Mangalore, August 8: Even before the furore created by a ban on burqa and hijab in classrooms could die down, an educational institution in Dakshina Kannada district has stirred a hornet's nest by mandating women - students, teachers and staff - to wear bangles and sport bindi on campus.
The administrative board of Vivekananda Vidyavardhaka Sangha (VVS), Puttur, which runs several institutions, has circulated a notice directing the heads of its institutions to ensure the decision is implemented.
The May 25 notice mandates that uniform should be compulsory, and women must wear bangles and tilak on the premises.
The administrative board has directed the institution heads to implement the diktat from the next academic year.
VVS secretary E Shivaprasad said that the rules have been introduced to ensure discipline on the campuses. "We have institutions from LKG to engineering. Rules regarding uniform are compulsory in all our institutions. Wearing bangles and tilak is not a compulsory rule. Girls and women staffers from other religions may take their own decision. We will not take action against such women who do not wear bangles and tilak," he said.
The decision of Vivekananda Vidyavardhaka Sangha has drawn flak.
Federation of Rationalists Associations of India president Narendra Nayak said nobody can impose religious symbolism on another. "If this is allowed, then tomorrow Christian and Muslim institutions' managements will introduce their rules," he added.
Shameera Jahan, deputy coordinator of the women's wing of Jamaate-Islami Hind, called the VVK directive an attack on religious freedom. "They cannot make wearing bangles and tilak compulsory in institutes where students belong to different religions study. There are many institutions run by Muslim managements in the district where burqa is uniform. They allow students of other religions to wear the dress of their choice." Writer and progressive thinker Sara Aboobaker said imposing religious practices on others will amount to violation of the Constitution. "If the institute makes the rule mandatory, it's condemnable."
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