Udupi, : The Campus Front of India (CFI) organized a protest in Mangalore against the alleged false cases filed by Shri Ramakunjeshwar First Grade College against its Muslim students who protested against the hijab ban imposed by the college.
Shri Ramakunja College had lodged a complaint against 14 students after a massive protest demanding that the college authorities must permit Muslim girls to wear headscarves on the campus. The college also lodged a complaint against Mohammed Tufail, president of the state unit of CFI.
In his protest address, Farhan Honnalla, president of the Udupi district unit of the CFI, accused the college of using illegal ways to control Muslim students who were demanding their rights to wear headscarves.
Although the All College Students’ Union had organized a peaceful protest demanding that Muslim students must be allowed to wear headscarves and submitted a memorandum to the principal of the college on July 20 in the presence of the police, the college authorities filed cases against innocent students.
Further, he said that no educational institution can impose ban on headscarves in India as the country’s constitution gives each citizen the right to follow his/her religion. The recent move of some educational institutions to ban headscarves is not only a violation of the students’ fundamental right, but also an assault on their religious beliefs.
He also expressed concern for those students who are being allegedly harassed by the authorities of Shri Ramakunjeshwara College. He also accused the college authorities of refusing to allow them to attend classes for over two weeks, owing to which they have lost attendance.
He urged the president of India, the governor of Karnataka, and the union human resources development ministry to intervene in this matter.
