Kanthapuram flays ban on hijab on campuses

‘A violation of people’s fundamental rights’

India’s Grand Mufti Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar has described the denial of entry for hijab-wearing students into certain college campuses in Karnataka as a violation of people’s fundamental rights. He said that India was a secular country, and the failure of those in governance in understanding and imbibing that spirit would be detrimental to the country’s integrity.

He said it ought to be suspected from certain moves that there were attempts to segregate Muslims as second-grade citizens. “Each person in this country is free to believe in and practice any faith of their choice. The Constitution guarantees that. The right of Muslim women to wear hijab is also guaranteed by the Constitution,” said Kanthapuram.

He said that like hijab, other religious marks like bhindi, turban, and cross were also symbols of India’s diversity. “Those involved in sectarian activity should withdraw from it,” he said in a statement here on Sunday.