Hindu male students raise slogans against Muslim hijabi girls at Indian college

UDUPI: Rising intolerance against religious minorities, Islamophobia, and the ongoing hijab controversy in India’s Karnataka has sparked a tense situation when over 100 young male students wearing saffron scarves harassed and raised slogans against hijabi Muslim girls at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College (MGM) in Udupi today (Tuesday).

Students wearing the saffron scarves confronted  Muslim female students when they came out of their classrooms at the college, The News Minute   reported.

The charged moment was finally quelled by college authorities who could be seen keeping the two factions away from each other.

Earlier on Tuesday morning at MGM college, a handful of saffron scarf-wearing young men gathered near the gate as the college did not allow them to enter. Many of these students identified themselves as being a part of the ABVP (student wing of the BJP) and the Hindu Jagarana Vedike.

Meanwhile, Muslim girls who were wearing a hijab were asked to go inside the college building and wait in a separate classroom.

It was around 10.15 am when the small crowd swelled. And as the group of Muslim girls approached the gate, the mob started chanting slogans.

More students, both men and women, wearing saffron shawls gathered at the gate, many breaching the college walls to raise slogans against the young Muslim girls on campus.

“These boys don’t know what they’re doing. They’re totally blind. Some boys know they’re doing wrong but it’s all for fun,” said a Muslim girl.

“This is a matter of dignity. Hijab is our first priority. Education is the second priority,” Javeriya said.

Even after the confrontation was calmed, a large crowd of young men and women wearing saffron scarves and turbans continued to shout slogans and wave their scarves in the air.  According to college sources, the crowd comprised of both college students and outsiders.