Members of various Brahmin organizations held a demonstration in Mysuru, condemning the incident, which required some students to remove their “sacred threads” at the CET examination centers in Shivamogga and Bidar. |Picture source: Hindu
rIn Karnataka, there are two instances where students from Brahmin communities face obstacles in the examination center because he is wearing Janivara (‘Sacred Thread’). In both cases, students come to the center to write the Karnataka Common Admission Exam (CET) 2025, which determines the qualification to take major courses such as engineering and architecture. In one example, two students in Shivamogga were initially stopped wearing “holy lines” into the hall, but were later allowed to write an exam after authorities intervened. However, in another case, in Bidar, a student ended up missing the exam because authorities did not allow him to wear a “sacred thread”. Shortly after these incidents, authorities clarified that there were no “sacred threads” in the list of items not allowed in the CET examination hall. They said these were incidents of “poor communication” – by two family guards at Shivamogga, as well as a principal and a civilian at Bidar.
As anger escalated over the two incidents, the government responded quickly. Those accused of creating obstacles for students were suspended in Shivamogga and fired in Bidar. Bidar district head and forest minister Eshwar Khandre visited the students who missed his exams in Bidar. The minister even offered students free engineering seats at his family-run university in Balkhi. Meanwhile, Shivamogga Deputy Commissioner clarified that no one “cuts” “sacred threads” at the center, contrary to claims circulating on several social media sites and TV channels. The government appears to be on a defensive position, especially as controversy broke out in the days after the discovery of playing the “caste census” in the national cabinet. The report shocked the “upper castes” because it stipulated that their population was “less than they claimed.”
The media and part of the opposition Bharatiya Janata party blamed the Congressional government led by Siddaramaiah, who is known for supporting Ahinda’s cause (minority, retreating class and Dalit). The Brahmin group held protests throughout the state. BJP leaders joined them in some places, and they believed that wearing the “sacred thread” was part of the religious rights of the community and were violated.
The similarities between these events and the 2022 controversy, when universities along the coast of Karnataka closed their doors to girls wearing hijabs, did not seem to impress many people. Indeed, the context of the hijack ban is different. The ban on hijacks is part of the uniforms issued at the Women’s Government PU Academy in Udupi in December 2021. It is led by BJP MLA to ensure “equality in the classroom”. But soon, the ban spread to several universities along Karnataka. Many Muslim female students quit their college jobs and did not take exams that year because they were asked to remove the hijabs in the institution. In the current situation, the “sacred thread” is obviously not allowed within the examination center, which is part of an attempt to curb the test’s drawbacks. But these prove to be examples of over-craze. However, the general idea of religious rights between these two disputes.
Aliya Assadi, one of five students at Udupi Women’s Government Pu Academy, protesting the college’s ban on hijabs in classrooms and was a petitioner from the High Court and later Supreme Court, trying to point out different responses to the dispute. On April 20, she wrote on X: “Wearing a hijab is as important to us as wearing a hijab Janivara [is] Brahman. Not the pain of Brahmins [who is] Prevent writing exams Janivara And the pain of a Muslim girl [who is] Is it the same as stopping the exam from wearing a headscarf? Then why do you need this difference? Officer who blocks students from wearing Janivara [were] Dismissal immediately. No action was taken, those who closed the door to education for the hijacked female students… This is our system. ”
The hijack issue is being tried in court. The Karnataka High Court heard a petition filed by students who were not allowed to wear hijabs in the classroom, maintaining the agency’s right to prescribe uniforms. A challenge from the Supreme Court led to a split judgment in October 2022. The case was transferred to a larger bench and has not been listened to.
adhitya.bharadwaj@thehindu.co.in
publishing – April 23, 2025 01:17 AM IST
