AGARTALA: A feud over hijab took a violent turn in a higher secondary school in Tripura’s Sepahijala district after a mob brutally thrashed a student on August 4. The incident was sparked by the banning of the hijab in the school premises by the headmaster.
The boy, a Class 10 student of Koroimura Higher Secondary School, was thrashed outside the school by a mob for allegedly ransacking the headmaster’s office in reaction to the ban.
A resident Prabhurampur, the student was rushed to a nearby healthcare centre and is currently undergoing treatment, informed Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police, Law & Order, Jyotishman Das. The incident sparked communal tension in the area but the police assured that the situation is under control.
The conflict arose after the headmaster, Priyatosh Nandi, directed the female students from the minority community not to wear headscarf to school and adhere to the official uniform.
“After a meeting with teachers, I had recently directed all students to attend school wearing proper uniform. However, the girl students from the minority community said they cannot follow this directive as wearing the hijab is a religious belief,” Nandi, told the press.
Nandi also admitted to have met with a delegation of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and informed that they had urged him to ask the students, irrespective of religion, to attend classes in school uniform.
Earlier on August 3, as a sign of protest, a group of students belonging to the Hindu community too had attended school clad in saffron kurtas. Nandi clarified that in an attempt to enforce school protocols, he had asked those students to follow the school protocol as well. “But they asserted that they will only wear proper school uniform when everyone does,” the headmaster added.
Notably, last year, a similar controversy over the hijab had erupted after an educational institute in Karnataka barred hijab inside classrooms. The matter had become a statewide issue and the case is currently pending with the Supreme Court.
