"How Can Court Equate Classrooms With Army Camps?": A Owaisi On Hijab Ban

Asaduddin Owaisi also said "If you look at the Constitution, pluralism and diversity are the basic structures of the Constitution. Homogeneity is not"

Asaduddin Owaisi, the chief of AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) today questioned the premises of the Karnataka High Court upholding the ban on hijab, saying the court's examples of a gurukul, prison or an army camp cannot be equated to schools. He also argued against the homogeneity that school uniforms are meant to bring, pointing out that many nations do not require uniforms in school.  

"If you look at the Constitution, pluralism and diversity are the basic structures of the Constitution. Homogeneity is not," Mr Owaisi told NDTV in an exclusive interview after the High Court turned down petitions from a group of students to allow hijab in classrooms.  

In its judgment, the court had said hijab is not an essential practice in Islam. "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 judges had said, refusing to strike down the government decision to ban head scarves.  

The decision has been questioned by many, with critics making the point that the state cannot interfere with personal choice in dress. The Karnataka government has taken the view that there is no restriction on wearing hijab in India except reasonable restrictions subject to institutional discipline.