All India Bar Association has urged Prime Minister Narender Modi that the Government should ensure that students wear uniforms and also to prohibit Muslim women to wear hijab or Naqab in secular schools, in order to uphold the secular values of the country.
In a letter written to the Prime Minister by Senior advocate, Adish C Aggarwala on behalf of All India Bar Association said, “I am constrained to make this representation after having witnessed that many anti-social elements are trying to spoil secular values in educational institutions by misguiding the Muslim students to wear Niqab, Hijab, Burqa, etc in place of prescribed secular dress code of the educational institutions.
Mr. Aggarwala who is the chairman of All India Bar Association asked the Prime minister that his government should act immediately to stop this row. Mr. Aggarwala said that “India is a secular country. Secularism forms a part of the basic structure of our Constitution. Quoting the Apex Court decision, in the matter titled S.R. Bommai v. Union of India, Mr Aggarwala said that the Supreme Court of India has held that “When the State allows citizens to practice and profess their religions, it does not either explicitly or implicitly allow them to introduce religion into non-religious and secular activities of the State.”
That “freedom and tolerance of religion of religion is only to the extent of permitting pursuit of spiritual life which is different from secular life.”
Further Mr. Agarwala said, The Constitution of India under the sub-heading ‘Right to Religious Freedoms’ of Part-III namely “Fundamental Rights” grants religious freedoms guaranteeing the scared rights to religious organizations to run their educational institutions. In such religious educational institutions, they are empowered to run these religious educational institutions as per the tenets of their religion. The management of Madarsas, therefore can prescribe any religious dress code for the students, including Hijab and Niqab.
In India, Madrasas, educational religious institutions for Muslims, provide Munshi and Maulvi (Secondary education), Alim (Senior Secondary education), and further the higher education of Kamil and Fazil (Graduation). The Madrasas permit students to wear Niqab, Hijab, Burqa etc. The Govts till date has not interfered in this matter. These educational qualifications provided by Madrasas stand recognized by UGC, UPSC and Govt of India and all State Governments in matters of employment etc.
In this context, it is important to note, that having brought about religious reform, even in Muslim majority countries such as Chad, Congo, Cameroon, Guinea, Kosovo, Azerbaijan and Tunisia, the “Niqab” (the full Islamic veil that reveals only a woman’s eye) in educational institutions have been banned. Even Islamic nations like Egypt and Syria have banned “Niqab” in educational institutions.
European countries like Austria, Belgium Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Italy, The Netherlands, and Switzerland have banned full-face veils, Burka, and “Hijab” in order to uphold secular values, the letter said.
The present situation in some areas of Karnataka is the result of misinformation that Muslim students are entitled to wear Hijab in all educational institutions, as per Muslim religious scripts. Students who were agitating in Karnataka were wearing “Niqabs” in a non-religious institute. As a matter of fact, all educational institutions are not religious institutions. Niqab and Hijab are permitted in Muslim Madarsas and not in general secular educational institutions.
Mr Aggarwala said that the country is passing through a critical time where anti-social elements are trying to sabotage the secular fabric of the country. Especially during this time, nobody should be permitted to use Hijab or Niqab in the educational institutions in India and uniforms should be strictly adhered to by the students of secular institutions.
The citizens of India are entitled to have the right to follow their religious practices in their religious places and not in the secular places where a dress code is prescribed.
We appeal to the leaders of various religious organizations and their student wings, to exercise calm and restraint in these matters, without resorting to provocative statements, slogans or violent behavior. These are matters which must be resolved by legally permissible methods.
In these circumstances, we call upon the Central Government and State Governments to ensure that all students, irrespective of any religion, wear the school uniform, in order to uphold secular values in India as India is a secular country, Mr Aggarwala said.