The Hijab Controversy

What is at stake in the hijab issue https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/karnataka-udupi-muslim-right-what-is-at-stake-in-hijab-issue-7778969/ Javed Anand  Secularists must support rights of Muslims in an increasingly Islamophobic world, but they should be wary of strengthening the Muslim right in the process February 18, 2022 

Category: Hijab and Feminism

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Having attained nirvana, Maa Heeraben will always inspire...
Editorial by Samir Jain Jan 02, 2023, https://www.speakingtree.in/article/having-attained-nirvana-maa-heeraben-will-always-inspire   I never had the good fortune of meeting Heeraben but when I met the Prime Minister a few weeks ago, the reverence and affection he expressed for her during our meeting gave me a vivid glimpse into Heeraben’s remarkable and extraordinary personality....When she set her son, then still very young, on the path of duty – she had offered him ‘gud’ (jaggery) and ‘dahi’ (curd) – she transcended attachment and attained nirvana. The blessings of this courageous mother and her memories will keep guiding the Prime Minister on his journey.

Comment in WA: NV:I am not surprised by this write up at all! Have been part of BCCL for almost 12 years! The way they run their organisation, says a lot about their beliefs! In spite of the fact that Samir Jain loves spending most of his time in Haridwar in his guest house, he is a ruthless owner of a media house that keeps trimming the size of his company ( work force at regular intervals and shutting down satellite offices occasionally ) to increase ‘efficiency’. Times news network has been the lapdog for many years .. Fay D’Souza was one exception and see how she ended her stint with Mirror!..

R: I too worked there and am surprised it still gets readers

Category: Representation of Hijab in Media

Inadequate reportage, no shortage of opinion: Where does Big Media stand on the hijab row?  By Kalpana Sharma 17 Feb, 2022  https://www.newslaundry.com/2022/02/17/inadequate-reportage-no-shortage-of-opinion-where-does-big-media-stand-on-the-hijab-row  Misinterpreting the high court’s order, fanning the flames, the rare nuanced take – we saw it all.

It began on December 28, when six students of the Women's Government Pre-University College in Udupi were not allowed to enter their classroom wearing a hijab. Now, with the arguments being heard currently in the Karnataka High Court, the controversy poses several challenges to the media.

Will the media help tamp down emotions or add fuel to the fire that has already been lit? Will it, as seems inevitable in the highly polarised communal situation prevailing in Karnataka and elsewhere, ratchet up the blame game, creating false binaries such as Muslims vs Hindus, hijab vs saffron, etc? Or will it report with responsibility and context?

Soon, politics took over. The Campus Front of India, which is affiliated to the Social Democratic Party of India, spoke up on behalf of the Muslim students in Udupi. It was only a matter of time before other actors entered the fray, principally the Hindu Jagarana Vedike, which is a part of the Sangh Parivar and has been active on a number of incendiary communal issues in Udupi and nearby districts of Karnataka. This region has been in the news for years with such right-wing groups hounding Hindu-Muslim couples and raising the bogey of “love jihad”.

This report (TNM investigation: How Hindutva group mobilised saffron-clad students at Udupi college :)  in the News Minute is particularly revelatory as it establishes that what was attempted to be portrayed as a spontaneous reaction by Hindu students to the demand of Muslim students for their rights was, in fact, stage-managed. The scarves and turbans were made available, and then collected once the media had given the demonstration coverage.

Category: Representation of Hijab in Media