NEW DELHI (TSAT) - The Muslim students in India have filed a case against the Hindu Nationalist BJP government local authorities for banning Muslim students to enter education institutions because of wearing hijab (headscarf), according to local media.

After over a month of controversy over wearing hijab in college, a writ petition has been filed in the Karnataka High Court by a Muslim girl student from Udupi seeking a declaration that wearing a hijab is a fundamental right of women, the India Times reported.

As many as six students were barred from wearing hijab inside classrooms as it was against the uniform policies of the school in Udupi. The girls have been asked to attend online classes till the issue is resolved.

Advocates Shathabish Shivanna, Arnav A Bagalwadi and Abhishek Janardhan have moved the high court on behalf of the petitioner.

The plea states that the Indian constitution guarantees the Freedom of Conscience and the right to profess, practise and propagate religion.

A girl student, who did not want to be named, because of security concern from extremist Hindus groups, said, “We are asking for our fundamental rights and nothing else. The college is trying to portray us in a bad light for demanding our rights. We are not allowed inside the college till we fall in line. It has been 20 days, and they have marked us absent.”

The education authorities said that they banned the Muslim students entry into colleges because Hijab is not allowed under their rules.

However since last seven decades the Muslim girl students wearing Hijab in government and private education institutions across the country and never such move witnessed in India during previous governments.

However, the current Hindu nationalist government has introduced some policies mainly targeting the over 250 million Muslims living in the Hindu majority South Asian country.

The ruling BJP party member of parliament from Udupi K Raghupati Bhat last week also announced that Muslim students will not be allowed in the colleges from February 1, if they are wearing their religious dress.

Since 2014, when the Hindu Nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi came into power, his government introduced several discriminatory laws against the Muslims in the country including controversial citizenship law. Which even criticised by the opposition parties and human rights activists in the country and abroad.

While dozens Muslims had been killed by the extremist Hindu groups affiliated with Modi’s BJP party because of his anti-minorities policies and hatred spread against Muslims by his party leaders.
Last month, some Hindu extremist even called for Muslim genocide, the call widely condemned by the rights organization across the world.