A video of a Muslim girl wearing hijab and offering Namaz inside the classroom has stirred a controversy in Madhya Pradesh’s Dr Harisingh Gaur University (HGU). The university has now ordered a probe into the incident after receiving a complaint from Hindu activist group Hindu Jagran Manch.
A memorandum demanding action was submitted to the university in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, after which the probe was ordered. University registrar Santosh Sahgaura confirmed to news agency PTI that the complaint along with the video clip has been received by the university.
“A five-member committee has been constituted to look into this matter. The committee will submit a report within three days and further action will be taken based on this report,” the university registrar said.
The university chancellor Neelima Gupta confirming the incident said ,””A committee has been formed to investigate this. Along with this, students have been told to keep religious worship at home. The university is for studying.”
HGU media officer, Vivek Jaiswal said that the university doesn’t have a dress code on the campus, but students must come to classes in basic ethical dressing.
Hindu Jagran Manch’s Sagar unit president Umesh Saraf, who filed the complaint, told PTI that the girl in the video has been attending lectures wearing hijab for a long time. He said ,“Such religious activities should not be allowed in the educational institutions. She was coming in hijab for long but she was spotted offering Namaz inside the class on Friday afternoon. This is objectionable as educational institutions are a place for every religion. A complaint in this regard has been submitted to the vice-chancellor and the registrar.”
Hijab in classrooms has become a major talking point in India in recent days after colleges in Udupi, Karnataka stopped students from attending classes while wearing a hijab, which is not a part of their uniform. The decision was challenged in courts, where Karnataka High Court held that hijab is not an essential religious practice, and allowed colleges to follow their college uniform policy.