Congress-led government in India’s Karnataka lifts hijab ban

Two years after the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) controversial hijab ban in Karnataka, the newly elected state government led by the Congress party lifted the ban on Friday. In a symbolic move, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, "You can wear and eat whatever you want."

The chief minister vehemently denounced vote bank politics through discriminatory measures.

While taking a dig at the previous BJP government, he remarked, "They say 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas' (Cooperation of all, Development of all) but sidelining those wearing caps, burqas and sporting a beard. Is this what they mean?"

He asserted that the choice of dress and food preferences is deeply personal, and no external entity should interfere in such matters.

When he was asked about restrictions on wearing hijab, the chief minister said, "We will take back that decision, there is no Hijab ban now. Women can go out wearing hijab. I have told the officials to take back the order (previous govt order). Dressing and eating food is our choice, why should I object? Wear whatever dress you want, eat whatever you want, why should I care. We should not do politics to get votes, we don't do that."

"I wear a dhoti and kurta, and you wear pants and a shirt. It's your choice. What's wrong with this?" he asked.

As a result of the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections in May, the Congress party secured a resounding victory, shattering the BJP's grip on its southern stranglehold.

The hijab controversy emerged in January 2022 in Karnataka, leading to countrywide protests in India after the state government enforced a ban on hijab in educational institutions. Several Muslim female students were barred from attending classes for wearing them. 

The state high court also endorsed the ban, while the Supreme Court delivered a split decision. Now, the Congress-led government in Karnataka has lifted the hijab ban.