Futile feud disrupts education / Illustration by Reet Sardar

The politics of choice and expression and the display of religious symbols in educational institutes

Educational institutions are now the epicentre of many religious and ideological clashes. They create a hindrance to the propagation of education while also reducing the scope of students' self-expression.

Symbols can be countless things. An object, shape, sign, character, or something else. It is visible by association or convention and represents something invisible, according to vocabulary.com. From the red signal on a traffic banner to a party’s candidate posing with fingers shaped as a “V”, all are symbols.

What is happening?

Several educational institutions all across the country are in the middle of bitter rows happening because of symbols. In Karnataka, the Hijab row created an immense controversy which was only put to bed after the High Court passed its judgment on 15 March, 2022. In Telangana, students of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) saw the installation of pictures of Lord Rama, Lord Hanuman and the saffron flags inside the campus on Ram Navami, 10 April, 2022.

According to Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students' wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), their organisation had no direct links with the setting up of the Ram temple. However, it also defended the rights of the students to practice their faith on campus, justifying the installations. On the other hand, the hijab row was more volatile. That such a vast issue arose from a few junior college students speaks volumes about its sensitive nature.

It was alleged by the Ambedkar Students' Association and the Students' Federation of India that the temple inside UoH was set up to saffronise the campus by the ABVP while also attempting to provoke minority sentiments.

When it comes to the Hijab row, several students were denied entry into their educational institutions for wearing the Hijab by the authorities citing violation of uniform protocols.

Related link: Hijab ban in India sparks outrage protests

The verdict and the loose threads

The court noted that wearing Hijab for Muslim women is not an essential practice in the Islamic faith. This decision brings up the discourse of choice and obligation. If one is old enough to make their own decisions, it is unlikely that they will be compelled to follow the directives laid down by concerned authorities. Uniforms are supposed to create a sense of unison in an educational institution.

However, the girls wearing the Hijabs had their uniforms on, thus showing that they were not completely disregarding the rule stated by the authorities. It is also about being accommodative and accepting instead of being stringent and unidimensional.

This also directly resulted in the alienation and vilification of the Hijab-wearing students. The students and others supporting the decree against wearing Hijab were captured in a video hurling discriminatory and religious chants at the girls protesting the ban. This contradicts the principle that guarantees everyone the right to practice their religious faith and receive an education without any form of discrimination.

The decision to wear Hijab is a personal choice, especially for the students who have reached the age of consent. The political party in power in Karnataka, the BJP, could have also dealt with it in a more nuanced, accommodating, and democratic way. Maybe an attempt to integrate the Hijab into the students' uniforms who wish to opt for it would have been a better, less unsettling conclusion. The issue of forcing girls to wear Hijab needs to be dealt with differently, as taking away the headscarves would not solve the systemic discrimination women face.

What transpired at UoH can also be argued to have happened as a matter of choice. But, setting up a temple in a public space is different from having agency over what one would wear. The two symbols are fundamentally different due to the space where they are displayed.

What the intellectual hubs should strive for

Secularism is to be practised by educational institutions because of the mixed demography the country and states have. Being secular should mean that one must be respectful, and not discriminatory, towards all religious faiths. Educational institutions must not strike down on anyone's personal beliefs but should stay aloof from sending any communal signals. Setting up the Ram temple was objectionable as it was not a personal display of faith but an act of a community in an organised form.

The educational hubs host the country's future and must proceed in a different, more amicable way to make this country realise the dream its citizens have, however large and diverse that number may be.