K'taka hijab row reaches AMU, protest on Friday

The Karnataka hijab controversy has reached the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Uttar Pradesh.

Students in AMU had called for a protest march in the campus on Wednesday but were denied permission in view of the Assembly elections taking place in the district on Thursday.

Later, students gathered at Duck Point on the AMU campus over the Karnataka hijab controversy. They raised religious slogans and dispersed after deciding to gather on the campus on Friday to stage a protest march.

Mohd Wasim Ali, the proctor of AMU, said: "Students had sought permission in writing for carrying out a march in solidarity with girl students in Karnataka denied entry to college premises for wearing hijab (headscarf). However, in view of the model code of conduct being in force because of the ongoing assembly elections, the permission was denied for (the march) today (Wednesday) as Aligarh goes to polls on Thursday.

"The students were told that such a protest march on the eve of the assembly elections may cause a law-and-order situation. Because the message for the protest march had spread on social media, thus some students gathered at Duck Point on AMU campus on Wednesday but they, too, dispersed later," the proctor said.

The students said that "the university administration has not denied permission for the protest march at AMU against the Karnataka hijab controversy, but has only delayed it because polling is to take place in Aligarh on Thursday".

"Thus, we agreed to postpone the protest march on Friday, the day after polling."