Dr Nishant A.Irudayadason
Professor of Philosophy and Ethics, Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth, Pune.

“It is a woman’s right to decide what she wants to wear; this right is guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. Stop harassing women,” tweeted the general secretary of the Indian National Congress Priyanka Gandhi Vadra amidst the growing outrage and intensifying protests against a ban on headscarves in Karnataka. Her statement came amid a relentless unrest amid a ban on the wearing of the hijab, threatens to escalate into violence in Karnataka, where the government led by India’s radical right-wing political party closed educational institutions for a week. The crisis was triggered by a decision by a public high school last month to ban Muslim female students from wearing headscarves in class. While other schools have imposed the same measure, Hindu far-right groups have deployed in force in the state of Karnataka to prevent Muslim women wearing the hijab from entering high schools and universities.
A video widely circulated Tuesday on social networks, showed a young woman identified as Muskan Khan wearing a hijab, harassed by a crowd of men wearing saffron shawls shouting “Jai Sri Ram” several times. Khan shouted “Allahu Akbar” as she was taken away by university officials, a display of courage that drew as much praise as contempt for the crowd. The harassment of young women was criticized by some well-known media personalities and celebrities. “This is what bigotry does to a nation: divides us on dress, food and religion. When we should be worried about jobs for young, we focus on their dress! Shameful,” tweeted the Indian news anchor Rajdeep Sardesai.
Muslims are among the minority groups that are frequently subject to persecution under the present government, according to several local and international human rights organizations. Since Modi came to power in 2014, several legislative measures and other decisions have been taken, legitimizing discrimination against religious minorities who are increasingly silenced by violent Hindu nationalism, Human Rights Watch said in a report released last year, accusations that the Indian prime minister and the BJP vehemently denied. The US Ambassador for International religious freedom Rashad Hussain criticized the hijab ban stating that the Indian state should not determine the lawfulness of religious clothing to which India’s ministry of external affairs reacted by saying that comments on internal problems are not welcome.
While the Muslim students have sought justice in the court, the interim order of the court to abide by the hijab ban until a final verdict is given on this petition is perceived as suspension of their rights by the petitioners. In recent years, there has been a consistent pattern of creating polarization especially when elections are held. If polarization along the lines of religion and caste are strategically made to win elections, then the issue of hijab ban needs a deeper analysis. What seems to an isolated event will eventually turn into a bitter divided nation in all fronts weakening our long-cherished ideal of a nation which remains united precisely by celebrating diversity.
A wrong idea of being a true Indian has been systematically induced with the slogans of One Nation, one way of life explicitly with the intention of removing all differences. Unity is not uniformity. We need to recall the wise words of Dr Ambedkar who had the audacity to state in unambiguous words that the unity of our country can only be safeguarded when we accept and the embrace the diversity of cultures and faiths. Politicians may succeed in winning elections through polarization but country will slowly slip into the path of regress. It is time we wake up before the young men and women of our country are infested with dangerous ideologies and divisive politics.