On Thursday, December 8, St Joseph Engineering College Mangaluru in Karnataka suspended four male students who danced wearing burqas at an event held in the college. The video of the event went viral on social media prompting the college’s principal to suspend the students and initiate an inquiry.
The college, in a statement, said the dance was by Muslim students who “barged on stage” during the informal part of the students’ association’s inaugural.
“It was not part of the approved program and the students involved have been suspended pending enquiry. The college does not support or condone any activities that could harm the harmony between communities and everyone,” it said.
In the viral video, the four male students were seen dancing on stage to the Bollywood item song ‘Fevicol Se’ from the Salman Khan starer movie Dabangg 2. The engineering students who are donning Burqas are seen dancing while the audience applauds and cheers them on.
The video, which was uploaded by a number of social media users, sparked outrage as it was claimed that the youths ‘insulted’ the burqa and hijab. Several social media users also deemed the dance to be unsuitable due to its obscene steps.