Five of seven girls remove hijab to attend classes in Afzalpur college

In the same college, students take off saffron shawls to go to classrooms

As the row over hijab and saffron shawl is going on in the State, some students in a few colleges in Kalaburagi and Vijayanagara districts came wearing saffron shawls creating tension on the premises of their institutions on Tuesday.

Hundreds of saffron shawl-clad students, both boys and girls, entered the Government Pre-University College premises at Mannur in Afzalpur taluk, Kalaburagi district, raising slogans and demanding equality in places of learning. The authorities concerned prevented them from entering classrooms. The students, who were said to have been backed by Sri Ram Sene, started arguing with the authorities and demanded that they do not allow hijab-clad girls into college.

After a few minutes of discussions and arguments, college principal Shantharasa Hosamani and other teaching staff managed to convince the students of the need to remain calm. The students obliged him and later took off their saffron shawls and attended classes.