India: The veil in the classroom

Islam, Women and Feminism
	India: The veil in the classroom
	Unfortunately, the pressure generated by Muslim fundamentalists through 'secular' media effectively compelled Katju (Supreme Court judge) to publicly backtrack from his progressive position….The debate over religious symbols in secularized classrooms has been hugely problematic for the secular state of India. Authorities have feigned helplessness in their inability to strictly enforce secular ethos in a highly religious society. Such argumentation is actually a smokescreen for hiding the intimidating instincts of Semitic faiths who unlike Hinduism theoretically and otherwise do not differentiate between public and private spaces.  Islamists including India's first education minister, Maulana Azad used to gloat on how their presumably totalitarian religion controls not only every aspect of life but also politics. No wonder, the sense of 'denial' of their religious freedom in secularized spaces emerges most vociferously from Muslim quarters. 'Secularists' and 'liberals' reinforce such regressive attitudes by politics of appeasement. In contrast, majority Hindus whose children of all ages routinely face hostility, abuse and even corporal punishment for wearing anything from bindis to kumkum in certain Christian institutions have not shown any willingness for organized protest. Neither have any liberals spoken for them. -- Saurav Basu
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