Hindu hardliners seek wider India ban on hijab in class after court verdict

FILE PHOTO: Hijab-wearing students arrive to attend classes as a policewoman stands guard outside a government girls school after the recent hijab ban, in Udupi town in the southern state of Karnataka, India, February 16, 2022. REUTERS/Sunil Kataria/File Photo

AHMEDABAD/LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) - Hardline Hindu groups are demanding restrictions on wearing the hijab in classrooms in more Indian states after a court upheld a ban on the traditional Islamic head-scarf in Karnataka state, worrying Muslim students who had protested against the ban.

The Karnataka High Court decision on Tuesday, backing the southern state's ban on the hijab in February, has also been welcomed by top federal ministers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who say students should avoid wearing religious clothing in class. [L2N2VI09V]