Karnataka has officially withdrawn a controversial February 2022

order passed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in power in the state at the time that had allowed educational institutions to ban hijabs in classrooms. Students are now allowed to wear religious and customary symbols along with prescribed uniforms in schools and colleges.

A new order, issued on Wednesday, May 13, allows students to wear "limited traditional and practice-based symbols" along with their uniforms including hijab, sacred thread, rudraksha, shivadhara and sharavastra.

The order applies to government schools and colleges, aided institutions and private educational institutions under the state's School Education Department.

The government has clarified that uniforms will still remain mandatory, but these symbols can be worn as supplementary items, so long as they do not affect discipline, safety, cleanliness or identification. No student can be denied entry or forced either to wear or remove such symbols.

Institutions have been instructed to implement the policy in line with constitutional values, including "equality, dignity, fraternity, secularism, scientific temper, rationality and the right to education".

The Congress government's decision comes three years after the party came to power in the state, with School Education and Literacy Minister in the Karnataka government Madhu Bangarappa releasing the fresh order at a news conference along with Health Minister Dinesh Gundurao, and Shivajinagar Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad. A statement on the press meet was later issued, clarifying the decisions.
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