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Published Oct 22, 2025 | 9:14 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 22, 2025 | 9:14 AM
At the centre of the controversy is a 13-year-old student, who wore a hijab to school.
The hijab row at Kochi’s St. Rita’s School has taken a pause, with every stakeholder now waiting for the high court’s detailed verdict.
General Education Minister V Sivankutty’s flip-flops, the political parties’ careful balancing act, the school management’s unbending stance, and the student’s future, all became hot topics of discussion.
But in Ernakulam’s local political circles, the controversy has a different label—a scripted drama right before the crucial Assembly elections.
Why? In Ernakulam, where both Christian and Muslim minorities play a decisive role, even a spark like the hijab issue can act as a catalyst for change. According to insiders, it’s not an accidental fire but a well-planned matchstick lit by ”unknown hands” looking to stir the communal cauldron.
Now, the big question, who’s set to gain from it? The obvious guess would be the Sangh Parivar. Sure, they might get a little mileage. But surprise, the ultimate beneficiary could be the Congress. Yes, you read that right.
Inside the Congress, candidate discussions for the upcoming Assembly elections are already heating up. This time, Ernakulam DCC president Muhammed Shiyas is eyeing a seat. But from where? Aluva’s Anwar Sadath, Kalamassery’s P. Rajeev, Kochi’s KJ Maxi, Ernakulam’s TJ Vinodh, and Thrikkakara’s Uma Thomas are all likely to retain their positions, as they hold quite a good political progress card.
Which leaves one interesting, open battlefield: Trippunithura.
Once an LDF bastion, now a Hindu-majority zone tilting towards the BJP, Trippunithura has seen quite a political makeover. In the nail-biting 2021 elections, K Babu of the UDF edged out M Swaraj of the LDF by a mere 992 votes.
Swaraj didn’t take it lightly, he went to court, alleging Babu used Lord Ayyappa’s name to woo voters. But in April 2024, Justice PG Ajithkumar of the high court dismissed Swaraj’s plea, letting Babu retain his seat.
Now, with age and health reportedly catching up with Babu, local chatter suggests he may not contest again. And that’s where Muhammed Shiyas steps in, the man who could be Congress’s new face in Trippunithura.
But here’s the catch, how does a Muslim candidate win both Hindu and minority votes in such a constituency? Enter the hijab controversy.
It was Shiyas, alongside MP Hibi Eden, who first intervened in the St. Rita’s issue, meeting both the parents and school management. After the talks, the parents had agreed to follow the uniform policy — which Congress saw as a quiet diplomatic victory. Both the Latin Catholic and Muslim communities seemed content, at least momentarily.
And then came the Sivankutty twist. Initially, he backed the school management’s stance. Days later, he switched gears, sharply criticising them for denying students’ fundamental rights and supporting the hijab demand.
That one U-turn left the Congress speechless, effectively robbing them of their only moment of political calm.
Now, in Ernakulam’s political grapevine, few believe the hijab row just ”happened.”
Most see it as part of a larger, well-timed manipulation aimed at shaping minority moods ahead of the polls. CPI and BJP quickly joined the chorus, with CPI’s district secretary N Arun blaming the Sangh Parivar, and former BJP chief K Surendran pointing fingers at banned group Popular Front and it’s political wing, SDPI.
As Ernakulam gears up for a high-stakes election, the cocktail of controversies, the Munambam Waqf land debate, attacks on nuns in Chhattisgarh, and this hijab flare-up, continues to stir the pot. In the local political circuit, whispers are louder than speeches, and speculation has become a full-time job, one that will likely continue until parties finally unveil their candidates.
