Amid hijab row: Indian college asks Sikh student to remove turban

BENGALURU: As the hijab row continues in India, a college in Bengaluru asked a Sikh girl to remove her turban in line with the order of the court.

Citing the interim order by the Karnataka High Court, according to which students should "refrain from wearing saffron shawls, scarfs, hijab, religious flags, or the likes within the classroom until further orders” in institutes that have “prescribed the student dress code/uniforms”, the college asked Muslim as well as Sikh students to abide by the rules.

The college instructed the students to follow the rules on February 16 after it was opened, according to the Indian media. The 17-year-old Sikh girl — who was asked subsequently to take off her turban — refused to do so.

The family of the girl argued and said that “the order does not mention anything about the Sikh turban.” The incident comes after the Karnataka High Court heard the petition filed by six students against not being allowed to wear hijab within college premises. Soon after that, students started protesting against and in favour of the decision.