Karnataka College Refuses To Let Muslim Students In Hijab To Answer Tests
Three Muslims girl students of PU College for Girls in Udupi district of Karnataka were disallowed from attending their science practical examinations for wearing hijab to class on February 28. They included A.H. Almas, one of the petitioners who have asked the Karnataka High Court to overturn the ban on wearing the hijab at school.
In an interim order, the court had on February 10 banned hijab and other religious clothing on campuses where uniforms are prescribed by the College Development Committees (CDC).
On Monday, the students were asked to leave the campus in “five minutes,” they alleged. In a video posted on Twitter, Almas said, “The principal told us that he will call the police if we do not leave in five minutes. It was very cruel.”
The students were not allowed to submit their practical record books for attestation from the faculty concerned, she alleged. “The teachers refused to sign the record books.”
At a press conference held last week, the students had requested the state government to postpone science practical examinations as students who wear hijab are not allowed to attend classes.
Kashmiri Journalist Re-Arrested After Court Grants Bail As Indian Government Stifles Free Speech
Kashmir journalist Fahad Shah, editor of the news portal ‘Kashmir Walla’ who was granted interim bail by a local court on February 26, was “re-arrested” in another case in Kashmir on February 28.
Shah was arrested on February 4 in Pulwama, a district in India’s only Muslim-majority province, after the police summoned him for questioning. The First Information Report (FIR) of the police states that Shah was being investigated for sedition and making statements causing public mischief, and unlawful activities under the anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Prior to his arrest, police had questioned Shah regarding The Kashmir Walla’s coverage of a gunfight between government forces and militants.
Two weeks ago, the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists along with 58 other press freedom organizations had written to the Lt. Governor of Jammu and Kashmir asking for Shah’s immediate release.
Dalit Activist Forced To Drink Urine In Madhya Pradesh; Dalit Father-Son Assaulted In Karnataka
Two people were arrested in Madhya Pradesh for allegedly beating up a Dalit activist and forcing him to drink urine in the state’s Gwalior district. The victim, Shashikant Jatav, was assualted on February 23 but the crime came to light on February 27.
Jatav was attacked as he had been campaigning to expose financial mismanagement by a village council. He is currently hospitalized at a hospital in New Delhi.
In Karnataka, upper caste Hindus attacked a Dalit man and his son for selling sugarcane juice by the roadside in Karnataka’s Hassan district. According to a complaint with the police, Chandru (50), a resident of Rudrapattana village, and his 22-year-old son Nitin were attacked by men saying Dalits cannot sell foodstuffs.
