In the past few hours, Hollywood actor Will Smith slapping comedian Chris Rock over a joke about the former’s wife at the Oscars became the talk of the town pretty much across the world. People around the world discussed the incident and talked about various such events from the past. In India though, Smith’s slap reminded people of an incident that took place in 2011 with actor and producer Kamaal R Khan or KRK, who is known for his mercurial outbursts and a habit of keeping himself in the limelight through courting controversies and posting unflattering tweets.
KRK, who rose to fame with the reality TV show Bigg Boss Season 3(2009), had in 2011 participated in the Zee Golden Awards, where he resorted to violence after being awarded the ‘Golden Balti Award’. The Awards night was hosted by comedians Ali Asgar and Suresh Menon, who during a comedy gig decided to pull KRK’s leg. Asgar and Menon announced that the year’s Lifetime Achievement Balti (Bucket) Award went to none other than KRK. A ‘Gold’ plated memento of a bucket was gifted to KRK by the hosts, in what happened to be a scripted comedy sequence in the awards show.
Appalled by the action, KRK refused to hold the ‘gold bucket’ offered by the hosts and instead launched a tirade against the hosts. In an offensive tone, KRK retorted, “Both of you jokers have showcased your worth (Aukaat). Jokers worth Rupees 2 will remain jokers forever. I have no connection with the TV industry, give it to somebody else who deserves it.” While KRK was in no mood to take it sportingly, Ali Asgar asserted that his magnanimity in sacrificing the award is why he deserves the balti award.
KRK who got agitated by the move grabbed the award and smashed it to the ground. He got up from his seat and left the function grudgingly. KRK’s self-centred appearance and the drama he created added much to Zee TV’s performance ratings on Television. It was then that late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who was then a popular face on TV with Pavitra Rishta, accepted the same award from Ali Asgar and Suresh Menon.
Bollywood functions are often laced with celebrity tantrums which are often covered up with star-studded performances by the gaze of the camera. However, some one-to-one celebrity feuds including those of Ashutosh Gowariker and Sajid Khan, Salman Khan and singer Mithoon have made live award shows numbingly awkward. It was for the Academy Awards to make similar news when actor Will Smith slapped Comic Chris Rock after the latter made a joke about the health condition of Will Smith’s wife.
In the Kareli area of the Narsinghpur district of Madhya Pradesh, a case of a Muslim youth giving triple talaq to a Hindu girl after eight years of marriage and pressurizing her for halala has come to light. On the complaint of the woman, police have registered a case.
According to reports, the victim Hindu girl had married a man named Farukh in 2014. It was a love marriage. The girl alleged that Farukh deceived her. Earlier, he said he would not force her to change her religion. But soon after the marriage the husband and the in-laws started to exert pressure on her to change her religion.
The victim had alleged that she was also harassed over dowry. She tolerated this all for the sake of her daughters. On 24th March 2022, Farukh divorced pronouncing “talaq” three times and is now pressurising her for halala to resume married life.
Nikah halala is a practice in which a woman, after being divorced by triple talaq, marries another man, consummates the marriage, and gets divorced again in order to be able to remarry her former husband.
The report also said that the girl was forced to offer namaz. When she refused, she was reportedly beaten by her husband and in-laws. “They also forcibly fed me meat. My husband was a hell-raiser. He used to beat me up routinely under the influence of alcohol. My husband also said that both the children were not his. They didn’t allow them to perform any pooja. When I tried to keep a fast on Navratri, they would bring meat and liquor into the house. I was also asked to eat meat in Navratri. He always threatened me with giving triple Talaq. Farukh’s mother used to say that we will get him married to ten women,” the victim lamented.
Kareli police station in-charge Akhilesh Mishra said that based on the complaint of the 26-year-old woman, a case has been registered under the Religious Freedom Act, triple talaq law, dowry harassment, and atrocity act. The police have named Farukh along with his family members as accused. They have also arrested one of the accused while the remaining ones are said to be absconding.
Hindu activist group Hindu Janajagruti Samiti has given a call to boycott halal meat while launching a nationwide campaign demanding a ban on Halal products. The Halal certification labels food products permissible to consume in Islam excluding pork-related edibles, animal fats and other dairy generated products and all types of alcohol.
Hindu Janajagruti Samiti Karnataka spokesperson has released a video asserting that thousands of crores of rupees are being collected over certifying meat as halal, which it claimed would pave the way for India to become an Islamic state. Gowda argued that this money is used to fund anti-national conspiracies in the whole of India against the state.
“We urge all Hindus to boycott halal meat, Halal products and use the Jhatka meet which employs the Hindu way of slaughtering. Let us participate in the economic boycott of such antinational activities,” Mohan Gowda urged in the video released by a handle on Twitter.
The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti has objected that Halal meat which is cut using practices pandering to Islam cannot be offered to Hindu deities. Talking to Lokmat News, Gowda said, “While Ugadi is around the corner, meat is brought in large quantities and hence we have launched a campaign to boycott Halal certified meat since according to Islam it is offered to Allah first. Such meat cannot be offered to Hindu Gods and Goddesses.”
Gowda further elaborated, “Whenever a Muslim man kills any animal, it is faced towards the mecca and namaz is offered while killing it. The meat of such animals cannot be offered to Hindu deities. In Hinduism, we believe that animals should not be harassed hence we take their life for offering in a single shock (Jhatka).”
Earlier, many Hindu activists and organisations have protested against the politicisation and compulsion of halal certification on food products. In October 2021, whenSmt. Thushara opened a first-ever non-Halal restaurant in Kerala, she was assaulted and threatened by Islamist goons to open her branch. In April same year, a Christian man from Kerala was attacked for selling non-halal certified meat while his food truck was burned down in the incident.
When Will Smith walked up to assault Chris Rock at the Oscars for a joke on Will’s wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, many people had the same thought, what if Ricky Gervais was there. Ricky, who has hosted Golden Globes 5 times, has famously joked about every big Hollywood celebrity without ever getting physically assaulted.
In fact, so famous are Ricky’s jibes on Hollywood celebrities that every year millions of people ask the Academy to get Ricky Gervais to host the Oscars. However, Ricky has said that he will host the Oscars only if they let him say whatever he wants. Going by the events in this year’s ceremony, it is unlikely that the academy will invite any comedian, much less a comedian like Ricky Gervais.
After Will Smith’s assault on Chris Rock, every one was looking towards Ricky, the master of roasting Hollywood, for his reaction and he did not disappoint. Falling back on his masterpiece ‘The Office’ and his most memorable character, David Brent, Ricky subtly sent the message across with just a retweet.
Ricky shared a tweet from the account ‘@davidbrentmovie’, created when he returned to his widely popular David Brent character for a movie, where he talks about someone’s wife having alopecia. Alopecia is what Will Smith’s wife Jada is suffering from, leading to her hair loss. A joke about her hair loss from Chris Rock prompted the violent reaction from Will Smith.
Meanwhile, the Academy chose to give Will Smith the Oscar for the best actor after he physically assaulted a comedian for cracking a joke.
The Delhi HC on Monday slammed Twitter for its reluctance to block the account of an “atheist organisation” notorious for repeatedly posting blasphemous content against a Hindu Gods and Goddess, noting that the social media behemoth would have been prompt in taking action had the content been related to any other religion.
Hearing a PIL seeking the removal of objectionable content against Hindu Gods and Goddesses from Twitter, the court asked the social media organisation why it could not block the account of the habitual offender just like it had suspended the account of former US President Donald Trump.
After Twitter said that users posted all kinds of content and it cannot block their accounts, a bench of acting chief justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla observed: “If this is the logic then why have you blocked Mr Trump? It is ultimately boiling down to this, people you feel sensitive about, you will block them. You are not bothered about the sentiments and religion of other people in the world. We dare say, if it were a thing done for any other religion, you would be much more sensitive.”
Coming down hard on Twitter, the Court asked Twitter to file an affidavit, explaining its policy and the circumstances under which it resorts to such blocking of accounts.
The case was pertaining to blasphemous posts made by the ‘Atheist Republic’, a Twitter account operated by self-proclaimed atheist Armin Navabi. The Twitter handle of the Atheist Republic has been posting content against Hindu deities. Its posts against Goddess Kali have been a cause to hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus. Advocate Aditya Deshwal appeared for the petitioner while Advocate Vrinda appeared for the Atheist Republic.
Twitter, in its defence, argued that it had taken action against the said handle in compliance with the court’s orders, however, it had not disabled the account permanently.
The court said, “If Twitter has removed the content that is the admission that the content is offensive so you have a grievance against Twitter. The new rules empower the court. We have seen the material and we have no doubt that it is offensive and you could be prohibited.”
J Sanghi: If twitter has removed the content that is admission that the content is offensive so you have a grievance against twitter. The new rules empowers the court. We have seen the material and we have not doubt that it is offensive and you could be prohibited.
— Bar & Bench – Live Threads (@lawbarandbench) March 28, 2022
Advocate Aditya Deshwal submitted, “Armin Navabi is the founder of this account and he is mocking the proceedings. They are circulating blasphemous content. They may be atheists but they cannot ridicule others.”
Justice Chawla told Advocate Vrinda, “Either you make a statement that you will not post similar material or we will pass an interim order directing suspension of your account.”
J Chawla: Either you make a statement that you will not post similar material or we will pass an interim order directing suspension of your account.
— Bar & Bench – Live Threads (@lawbarandbench) March 28, 2022
The court then ordered the owners of the Atheist Republic to remove the URLs contained in the petition. The court also directed the Centre to examine the said post or any similar post which may be hosted by the Atheist Republic and to examine whether action is called for under Section 69A of the IT act. The bench took notice of the fact that Twitter has blocked the account of certain individuals in public life from time to time. It, therefore, directed Twitter to place before the court its policy and explain under what circumstances it has resorted to blocking accounts.
Twitter user Hiren on Sunday, March 27 shared an image from a restaurant in Gujarat with a board that said ‘Drinking of liquor and eating non-veg food is strictly prohibited in this area as these are most sinful activities’.
Tweet by Twitter user Hiren
Hiren informed that he saw this board at one hotel named Hare Krishna on the highway near Valsad in South Gujarat. Here is the thing. Gujarat has alcohol prohibition. So obviously, the no liquor allowed policy is absolutely valid. Further, it is near the Gujarat-Maharashtra border. Which is why it also makes sense that should anyone be carrying alcohol along with them across the border, it is not allowed.
Then there is the morality aspect. That the restaurant owners have not only said that alcohol and non-vegetarian food is not allowed but also mentioned how it is one of the most sinful activities. While one may want to debate on it, it is totally the owner’s choice to put whatever placard (legally permissible) that he wants. His establishment, his rules. You always have a choice to not eat at a place which gives you moral sermons.
But then, the responses to this tweet unleashed a completely different kind of hate on Gujaratis. Some examples:
Nonveg is prohibited… but not gomutra right without that we can't leave in future ?
The glorious ‘gaumutra’ jibe. The language Pulwama terrorist used to justify killing our soldiers. Because in his video released before the suicide bombing he said he was doing it to kill ‘gaay ka peshab peene wale log’. Since cows are holy for Hindus, the visceral hatred for Hindus was something.
Now the same jibe is used against Gujaratis only because a hotel owner did not want people to drink and eat certain food on his private property. These people would usually not have any issues eating at restaurants which serve ‘halal only’ food. Halal, as an industry, is one of the most non-inclusive industry as only practicing Muslims can be hired for the entire process of slaughtering the animal to packaging it. People like Gaurab Sinha above, who is unlikely a practicing Muslim, will never be hired by a halal processing company and he’d likely be okay with it too because quite certain Sinha believes in respecting religious beliefs of other people, except when it comes to Hindus.
Twitter user ‘Spicy beef fry’ with a hibiscus flower emoji next to its name announced Gujarat is the shittiest state in India after Uttar Pradesh. Recently, Yogi Adityanath returned to power in the state with quite a clear majority, even though the ‘liberals’ were rooting for him to lose. So now, obviously, the most populous state in the country is declared ‘shittiest’ because of the BJP rule.
This is why gujjus go to other people’s houses and eat meat and drink their booze, is it? Saves money and paap host ko lagtaa hai? https://t.co/cdcUGRCFRT
This is Mona Ambegaonkar. An actress and Aam Aadmi Party supporter with added talent of being one of the most abusive celebrities on timeline. On her birthday I’d like to give her bars of soap to cleanse her mouth foaming with abuses but that’s for another article. Just see her hatred for Gujaratis.
Ambegaonkar, too, isn’t a huge fan of Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, like many other ‘liberals’ like her. But is her hatred for the two men so high that she has now started hating on an entire community of 6.5 crore?
I won’t be too surprised. Because this is not the first time some celebrity or politician has spewed venom against Gujaratis. Usually, these are also the ones who hate PM Modi (which is fine, really, democratic country, you are free to hate the democratically elected man who is your PM whether you like it or not), but why hate on commoners?
Here are some other such tweets on Gujaratis by such ‘liberals’:
As an Ahmedabadi(not amdavadi) I can say that Ahmedabadi gujjus are the most bigoted gujjus I've ever seen. They hate anyone and everyone who is not in sync with their own sanghi thought process. https://t.co/K3dh1GBnta
This Amdavadi (not Ahmedabadi) with Palestine flag as profile picture says Amdavadis are the most bigoted Gujaratis he/she/it has ever seen. Mostly because ‘they hate anyone and everyone who is not in sync with their own sanghi thought process’.
Apparently, now, making friends of your own choice is also bigotry. Which the Gujaratis have an expertise on.
Really, Gujaratis are the most racist, bigoted and discriminatory people. In a city like Mumbai they deny housing not only to non Hindus, non Jains but also meat eating upper caste Hindus. They make friends only with Gujjus mostly and are highly prejudiced https://t.co/e2JqTCxSFM
So Gujaratis are bigoted because they are ‘sanghis’ and we all know how ‘liberals’ would rather have all ‘Sanghis’ dead. In middle of pandemic, the ‘liberals’ wished death upon Sanghis to settle scores with those with different political leanings.
And then Gujarati ‘Sanghis’ are even worse because they not only elected Narendra Damodardas Modi as Chief Minister of their state for three consecutive terms with thumping majority but even made sure that during both the Lok Sabha elections, all the constituencies in Gujarat vote for the BJP to make sure Modi catapults into national arena.
It is because of Gujarat and what he did to the state to transform, develop and put it on the world map that Modi has reached the Centre to take India to the world.
Which is why they hate Gujaratis. The peaceful, predominantly business community, who live and let live and prefer vegetarian food mostly.
Except, Gujaratis, like Modi, don’t get bogged down by the hate that comes their way. They will either ignore it or make it their strength to scale newer heights and the venom spewing potty mouthed ‘liberals’ will be stuck where they are, hating on Gujaratis.
Oh, and in 2024, too, should Modi choose to contest, Gujaratis will send him to the Lok Sabha a third time as well.
ON March 28, Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, Spokesperson, Bharatiya Janata Party, Delhi, shared that the First Investigation Report (FIR) registered against him at Patiala Police station had been withdrawn by Aam Aadmi Party. In a tweet, he said, “Kejriwal Govt on Backfoot, after yesterday’s backlash they have withdrawn FIR against me silently. Big slap on Kejriwal face.”
Kejriwal Govt on Backfoot, after yesterday backlash they have withdrawn FIR against me silently. Big slap on Kejriwal face
— Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) March 28, 2022
On Sunday, AAP’s Ram Kumar Jha had announced that an FIR was registered against Bagga at a Patiala Police Station. Jha had stated that Bagga’s comments against Kejriwal were ‘derogatory’. However, Jha did not mention the name of the police station or specify any statement against which FIR was allegedly registered.
एक नही 100 FIR करना,लेकिन केजरीवाल अगर कश्मीरी हिंदुओ के नरसंहार को झूठा बोलेगा तो मैं बोलूंगा,अगर केजरीवाल कश्मीरी हिंदुओ के नरसंहार पर ठहाके लगाएगा तो मै बोलूंगा चाहे उसके लिए मुझे जो अंजाम भुगतना पड़े मैं तैयार हूं।मै केजरीवाल को छोड़ने नही वाला,नाक में नकेल डाल के रहूंगा उसके https://t.co/tgTQUqM1Me
— Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) March 27, 2022
Soon after the announcement was made by Jha, Bagga quoted him and said, “It would not matter if you file not one but 100 FIRs against me. If Kejriwal calls the genocide of Kashmiri Hindus a lie, I will speak up. If he laughs at the genocide of Kashmiri Hindus, I will speak up even if I have to face the consequences. I am not going to leave him alone.”
Notably, earlier, while speaking to the media, Sandeep Garg, Superintendent of Police, Patiala, had denied there was any FIR registered against Bagga at any police station in Patiala district. He had said, “There is no FIR against Tanjinder Singh Bagga in any police station in Patiala.”
Speaking to Opindia, SSP Office, Patiala said they do not have any knowledge of any FIR being registered against Bagga in any police station in Patiala district.
As Patiala Police has categorically denied FIR against Bagga, it is unclear why AAP’s Jha made such claims in the first place.
OpIndia tried reaching out to Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga for a statement but could not connect.
During the 94th Academy Awards, the world was stunned when Hollywood superstar Will Smith slapped famous comedian Chris Rock for mocking Jada Pinkett Smith, Will’s wife. Will Smith took offence after Chris Rock mocked Jada’s bald look and proceeded to slap Chris.
While on stage to present the best documentary award at the Oscars, Chris Rock said, “Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2, can’t wait to see you.” A reference to Jada’s bald head due to alopecia. Will Smith, enjoying that joke, quickly turned angry when he saw how displeased his wife was with that joke. Soon after, he rushed on to the stage to physically hit the comedian.
The unexpected reaction from the Hollywood actor on a global platform sparked a meme frenzy on Twitter. Of course, the Indian liberals, who always have contradictory opinions on comedy depending on the religion and political inclination of the comedian, also chimed in. However, this time they declared that beating up comedians for their jokes was completely “acceptable.”
Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, a party known for using street violence, expectedly chose to believe that punching people was acceptable in order to make them more sensitive.
That punch will at least get people to be more sensitive about #alopecia rather than making tasteless & insensitive jokes about it. Not just a TV moment.
It is worth noting that when ‘comedian’ Munawar Faruqui drew the ire of the public for his abject mockery of Hindu victims of the Godhra train burning incident, it was this particular set of people who had extended solidarity with the ‘comedian’. This time, however, they decided that it was ok to physically attack comedians for their jokes.
Radio Mirchi RJ Sayema used the micro-blogging site to thank the Hollywood actor Will Smith saying, “sometimes, a punch is needed in the face, to tell that some jokes are not okay!”
However, the Radio Mirchi RJ later had a eureka moment and deleted her previous Tweet, only to tweet again that she does not support violence. She said that Will Smith “should have made a point WITHOUT a punch. It was important for him to register an objection but in a different way. Violence is not the answer to anything! Period.”
No! I would like to revise this thought. #WillSmith should have made a point WITHOUT a punch. He, perhaps, realised it later. It was important for him to register an objection but in a different way. Violence is not the answer to anything! Period. pic.twitter.com/esoShIfQkD
CNN News 18 journalist Marya Shakil also suggested that the Hollywood actor drew a line between what’s funny and what’s not with his brazen show of violence.
#WillSmith drew a line between what’s funny and what’s not!
Jokes on ones family aren’t funny. Jokes on health conditions aren’t funny. They are crass & insulting and the Oscar winner made that point defending his wife. Though he could have avoided punching! #Oscars#Oscar2022
“Jokes on ones family aren’t funny. Jokes on health conditions aren’t funny. They are crass & insulting and the Oscar winner made that point defending his wife. Though he could have avoided punching! #Oscars#Oscar2022,” tweeted the journalist.
Meanwhile, The Academy awarding the Oscars tweeted that they don’t condone violence in any form, after awarding Will Smith the Oscar for the best actor after his very public show of violence.
Comedian Chris Rock got slapped by Will Smith on live TV during the Oscars, and it was the main talking point of the entire Oscar ceremony. While some netizens suggested it was staged, most are convinced it was for real.
The incident has divided the online community, with some people standing by Will Smith while most are supporting Chris Rock and criticizing Smith for his actions. While everyone was trying to choose a side, we decided to take a dive into the history and find out the reason that led to the ‘slap of the year’. What made cool-headed Will Smith so angry that he hit a colleague out of rage?
As we know, this was not the first time Chris Rock made a joke at the expense of the Smiths. Let’s have a look at the timeline of jokes made by Chris Rock on Will Smith and his wife.
Chris Rock mocked Jada in the 2016 Oscars opening monologue
In 2016, Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith’s wife, decided to boycott the Oscars ceremony for the lack of diversity. Chris Rock, who was the host of the ceremony that year, declared that she was not even invited to the show in the first place. He said, “Jada went mad, Jada says she’s not coming. Protesting.” Then he quipped, “Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited!”
Chris Rock also joked about Will Smith not getting nominated for Concussion. He said, “Jada’s mad her man Will was not nominated for Concussion. I get it. It is also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for Wild Wild West.” Wild Wild West was one of the biggest flops in Hollywood history.
At that time, Jada Smith ignored the comments. Speaking to X17, she said, “Hey, look, it comes with the territory, but we gotta keep it moving. We gotta keep it moving. We gotta keep it moving.”
‘You have an understanding wife’ how Chris poked Will Smith in 2018
Later in 2018, Will Smith posted a photograph of his ex-wife, Sheree Zampino, on her birthday. It was all okay until Rock decided to chip in and make fun of Smith posting about his ex-wife. He said, “Wow. You have an understanding wife.” Though Smith did not reply to his comment, Zampino had suggested Rock not ‘hate’ in the comments.
Source: UncleTomFoolery
Chris Rock’s comments on Jada’s health condition
In 2018, Jada had revealed she was suffering from a health condition called alopecia. During a Facebook Live, she opened up about the reason behind wearing a turban. She said, “I’ve been getting a lot of questions about why I’ve been wearing this turban. Well, I’ve been having issues with hair loss. And it was terrifying when it first started.” Later, in December 2021, in an Instagram video, she revealed bald lines on her head.
She wrote, “Mama’s gonna have to take it down to the scalp, so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something. I and this alopecia are going to be friends … period!”
Weeks after the Karnataka High Court upheld the state government’s order, maintaining the hijab ban in educational institutes across the state, some students shunned their obstinacy in wearing hijab as they removed burqas before entering classes to take their examinations.
News agency ANI reported that although some students were seen entering the St Joseph’s Convent Girls High School (Bengaluru) in burqas, they removed the Islamic attire before entering the examination halls for writing their exams.
Karnataka | Students reached the examination center to appear for the state’s SSLC exam 2022, today morning
Before entering the examination hall, some students were seen removing their burqa
While some students fall in line, others who were insistent on wearing burqas choose to skip examinations
Times Now special correspondent, Imran Khan, informed that a ‘hijabi’ student was sent back home for flouting uniform guidelines by the authorities at Shantinekatan school in Hubballi. According to him, the student was only allowed to write exams after she wore a ‘different dress.’
A #HijabRow student was sent back for coming to college wearing hijab at Shantiniketan school, #Hubballi#Karnataka. She later came back wearing different dress. And was allowed to appear for the exam. pic.twitter.com/xcoVHkvgB2
The Quint journalist, Nikhila Henry, had claimed that a Muslim student was not allowed to write her 10th Board exam after she showed up at her examination centre in a hijab. The said student refused to adhere to the rules and left the exam hall with her family member.
A Muslim student in Bagalkote missed SSLC examination as she was not allowed to write exam in hijab. She left the hall with her family member. Across the board, hijab is not being allowed in Class X board exams in Karnataka. @TheQuint pic.twitter.com/nLcTdBBEiO
In another instance, the journalist claimed that teachers welcomed ‘hijabi students’ with a rose in CS Patil school in the Gadag district of Karnataka. “The students, however, had to write the examination without the headscarf, to comply with the recent order that banned the hijab in SSLC exam halls,” she pointed out.
In CS Patil School, Gadag, teachers offer roses to welcome students in hijab. The students, however, had to write the examination without the headscarf, to comply by the recent order that banned hijab in SSLC exam halls. @TheQuint pic.twitter.com/Pr71rFap45
On Sunday (March 27), freelance journalist Syed Mueen had posted the story of a Davangere-based female activist named Jasmine Banu. She held a demonstration demanding that students be allowed to write exams in their hijab. Interestingly, the activist was seen wearing a burqa during the protest.
“I am here protesting to convey my message to Allah and not to show off before the public. If you are standing with the truth, then come and join me,” the Muslim activist was heard saying to the onlookers.
I am here protesting to covey my Allah not to show the public. If your standing with the truth come and join me.@KM21Ja (Jasmin Banu) pic.twitter.com/4P7nV6Y8Z0
Hijab not allowed inside the board exam hall, says Karnataka education minister
On Sunday (March 27), Karnataka Education Minister BC Nagesh had clarified that no headscarves (hijab) would be allowed during the 10th Board exams in the State.
He had stated, “After the high court order, we’ve not allowed the (hijab). We’ve given clarification that they (students with hijab) can come to the campus wearing the same but will not be allowed to wear it in the classroom. The same condition will apply during the exams.”
BC Nagesh also pointed out that no re-examination would be conducted for students who choose to skip the exam. Despite this, several female Muslim students were seen flouting the government guidelines and insisting that they be allowed to write the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination in hijab.
It must be mentioned that the 10th Board exams in Karnataka began on Monday (March 28) and will conclude on April 22 this year. A total of 8.73 lakh students from over 15000+ schools will appear for the exams.
Karnataka Hijab row: The story so far
In February this year, some Muslim students from a PU College in Udupi filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court to allow them to attend classes wearing Hijab. They were denied entry into classes after the college management made it clear that the hijab is not part of the uniform. Since then, the ‘students’ launched protests while being dressed in burqas.
The Muslim students had started wearing hijab and burqa to their school, in defiance of the uniform rules since December 2021. The students had admitted being in consultation with the CFI, the student wing of the Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI), since October last year.
Subsequently, the lawyers representing the Muslim students had cited Sharia in the secular court to make a point on the hijab, claiming that it is an essential religious practice and is mandatory for Muslim women.
However, on March 15, the Karnataka High Court held that Hijab is not an essential practice in Islam and that the uniform is a reasonable restriction on the Right to Religion. Following the verdict, liberals and Islamists took to Twitter to cast aspersions on the independence of the Judiciary.
