BENGALURU: Amid the ongoing hijab controversy,Karnataka Chief Minister Basaraj S Bommai has announced the closure of all high schools and colleges for the next three days and asked everyone to cooperate with orders. The action was taken to maintain peace and harmony, said CM in a tweet. The ongoing controversy occured when the governmnet changed the uniform policy. The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday, heard a petition filed by students at the Government Pre-University College, Udupi, alleging that they were not allowed to enter the classroom wearing hijab. The hearing will continue on Wednesday as well. The court asked the students to maintain peace.

The incident took place on January 1, this year. The problem occured by the introduction of a new policy on student uniforms that barred students wearing the hijab from entering the classroom. The authorities did not allow 28 students of Udupi Kundapura College to enter on the pretext that they were wearing hijab.

I appeal to all the students, teachers and management of schools and colleges as well as people of karnataka to maintain peace and harmony. I have ordered closure of all high schools and colleges for next three days. All concerned are requested to cooperate.

— Basavaraj S Bommai (@BSBommai) February 8, 2022

The students said that the principal had informed them that they would be allowed to enter the classroom only if they remove the hijab and that they should come to collge only after the release of court verdict. Following the incident, strong protests erupted at other government colleges in Udupi. As the protest spread to several colleges in the state, students also launched a campaign called 'I Love Hijab'.

In some colleges, Hindu students wore kavishal after Muslim students demanded that they be allowed to wear the hijab. Some organizations are working for this purposefully. Students of Sangh Parivar wearing saffron turbans and shawls protested against wearing hijab at Mahatma Gandhi College, Udupi, Karnataka. They said they would wear saffron shawls and turbans until the hijab was banned. With this, the hijab controversy has brought more educational institutions in the state into conflict. However, the Karnataka Home Minister said that schools are not a place to practice religion. Earlier, the Karnataka Chief Minister had said that only uniforms prescribed by the education department would be allowed.