The event was opposed after posters showed the image of Bharat Mata holding a saffron flag instead of the national flag.
The district administration on Thursday morning directed the management of the Mangaluru college to not allow any religious event pertaining to a single faith on campus. (Creative Commons)
The Karnataka Police on Thursday, 11 August halted a “Bharat Mata Puja” on the premises of the University College of Mangaluru by its students’ union, owing to the event’s controversial poster and religious connotations.
The action came after the Campus Front of India (CFI), the student wing of the Popular Front of India (PFI), submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner of the Dakshina Kannada district in this regard.
The district administration on Thursday morning directed the management of the Mangaluru college to not allow any religious event pertaining to a single faith on campus.
The coastal districts of Karnataka witnessed severe protests over the hijab row over the last few months, with the student community divided along communal lines.
In such an atmosphere, the Bharat Mata event ran into controversy after its poster surfaced on social media. It portrayed Bharat Mata holding a saffron flag instead of the Tricolour.
The event was opposed because the posters shows the idol of Bharat Mata holding a saffron flag instead of the national flag
(Supplied)
CFI protested against the event. Its Dakshina Kannada district president Tajuddin told South First, “Those opposing the Bharat Mata Puja pointed to the same logic the BJP-led state government used to ban hijab in classrooms: that religious assertion should not be allowed in educational institutions.”
He added: “The map of India is also distorted to display the ‘Akhand Bharat’ picture, which is disrespectful to India.”
The argument by the organisers for the event was that it was being held as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav: an initiative by the Central government to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of independence and the history of India’s people, culture, and achievements..
Dheeraj Sapaliga, the president of the University College’s students’ union, told South First, “The Bharat Mata Puja was not a new thing on campus, but the management denied permission for it due to unfortunate intervention by the pro-hijab students’ group.”
According to Sapaliga, the event was expected to take place on the college premises between 1 pm to 2 pm in the tun-up to India’s 76th Independence Day and endorse Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
The college’s Principal Anusuya Rai told South First, “We got to know about the event through social media posts. Later, students were called and the cancellation of the event was conveyed.”
She, meanwhile, confirmed that the event was on track to take place after two years before it was cancelled.
Tajuddin contradicted both Sapaliga and the principal, saying that no such event happened in the college in the past few years.
He pointed out, “The same college denied entry to Muslim girls wearing hijab.”
Tajuddin added: “Allowing a religious event by a Hindutva organisation to take place on campus exposes the double standards of the institution.”
A few months ago, the University College did not allow Muslim girls to wear a hijab while attending classes, but it was not the first one to do so.
The hijab controversy started in December 2021, when a government school in the Udupi district of the state barred six students from entering the classroom because they were wearing hijabs.
The Karnataka government on 5 February this year made it compulsory for students to wear the prescribed uniforms, barring hijab.
The Karnataka High Court on 15 March ordered uniformity in the dress code, and upheld the restrictions on hijab in educational institutions.
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