Perhaps nothing showed the ugly face of the BJP more than the way that the hijab was banned in Karnataka, where a student wearing the hijab was heckled all the way from her institution’s parking lot to the main campus of the college by BJP goons, who used their apparent immunity from arrest to indulge in egregious bad behaviour. The decision to ban the hijab raised questions about whether this meant that other religious symbols were also to be banned. Apart from the Jewish skullcap or the Christian crucifix, there would also be fingers raised at the carrying of the Kirpaan by Sikhs,or the wearing of saris by Hindus. It could also be argued that the hijab is more a cultural symbol rather than a religious one, for there are Muslim women aplenty who do not observe it. It is also worrisome for Muslims that the ban has been imposed by a BJP state government in a state where there is a modest Muslim presence. It is also not a state where the BJP government faces an electoral challenge. What if one of the BJP governments in the so-called Cow Belt, where there are more Muslims than in Karnataka, was to impose such a ban?
Going by the BJP’s past, such a ban is part of the BJP’s hate politics, but it seems that there are no voices left to tell it that it is playing with fire.It seems as if the BJP is building up to some great upheaval, which would allow theSangh Parivar to engage in a general massacre to Muslims. Apart from the abhorrent nature of this ambition, it is not practical politics.
Another aspect that needs to be kept in view is that the target is apparently a doubly-disadvantaged segment of Indian society. All Indian women are subject to discrimination, as are all Muslims. Targeting the hijab affects Muslim women, and preventing them from getting an education is an act of suppression, mind-boggling in a country where education is at such a premium.
