Since that unholy alliance between Deve Gowda and BJP, one has been watching
with worry the emergence of Karnataka as the next experimental base for the
Sangh Parivar. I hope to write more on this soon. Anyways, Karnataka would be a
more significant lab given its diversity and comparative cosmopolitanness and
the site of the battle is once again the ownership of the woman, her body and
choices.
Todays Hindu reported this and unfiortunately this has escaped the attention of
most of the messiahs of liberal thought And it might be noteworthy on how the
Hindu has framed the issue as well
http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/03/stories/2009030354850700.htm
PANJA VILLAGE/SULLIA TALUK: Muslim girls of the Government Composite
Pre-University College here have been banned from wearing burkhas by local
Hindutva outfits and the Bharatiya Janata Party-affiliated Akhil Bharathiya
Vidyarthi Parishad.
According to Lakshmisha Gobbalathadka, the self-proclaimed architect of the
ban, the idea was first proposed to the college authorities at his behest by a
few students affiliated to the ABVP in early January this year.
“Four of my boys spoke to the college principal and demanded that Muslim girls
be banned from wearing burkhas in classrooms,” said Mr. Gobbalathadka, who is
also the district convener of a fringe outfit called Hindu Jagarana Vedike.
“We agreed immediately. We did not want any trouble,” said a college official.
But soon the demands began to grow. Emboldened by the support the boys received
from a section of students, they went on to extend the ban to the entire
28-acre campus.
Once the ban was formalised by the college authorities, a groups of boys took
it upon themselves to impose it. “Every day, the boys sit at the tea stall near
the college gate. If we take even one step into the college gate with the
burkha on, they start scolding us,” said a 16-year-old class 10 student.
Violence on campus
Meanwhile, another controversy broke out on the campus after the ABVP alleged
that a Muslim boy had made a proposal of marriage to a Hindu girl. “Our boys
beat up the Muslim boy on February 28,” claimed Mr. Gobbalathadka. At the
college’s development committee meeting on January 29, a large group of
students, led by Mr. Gobbalathadka, barged in demanding that Muslim girls stop
wearing the burkha even on their way to and from the college. The demand
created a furore dividing committee members, according to college principal,
Balasubramaniam. Soon, hundreds of activists entered the venue and physically
attacked Muslim committee members and Hindus who opposed their demands.
Following the incident, Mr. Gobbalathadka and his followers were arrested and
remanded in judicial custody.
Growing support
“Many others have been inspired by the success we have had here. Soon, this
campaign will spread to all government colleges in the region,” Mr.
Gobbalathadka told The Hindu, and added that the garment would soon be banned
from public spaces in the entire village of Panja.
Panja gram panchayat president Rafique, who sustained injuries during the
January 29 violence, said: “Some may feel that the burkha is a symbol of
oppression of women. Even if that is true, a resistance to the garment should
come from within the community. How can we tolerate somebody using force to ban
the burkha?”
Reacting to the issue, Deputy Director of Public Instruction C. Chame Gowda
told The Hindu, “The college authorities might have agreed to the ban under
pressure. But there is no law that prevents the burkha. Everybody has the right
to practice their religious beliefs as long as it does not inconvenience
others.”
Deputy Commissioner V. Ponnuraj expressed concern over the developments and
said he was still inquiring into the issue. “The rule of law and the
Constitution will prevail,” he said.
