Hijab row threatens constitutional sanctity, cultural grandeur

The controversy over the hijab has only shown how a non-issue could trigger unrest in society. The Constitution of India is very clear on the issue. The Supreme Court has repeatedly stated that the State cannot dictate what people eat or wear.

The freedom to choose attire is a fundamental right and cannot be taken away except in exceptional circumstances. The ban is also against the concept of secularism, which forms the basic structure of the constitution because the ban discriminates between Muslim female students and non-Muslim female students. The Supreme Court has ruled that clothing is an expression of one's individuality and Article 19 (1) protects freedom of expression.

The constitution gives freedom to pursue a faith under Article 25. So, the ban on hijab not only violates the right of expression, but also the fundamental right of practicing a religion. A close look will reveal that the ban also violates some other provisions of fundamental rights. One important point is missing in the debate on the issue: that it is against the federal structure of our democracy. In this case, the State has interfered with the power of the Centre in legislating and regulating the fundamental rights of citizens. Parliament alone can deliberate on the matter, too, without touching upon the basic structure of the constitution.

The fact that the controversy has erupted in the midst of assembly elections in five States, including Uttar Pradesh, cannot be ignored. Though it is not known whether the agitation is an outcome of a planned political move to polarize people during elections, it will definitely impact them. The state of Uttar Pradesh cannot remain unaffected by the controversy.

In Uttar Pradesh, Muslims account for approximately 20 per cent of the electorate. Maybe the BJP is preparing the ground for the Karnataka assembly elections scheduled for next year, and the issue has also added flavor to the campaigning for the UP elections. Another notable coincidence is that the controversy has erupted at a time when the majority of western Uttar Pradesh was scheduled to vote. This part of the state is currently portrayed as the lost bastion of the BJP.

Some analysts have speculated that the BJP's dominant Jats would defect. The region has been prone to communal polarisation since a few years back and has seen some of the worst riots in the past decades. The region played a major role in bringing the BJP to power in 2017 after the breakdown of the age-old social alliance between Jats and Muslims. However, the farmers' movement seems to have revived the traditional social alliance.

Even if we keep political and electoral considerations aside, the societal impact of the controversy is huge. How can one reconcile the simple fact that the headscarf-wearing girls were prevented from joining their classes when they were one month away from the exams? The controversy will also help orthodoxy persuade people to follow religious norms more strictly.

It will certainly harm the prospect of Muslim girls' going to school. Poor parents will prefer to stop their education rather than allow their daughters to go to college without a hijab. The statistics on Muslim education already give a gloomy picture; this controversy will further exacerbate it. People must know that, with a high rate of illiteracy, only five per cent of Muslim women reach the level of higher studies. In this backdrop, who will endorse a principal's asking his headscarf-wearing students not to enter the college?

The scene of a group of students with saffron flags in their hands and saffron shawls on their bodies shouting at a burqa-clad girl is really horrifying. It only reveals the sickness that Indian society is currently infested with. It manifests the hatred brewing in the minds of young people. This is not normal for a twenty-second-century classroom where students show anger towards their fellow students who come in different attire.

This is the result of the spread of the communal ideology of Hindutva among the students. Students must be reminded that in India, diversity has been the norm and uniformity the exception. In this country, no one can imagine a teacher refusing to admit a girl on the ground that she is wearing a saree or headscarf. We must not forget that, unlike the west, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, we and our nation have grown in religious, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity rather than uniformity.

We must also remember that the Indian independence movement thwarted colonial rulers' attempts to impose uniformity and worked tirelessly to preserve diversity. However, the rulers succeeded in creating groups that were opposed to preserving unity amid diversity. The nation had to undergo division.

A few interventions in the Hijab controversy are worth discussing. Inspired by feminism, people are raising the point that the hijab is a symbol of patriarchy. They are perfectly right that the dress symbolizes patriarchy. However, they miss the point that the current ban has not been done to do away with the patriarchy. Had it been so, there would have been a ban on all such symbols, such as vermilion on the head and others. Here are issues of freedom of expression and freedom of conscience.

Is it not a time to ponder over what course our democracy is taking? The fringe groups object to admitting the hijab-wearing girls, and the state government steps in to help them by banning the hijab in the name of "equality, integrity, and public order." It is also depressing that saffron shawls, which have long symbolised piety, have become a tool for intimidating poor Muslim girls. Here, Muslim girls' rights to take education are at stake, as is the constitutional sanctity and cultural grandeur of India.