Sikh girl in Karnataka asked to remove turban

While the row over allowing hijab in educational institutions in Karnataka continues, a 17-year-old Amritdhari (baptised) Sikh girl was asked by her college to remove her turban in accordance with its dress code and the interim order of the Karnataka High Court. The court earlier had restrained students from “wearing saffron shawls, hijab and religious flags or the like in classrooms of colleges which have prescribed a uniform”. The student of Mount Carmel PU College, Bengaluru, who is also the president of the students’ association, was politely asked to remove her turban for the first time on February 16 to which she refused. The college later spoke to her father stating they understood the importance of the turban for a Sikh but were bound by the high court order.