Some schools reopen in Indian state after hijab dispute

FILE PHOTO: Ayesha Imthiaz, 21, a Muslim college student, wearing a hijab, studies in a room in Udupi, Karnataka state, India, February 11, 2022. REUTERS/Sunil Kataria

UDUPI, India (Reuters) - Some schools reopened in the Indian state of Karnataka on Monday after closing last week when protests erupted over students being barred from wearing the hijab in class.

The issue, widely seen by India's Muslim minority community as a bid to sideline it by authorities in a Hindu-dominated nation, comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prepares for elections in key states.