Karnataka revokes hijab ban: Siddaramaiah government allows religious symbols with uniform in classrooms

The fresh directive, issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, permits students in schools and colleges across the state to wear items such as the hijab, turban, sacred thread and rudraksha, provided these do not disrupt discipline, safety or student identification.

In a major policy reversal, the Karnataka government on Wednesday scrapped the controversial 2022 order that had effectively prohibited hijabs inside classrooms where uniforms were mandatory, reopening educational institutions to students wearing limited religious and traditional symbols alongside prescribed uniforms. The fresh directive, issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, permits students in schools and colleges across the state to wear items such as the hijab, turban, sacred thread and rudraksha, provided these do not disrupt discipline, safety or student identification.

“The Government Order No: EP 14 SHH 2022, dated: 05.02.2022, is hereby withdrawn with immediate effect,” the notification issued on May 13 stated.

The Siddaramaiah-led government clarified that no student could be forced either to wear or remove religious or traditional symbols permitted under the revised order. It stressed that educational institutions should remain spaces that encourage “scientific temper, rationality, equality, dignity, fraternity, discipline, mutual respect, social harmony, and the responsibilities of our constitutional democracy.”

The move formally overturns one of the most politically charged decisions taken by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government during Karnataka’s hijab row in 2022, a controversy that sparked statewide protests, divided campuses and triggered a legal battle that eventually reached the Supreme Court.

Welcoming the decision, Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad said the order would help ensure equal treatment for students from all communities.

“I welcome the new order of the Karnataka government. I thank the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar,” Arshad said, adding, “There is discrimination against various students belonging to different communities, not only minority communities. It is not only about a hijab. Whether it is a mangalsutra, hijab, scarf, or janivara, all these are traditions being followed for centuries.”

Calling education a fundamental right, he questioned why students should be prevented from attending institutions because of traditional attire.

“How can the government discriminate against those students who follow their tradition? How can the government ask them to keep them away from the educational institutions? The government's job is to broaden the spectrum so that every section of society, including the youngsters come and get educated,” he added.

The order also underlined that secularism did not mean opposition to personal faith, but equal respect for all religions and non-discriminatory conduct by institutions.

“Secularism in a constitutional sense is not an opposition to personal beliefs; rather, it is the giving of equal respect to all, institutional impartiality, and non-discriminatory behaviour,” the order stated.

Karnataka Minister Madhu Bangarappa defended the government’s decision, saying religion should not become an obstacle to education.

“Religious practices shouldn't come in between students' education and their future. The Chief Minister was really hurt when the 24th incident happened. Our constitution allows all religions,” he said.

The hijab controversy first erupted in January 2022 at a government pre-university college in Udupi after Muslim students alleged they were denied entry into classrooms because they wore hijabs. Similar incidents soon surfaced in several districts, leading to protests by groups both supporting and opposing the headscarf.

As tensions intensified, the then BJP government issued an order on February 5, 2022, directing students to adhere to uniforms prescribed by educational institutions. Where no uniform existed, students were instructed to wear clothing consistent with “equality, integrity and public order”. The order later became the basis for restricting hijabs in several institutions.

The issue quickly transformed into one of Karnataka’s most divisive political flashpoints. Some colleges suspended classes amid protests, while visuals of students wearing saffron shawls and hijabs became symbolic of the confrontation unfolding across campuses.

Muslim students challenged the government’s order before the Karnataka High Court, arguing that wearing the hijab was protected under constitutional guarantees of religious freedom and privacy. However, the High Court upheld the government’s stand in March 2022, ruling that the hijab was not an essential religious practice in Islam and affirming the authority of institutions to enforce dress codes.

The matter later reached the Supreme Court, where a two-judge bench delivered a split verdict in October 2022. One judge upheld the restrictions while the other ruled in favour of the petitioners. The case remains pending before a larger bench.

The Congress, then in Opposition, had opposed the restrictions and promised to revisit the issue if voted to power.

In its latest order, the Karnataka government said it reconsidered the matter after receiving concerns regarding “traditional and belief-based markers worn by students of various religions and traditions”.

“Upon re-examining this matter, the Government is of the opinion that the discipline and order of the institution can be maintained without restricting such limited traditional and practice-based symbols usually worn by students,” the order stated.

At the same time, the government clarified that uniforms would continue to remain compulsory in all institutions.

“All government schools, aided educational institutions, private educational institutions, and pre-university colleges in the state shall continue to prescribe and mandate uniforms as per the rules,” it said.

The order also made clear that religious or traditional symbols could only supplement the uniform and should not alter its basic purpose.

“Such traditional and practice-based symbols must be supplementary to the uniform and must not change, modify, or defeat the basic purpose of the prescribed uniform,” it said.

The directive specifically listed “Peta/Turban, Janivara/Sacred thread, Shivadaara, Rudrakshi, Headscarf (Hijab)” among the permitted symbols.

Importantly, the government barred educational institutions from preventing students from entering classrooms, examination halls or participating in academic activities because they wore such symbols with their uniforms.

“No student shall be denied entry to the educational institution, classroom, examination hall, or academic activities for the reason of wearing such limited traditional and practice-based symbols with the prescribed uniform,” the order stated.

The government also clarified that any circular, instruction or institutional practice inconsistent with the new directive would be treated as invalid with immediate effect.

(With agencies' inputs)