The row over dress code has impacted yet another college in Udupi district with the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Pre University College in Udupi declaring a holiday on February 8 after some students turned up wearing saffron shawls with saffron peta and hijab.
Some boys wore both saffron peta and shawls while some girls were seen wearing either saffron shawls or hijab. After the college declared a holiday, the students gathered both inside and outside the campus protesting against each other.
Sources said that the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Degree College, located in the premises of the same pre university college, allowed hijab-clad students to appear for the on-going examinations.
A student, Varshi, who was sporting a saffron shawl told mediapersons outside the college that students wore the shawls and peta as some students turned up wearing hijab. The college had told students on February 7 that neither shawls nor hijab will be allowed in classrooms. But some students turned up with a hijab on February 8 too. “Hence, we too wore saffron shawls. We want equality and uniformity,” she said.
Asked whether students were wearing hijab earlier to the college, she said they did. “But as per the government order now, it is not allowed.”