J&K students’ body writes to Karnataka CM over hijab ban in nursing college

The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) on Tuesday wrote to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeking his immediate intervention in an incident of alleged religious discrimination faced by Kashmiri female students at a nursing college in Bengaluru.

The students, who wear the hijab or burkha in accordance with their religious beliefs, have reportedly been barred from attending classes and threatened with expulsion by the management of Sri Soubhagya Lalitha College of Nursing, affiliated with the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS).

In its letter, the Association expressed deep anguish over the harassment and humiliation allegedly inflicted upon the students, who were denied entry into classrooms and practical sessions for the past several days.

“These Kashmiri female students have been systematically targeted, humiliated, and denied their fundamental right to education solely because they choose to wear the burkha or abaya, an expression of modesty, dignity and identity rooted deeply in their religious and personal beliefs,” the letter stated.

National Convenor of the Association, Nasir Khuehami, said the students were warned that they would not be permitted inside the college unless they removed their hijabs, despite no official or legal policy existing to support such a ban. “They were told to follow so-called university rules, which prohibit hijab and burkha, though no such official regulation exists under Indian law,” he said.

Further compounding the matter, the college administration allegedly justified the ban by claiming that other students had objected to the presence of hijab-wearing students. The chairman is also reported to have stated that “hijab and pardah are not allowed for medical students anywhere in the country, not even in Kashmir.”

Calling these justifications “absurd, Islamophobic stereotypes,” Khuehami condemned the use of such discriminatory practices and language, noting that this is a “direct and dangerous violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.”

The association demanded that the Chief Minister take swift and decisive action. “These young women must be allowed to resume their education without any coercion to compromise their religious beliefs. The concerned authorities must be directed to conduct a thorough investigation,” Khuehami added.