Bengaluru : After a PU student with saffron tilak on his forehead was denied entry into the classroom at Indi town in Vijayapur district last week, the government warned the educational institutions if prevented entry to the students with tilak, kumkum, bindi, sindhur etc.
As the Karnataka Hijab controversy has dragged the attention of the world, Karnataka Education minister B Nagesh has warned that strict action will be taken against those educational institutions that stop students with tilak, kumkum, bindi, sindhur etc from entering the school or colleges.
Speaking to the media, Karnataka Minister BC Nagesh said that kumkum, sindhur and bindi are our cultural identities, and they are used as ornaments. Hence it can’t be compared with the hijab, which is purely a religious outfit. The minister warned the school authorities of facing severe actions if they stop students who adorn kumkum, sindhur etc.
He said that the Hijab represents religion, while the bangles, kumkum, bindi are just ornaments. There are no strict regulations against wearing these ornaments to school, and students wear this voluntarily. He also said that the teachers should not ask the students to remove kumkum, bindi, etc.
This comes after an incident in the Vijayapur district where a student with kumkum tilak was stopped from entering the college. This incident had caused massive outrage in the state, with citizens demanding strict action against teachers.
Amidst the ongoing hijab controversy, the college authorities of the Government PUC College at Indi in Vijayapura district had stopped a male student sporting a tilak from entering the campus.
A student with tilak on his forehead was instructed to remove the tilak before entering college. However, as he refused, he was denied entry into the classroom.
The video of the incident had gone viral on social media platforms.
