Pakistan summons Indian envoy over hijab ban in Karnataka schools
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Pakistan on Wednesday deplored the "reprehensible act" of banning Muslim students from wearing hijab in the Indian state of Karnataka and summoned the Indian envoy to convey Islamabad's concerns, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Students at a government-run high school in the Indian state were told not to wear hijabs last month, an edict that soon spread to other educational institutions in the state. A hijab-clad student was also heckled and jeered at by a mob of Hindutva supporters in Karnataka on Tuesday.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the Foreign Office (FO) said that the Indian Charge d'Affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was conveyed the government's "grave concern and condemnation on the deeply reprehensible act" of banning Muslim students from wearing hijab in Karnataka.
"The Charge d’ Affaires was urged to convey to the government of India Pakistan’s extreme concern over the anti-hijab campaign, being spearheaded by RSS-BJP combine in Karnataka, which is part of its larger exclusionist and majoritarian agenda aimed at dehumanising and demonising Muslim women," the FO said.
The Indian diplomat was also conveyed Pakistan's concern that religious intolerance, negative stereotyping, stigmatisation and discrimination against Muslims was continuing unabated almost two years after the 2020 Delhi riots, which claimed the lives of 50 Muslims.
"The government of Pakistan is also alarmed at the deafening silence of the BJP leadership and the absence of discernable action against Hindutva proponents openly calling for [the] genocide of Muslims at the recently held Dharam Sansad in Haridwar, Uttarakhand," the statement said, referring to calls for the mass killing of Muslims by Hindutva leaders in India.
It was emphasised to the Indian envoy that the government of India must fulfil its responsibility to hold the perpetrators of harassment against women in Karnataka to account and take adequate measures to ensure the safety, security and well-being of Muslim women, the statement added.
"He was further urged to impress upon the government of India to take immediate action against [the] perpetrators and abettors of anti-Muslim violence in [the] Indian states of Assam, Tripura, Gurugram and Uttarakhand and bring justice to the victims of [the] Delhi riots," the FO said.
Pakistan also called on the international community, including the United Nations and the organisation of Islamic Cooperation, to take notice of the "worrying level of Islamophobia in India" and prevail upon Indian authorities to prevent systematic human rights violations against minorities in the country.
Earlier, on Tuesday a Muslim student Muskan from Mandya district in the Indian state of Karnataka who hackled back at the crowd of Hindutva extremist goons with sloganeering ‘Allah hu Akbar’ bagged applause for showing courage against the slogans raised by a mob wearing saffron scarves.
Video of Muskan has stormed social media and became top trends with hashtags ‘Allah o Akbar’, ‘Sherni’, Muskan and ‘HijabRow’.
She is a star. #AllahHuAkbar #AllahuAkbar pic.twitter.com/GFAkafPNDx
— Senator Dr. Afnan Ullah Khan (@afnanullahkh) February 8, 2022
If courage had a face. I just want 1% of her courage #AllahuAkbar ☝️ pic.twitter.com/Q7urnyA7ai
— Mav. (@Koturism) February 8, 2022
The college student, identified as Muskan, told India Today TV, "I was going to college to submit an assignment. There were some people who were not allowing me to go to the college because I was wearing a burqa. They were asking me to remove burqa and then go inside," Muskan told India Today TV.
#EXCLUSIVE | Hijab-clad girl Muskan, who was heckled by right wing, narrates what actually happened with her. Also, hear out what Karnataka Education Minister BC Nagesh has to say about the campus hijab row. (@Akshita_N) pic.twitter.com/WNRvwUpkJP
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) February 8, 2022
"...I came in and they started shouting Jai Shri Ram, Jai Shri Ram. I was just passing. There were a lot of boys standing. Some of them were outsiders and some from the college. But our principal and every lecturer supported me," she said.