In the midst of the Hijab row in Karnataka, another incident heated up in the state’s Indi town. The college authorities refused to let a student of Government Degree College, K.K. into the campus because he was wearing a tilak (vermillion) on his forehead.

According to the reports, the lecturer barred the student Gangadhar Badigar at the gate and asked him to first erase the tilak before entering college. The authorities asked him to remove the customary tilak as it was also creating problems amid the hijab and saffron scarves controversy which later resulted in a heated argument between the teachers and the student.

A video clip of the incident went viral on social media. When the student was questioned about the whole incident, Badiger told that applying tilak is part of our culture. Following that, HD Anand Kumar, SP (Vijaypura), stated that it was a minor matter for which no complaint had been filed. Our gate staff intervened and helped to improve the situation.

The Karnataka High Court’s interim order and the state government’s order both banned the wearing of hijab and saffron scarves in the wake of the state’s hijab controversy. The orders did not prohibit anyone from wearing vermilion on their forehead.

However, the Muslim girls’ lawyers argued in the High Court that the hijab was as harmless a religious practice as vermilion on the forehead, bangles, turban worn by Sikhs, and wearing Rudrakshas.

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For the unversed, the hijab controversy erupted in Udupi’s government college last month when six girl students wearing hijab were stopped from entering the campus, but they still came wearing it. Following that controversy, a ruckus about hijab flared in other colleges as well.

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