The abdication of what Ambedkar would have called, ‘constitutional morality’ was most evident in the response of the State of Karnataka. It consciously and deliberately went out of its way to deny Muslim women the right to choose their attire. It privileged uniform over education. At all points in time it consciously shirked its constitutional responsibility under Article 46 to make ‘make effective provision for securing the right to education’ and its constitutional responsibility to ensure the right to education without discrimination. The Karnataka Government, indeed has an inalienable constitutional responsibility to respond to the continuing violations of fundamental rights of young Muslim women. More than a year after the hijab was first suddenly prohibited in a PU college in Udupi, Muslim women students across Karnataka continue to struggle to pursue their education and face grave consequences such as psychological distress and isolation. It is this abdication, of a government which has sworn to uphold the Constitution, which is a matter of grave concern.
People's Union of Civil Liberties, 'Closing the Gates of Education: Violation of rights of Muslim women students in Karnataka'
