Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah clarified on Thursday that saffron shawls will not be allowed in educational institutions, amid the withdrawl of the February 2022 order brought in by the then BJP government that had effectively banned hijabs inside classrooms.Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Siddaramaiah said the state government’s order allows students to follow existing religious practices but did not permit the introduction of new ones inside schools and colleges.“Saffron shawls are not allowed. Those shawls cannot be worn. Turbans, sacred thread, Shiva dhara, rudraksha, and hijab can also be worn,” he said.He, however, said only traditions already in practice will be permitted. “When we say turbans, we mean practices that already exist. Nothing new can be introduced,” he said.The statement came after some right-wing groups threatened to wear saffron shawls in classrooms, and accused the Congress government of appeasement politics by allowing Hijab.BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya also alleged that the Congress government had “surreptitiously” diluted the uniform policy and called it “the institutionalisation of religious identity in classrooms”.“Uniform means uniform. Classrooms are for education, not religious signalling,” Malviya said, accusing Congress of “vote-bank politics” and appeasement.The Congress government defended the decision by saying education should not suffer because of religious identity or traditional practices. Karnataka minister Madhu Bangarappa said, “Religious practices shouldn’t come in between students’ education and future. Our constitution allows all religions.”
