Hijab controversy: Student in Vijayapura stopped for applying sindhur

KEY STORY

• Bajrang Dal activists began a protest in front of the government PUC college in Indi in Vijayapura district after authorities stopped a male student who had applied sindhur (vermilion).

• The boy was asked to remove the sindhur before entering the college. When he refused, he was told to go back home.

• When news of the incident spread, some Bajrang Dal activists gathered outside the college and shouted slogans against the college and teachers.

• Pramod Mutalik, founder of Sri Ram Sene, supported the activists. “Sindhur is not a religious symbol. It is a part of the culture of the country. This cannot be banned in accordance with the education department circular on religious symbols,” he told The Hindu.

CONCLUSION

• Mr. Mutalik claimed that the Indus Valley civilization was originally named Sindhu civilization in view of the sindhur applied by men and women of India. He sought strict action against the lecturers who had stopped the boy. “The teachers should be dismissed,” he said. He claimed that an international conspiracy is on behind the pro-hijab movement.