New Delhi: Karnataka higher education minister M.C. Sudhakar on Sunday, October 22, said that hijab-wearing candidates will be allowed to appear for recruitment examinations conducted by the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA). Any restriction on attire would amount to an infringement of the rights of individuals, he added, according to Times of India.
KEA exams will be held on October 28 and 29 to fill vacancies in five government-run corporations, according to reports.
After a meeting with chief minister Siddaramaiah to discuss the State Education Policy and the issue of filling vacancies, Sudhakar said, “The hijab issue was not part of the discussion.”
“Some want to raise objections to small things, but we cannot infringe on the rights of people. Even in NEET, candidates [are] allowed to wear hijab,” he said, according to TOI.
“This is a secular country. People are free to dress however they want,” he told India Today.
After there was some criticism, he told the media on Monday, “I think that the people who are protesting should verify the guidelines of the NEET exam. I don’t know why are they making an issue out of this…People are allowed to wear hijabs…”
The minister’s comments are significant because the previous BJP government in Karnataka banned students from wearing hijabs to government schools in early 2022. The issue, which began after the Government PU College in Udupi barred hijab-wearing girls from entering the classroom, snowballed into a statewide controversy.
The ban was upheld by the Karnataka high court in March 2022, which held that hijab was not an essential part of religious practice. The order was challenged in the Supreme Court, which delivered a split verdict in October 22.