Indian Supreme Court has refused to hear the plea on the hijab ban in educational institutions. In the midst of India’s ongoing hijab issue, the country’s Supreme Court ruled on Friday that “it will only intervene at an appropriate moment,” according to NDTV.
After the state’s high court instructed students to avoid wearing “religious garments” until it resolves a case involving hijab prohibitions in schools and colleges, a girl in the Indian state of Karnataka appealed to the supreme court.
“Don’t let these things get out of hand on a national scale. We would only intervene when it is necessary “Chief Justice NV Ramana was cited as saying that he denied an immediate hearing on the case.
The Supreme Court resisted a lawyer’s request to hear the case, claiming that it had “far-reaching ramifications” and that students have been wearing the hijab or headscarf for ten years, according to the article.
The Karnataka High Court announced on Thursday that the case would be heard again on Monday to determine whether schools and colleges had the authority to prohibit students from wearing the hijab in the classroom.
“In light of some characteristics of personal law, these things give rise to certain constitutional problems of crucial importance,” the judge hearing the case was cited as saying while referring it to a panel of judges led by the chief justice of the Karnataka High Court.
The petitioners’ attorney, however, protested the interim order, claiming it amounted to “suspension of our rights,” according to The Wire.
A school ban on Islamic headscarves or hijab has sparked outrage among Muslims in southern India, with massive crowds marching to the streets to protest the restrictions.
The standoff in Karnataka has raised anxieties among minorities in the state about what they say is escalating persecution under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist regime.
A lone Muslim student wearing the hijab is encircled by Hindu male students yelling religious slogans while attempting to enter her school in Karnataka, according to a video widely shared online.
The protesting students in Kolkata on Wednesday were predominantly women wearing hijabs, a Reuters eyewitness said, adding the demonstrations were without incident. The students told Reuters that they plan to reconvene on Thursday.
“We will keep protesting until the government stops insulting the students,” said Tasmeen Sultana, one of the protestors. “We want our fundamental rights back…you cannot take away our rights.”
The government of Karnataka, which is ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and has a Muslim population of 12%, has issued an order requiring students to adhere to school dress codes.
