A video of a student in a hijab offering namaz inside a classroom in her college has surfaced online, after which the university said that they have ordered a probe into the matter.
The video is of a student who studies in Dr. Harisingh Gour Sagar University, a central university in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh.
A right-wing group, Hindu Jagran Manch, is reported to have complained to the university administration to act against the student.
'We Should Pray in Our Homes or in Places of Worship,' Says University Admin
The university's Vice Chancellor Neelima Gupta said, “We have formed a committee to look into the matter. We have also informed all the students that since this is a university, and is a place for studying, we should worship at our homes or in places of worship.”
The university’s Registrar Santosh Sahugaura told news agency PTI that they received a complaint along with a video clip of the student offering namaz.
He added that a five-member committee will submit a report within three days, based on which the university will take action.
Meanwhile, the university's media officer Vivek Jaiswal told PTI that while the university has no formal dress code for students on campus, they are required to attend classes in "basic ethical dressing."
'Hijab Not Essential Religious Practice': Karnataka HC Upholds Uniform Rules
The incident comes amid the hijab row which has its roots in Karnataka’s Udupi district.
Dismissing the petitions filed by Muslim girl students, seeking protection of their right to wear hijab in educational institutions in Karnataka, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday, 15 March, said, "We are of the considered opinion that wearing of hijab by Muslim women does not form a part of essential religious practice in Islamic faith... The prescription of school uniform is only a reasonable restriction that is constitutionally permissible which the students cannot object to."
The high court also held that the Karnataka government had the power to pass the order it did on 5 February, stating that students would have to wear uniforms and that there was no case made out for its invalidation. There were no grounds for disciplinary inquiries against school authorities which had denied entry to Muslim girls for failing to wear uniforms either.
"The school regulations prescribing dress code for all the students as one homogenous class, serve constitutional secularism," the court further said in its judgment.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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