FEARING the extremist Hindus, the Indian judiciary has become the patron of terrorists. The state administration of Karnataka has tried to give practical manifestation to the Hindutva ideology of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sang (RSS) by trampling the Indian Constitution in the issue of wearing hijab in educational institutions.

The issue started in September at a college preparatory institution for girls in Udupi in southwestern Karnataka where some Muslim girl students with hijab tried to attend their classes, but the teachers turned them away and marked them absent.

In January, parents of five students moved court to overturn the ban on hijab by some schools. Karnataka is influenced by the Hindu extremist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose eight years of rule has seen a sharp rise in hate speech and religiously motivated violence, especially against Muslims.

This issue came under the spotlight in the real sense after a recent video on social media of a hijab-clad Muslim student, who could be seen heckled and harassed by a mob of Hindutva supporters in Karnataka, drew reaction and support for the girl in Pakistan and India.

The incident has stoked weeks of protests and violence and led the authorities to close schools across the state. Everyone expected that the Indian judiciary would fulfil its obligation owing to its position and authority by immediately striking down these orders of the state administration of Karnataka. But the Karnataka High Court has said no student should wear any “religious clothing” until it delivers a verdict on petitions against ban on hijab.

The court’s failure to give justice clearly shows that all Indian state institutions are plagued by anti-Islam bigotry. The appalling incident of targeting a Muslim girl student in Karnataka proves that the extremist Hindus have no tolerance for minorities in India, particularly Muslims. Hindu zealots have also demonstrated that they have no concern for Indian or international laws in that regard.

It is astonishing that the Western world that champions and portrays India as the largest secular democracy in the world, too, is sinisterly silent on the state-sponsored abuse of Indian minorities, which is evidence of the double standards of the West; something that gets exposed on a regular basis.

The Muslim ummah, in general, and the Muslims of India, in particular, need to realise that those who hate them are united in oppressing them and expecting justice from them is nothing but wishful thinking.

In order to survive in this world and toxic environment with dignity, it is imperative that the Muslims worldwide must respond to this war declared against them unitedly.

Raza ul Haq
Lahore

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2022