Bengaluru: The Karnataka government Thursday said there was “nothing vindictive” about holding back an award to a teacher from Kundapur, whose action of closing the gates on hijab-clad students became the flashpoint of minority rights in the southern state and national discourse two years ago.
B.G. Ramakrishna, principal of Government Pre-University College in Kundapur, a coastal town in Udupi district, was all set to receive the “best teacher” award on the occasion of Teachers’ Day from the Siddaramaiah-led government.
However, after protests and opposition to Ramakrishna’s nomination as well as his stand during the hijab row, the state government decided to withhold the award.
Madhu Bangarappa, Karnataka’s minister for primary and secondary education, Thursday said the decision to withhold the award was made after the government was made aware of his role in the hijab row that engulfed Karnataka in the beginning of 2022.
“Once it has come to the public domain, to our knowledge also, then we had to put it (the award) on hold for now. Later we will make a decision,” he told reporters.
He added that it was not about following government orders, but the way in which he (Ramakrishna) followed them.
The minister did not name Ramakrishna. However, at least two persons aware of the developments confirmed that the award committee had nominated Ramakrishna. There was nothing vindictive about the withholding of the award, Bangarappa said.
Ramakrishna did not respond to ThePrint’s calls. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
According to Bangarappa, district committees recommend a name for awards, which are then sent to the state committee which announces the award.
A video of Ramakrishna closing the gates on young hijab-clad students, while they pleaded with him to allow them inside, fuelled the protests and resistance against the ban.
Two days later, on 5 February, the then Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government issued an official order that said uniforms must be worn compulsorily and no exception can be made for the wearing of the hijab.
The issue had flared up in January after students of Udupi Women’s PU College approached the Karnataka High Court seeking interim relief to attend classes wearing hijab. The state education department, meanwhile, asked all government colleges to maintain ‘status quo’ on dress code.
Most heads of educational institutions, especially in the coastal region, interpreted the 5 February order to deny entry to any student wearing the hijab. Every day, videos of students sitting outside schools, colleges and other places began to emerge across Karnataka.
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‘Stirring a hornet’s nest’
In January 2022, a bunch of female Muslim students at the Udupi college demanded that they be allowed to wear hijab inside classrooms as well. These young girls then started a sit-down protest inside the premises of the college, attracting attention from the authorities.
The Campus Front of India, the students’ wing of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI), backed the students and pro-Hindutva groups also got involved, demanding that the hijab be banned in educational institutions.
The Bommai government order issued subsequently triggered a wave of protests from rights activists for denying Muslim girls access to education.
Yashpal Suvarna, then vice-chairman of the development committee of the college in Udupi and the catalyst in forcing the ban on the hijab, said the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government was insulting teachers in order to appease Muslims.
“The state government has insulted the entire district of Udupi, done injustice to the teaching profession. After he (Ramakrishna) was chosen by the committee, then withholding the award is nothing but for appeasing Muslim community,” Suvarna told reporters Thursday.
He added that Siddaramaiah was “testing the patience of Udupi district” and his government had “stirred a hornet’s nest” by denying Ramakrishna the award.
The Social Democratic Party of India, political wing of the PFI, had raised objections to the grant of the award to Ramakrishna as well.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Also Read: Is hijab a choice? India can’t defend secularism on knife’s edge, like France
Why does Congress govt so much desperate to appease muslim by doing anything?
This is one of the biggest blunder they do in Karnataka. In next election Congress is out of govt in Karnataka