Gregory Meeks, Head of US Congress Foreign Affairs Committee, Says Hijab Ban Restricts Freedom Of Expression
US Congressman Gregory Meeks, who heads the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives, has criticized the decision of the Karnataka High Court to uphold the government’s ban on the wearing of the hijab in schools.
“Disappointed by the court’s decision to restrict freedom of expression, effectively making girls choose between religion & their right to an education,” Congressman Meeks wrote on Twitter. “Whether in the US, India, or anywhere, how minority communities are treated is a true measure of a society.”
Muslim Organizations Hold Statewide Shutdown In Karnataka Against Court Decision To Uphold Hijab Ban
Muslim organizations across Karnataka held a statewide shutdown on March 17 to register their protest against the verdict of the state’s high court on the hijab row. A number of businesses remained shut in various districts of the state.
The state’s High Court had on Tuesday upheld the government’s decision to ban the hijab saying it was not an essential religious practice.
The shutdown was supported by hundreds of organizations across the state including the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and the Campus Front of India (CFI).
BJP-Ruled Hindu Supremacist Government In Gujarat State Announces Compulsory Curriculum On Hindu Religious Book
The Gujarat government on March 17 announced in the state legislature that the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu religious book, will be a part of the school syllabus for Classes 6 to 12 across the state from the academic year 2022-23.
Education Minister Jitu Vaghani said the decision to introduce the Bhagavad Gita in the school curriculum was in line with the new National Education Policy (NEP) unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government.
Speaking to reporters later, Vaghani claimed people from all faiths have accepted the moral values and principles outlined in the ancient Hindu scripture.
The BJP government at the federal level and in many states has been systematically removing any references to Islam and Christianity from school curriculums. They have also been attacking Islamic schools, the madrasas. In Assam state, the government in one stroke removed Islamic teaching from hundreds of madrasas earlier this year.
