress code of an institution or not. Talking to reporters in New Delhi, eporters in New Delhi, he said  “please don’t take this as controversy…this is a conspiracy.” Noting that Muslim girls are doing “so well” everywhere and so they need encouragement, Khan also said they do not need to be pushed down. “It (wearing hijab) is not a question of choice…but it is a question of whether if you are joining an institution, are you going to follow the regulations, the discipline and the dress code or not,” he said.

BJP leader Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on protests over Hijab row spread to Rajasthan said, “This is very strange how some students suddenly started wearing Hijab. Some people are trying to divide the country. Students should follow the uniform code. This is manufactured dissent."

Uttarakhand Chief Minister and BJP leader Pushkar Singh Dhami declared that if his party retains power in the state, the government will soon form a committee to prepare a draft Uniform Civil Code to be implemented at the earliest in Uttarakhand. This UCC will provide for same laws regarding marriages, divorce, land-property and inheritance for all people, irrespective of their faith," CM Dhami was quoted by a news agency. Reacting to the announcement, BJP national general secretary BL Santhosh tweeted, "UCC in Uttarakhand... It's huge."

UCC in Uutarakhand .. It’s huge .. " New BJP govt will form a committee to prepare draft of Uniform Civil Code in state. This UCC will provide for same laws regarding marriages, divorce, land-property & inheritance for all people, irrespective of their faith" ...CM @pushkardhami

— B L Santhosh (@blsanthosh) February 12, 2022

Meanwhile, A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court earlier in the day seeking its direction to the Centre, states and Union territories to implement a common dress code for staff members and students in registered educational institutions for securing equality and promoting fraternity and national integration.