Hijab ban: Karnataka college chairman says only college rules, not constitutional rights, apply

The chairman of Sri Soubhagya Lalitha College of Nursing in Bengaluru, affiliated with the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, has sparked outrage by allegedly claiming that no constitutional article or fundamental right applies within the college premises, where only the institution's rules will prevail, while threatening to cancel the admissions of Muslim students if they continued to wear the hijab or parda.

Over the past several days, Kashmiri female students enrolled in the institution have reportedly been barred from entering classrooms, denied access to lectures and practical sessions, and subjected to humiliation and intimidation solely for adhering to their religious dress, Makthoob media reported.

According to the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association, the chairman forcefully entered a classroom and ordered students wearing the hijab and burkha to leave immediately, and when they asked under which rule such action was being taken, they were dismissed with an assertion of the college’s own authority.

The students, who travelled from conflict-affected regions of Kashmir to pursue higher education in Karnataka, have allegedly been systematically targeted and warned that they would not be permitted to enter the campus unless they removed their religious attire.

The college management claimed that objections from other students had necessitated the ban, and the chairman is said to have insisted that hijab and parda are not permitted for medical students anywhere in the country, including in Kashmir, a claim the association described as false and Islamophobic.

Justifying the restrictions, he reportedly argued that patients might feel fear upon seeing students in hijab, a notion strongly criticised by the association as an attempt to stigmatise Muslim identity and strip students of their dignity.

The association, which has written to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, described the college’s actions as a direct violation of constitutional protections such as the freedom of religion under Article 25, the right to non-discrimination under Article 15, and the right to education under Article 21A.

It stated that forcing students to choose between their faith and education was not only unlawful but also a form of psychological trauma, with long-term emotional consequences.

It further noted that the incident affects more than just the four students directly involved, as it sends a distressing message to girls from minority communities across the country, suggesting that their religious identity makes them unwelcome in academic institutions.