The video of a woman passenger forcing a Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus conductor to remove his skull cap while on duty has gone viral on social media. In the video, the woman is heard repeatedly asking the conductor if he is allowed to wear the skull cap. The incident has sparked a debate about religious freedom and tolerance. It is unclear when and where the video is from.
ವಾಟ್ಸಾಪಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡ್ದೆ. ಆ ಮಹಿಳೆಯ ಹೃದಯದಲ್ಲಿ ತುಂಬಿದ ಕೋಮು ವಿಷದ ತೀವ್ರತೆಯನ್ನು ಅಳೆಯುವ ಯಂತ್ರವೊಂದಿದ್ರೆ ಅದರ ಮುಳ್ಳುಗಳೇ ಒಡೆದುಹೋಗುತ್ತಿದ್ವೆನೋ?. ಕುಂಕುಮ, ಮಾಲೆಗಳನ್ನು ಧರಿಸುವಂತೆ ಟೋಪಿಗೂ ಅವಕಾಶವಿದೆಎಂದಾಗಿದೆ ನನ್ನ ಭಾವನೆ. ಏನಿದ್ದರೂ ವಿಷ ಕಾರುತ್ತಿರುವ ಮಹಿಳೆಯ ಮುಂದೆಯೂ ಸೌಮ್ಯವಾಗಿ ನಡೆದುಕೊಂಡ ನಿರ್ವಾಹಕರಿಗೆ ನನ್ನದೊಂದು ಸಲಾಂ pic.twitter.com/RFaIXGuq3M
— Mohamed Haneef (@Mohamed47623244) July 11, 2023
The video shows the woman repeatedly questioning the conductor about the permissibility of wearing a green skull cap with his uniform while on duty. Asserting that government employees should practice their religion in the privacy of their homes, she demanded that the conductor remove his cap.
Despite the conductor's polite response, explaining that he had been wearing the cap for several years, the woman persisted and threatened to report the matter to the authorities. Disregarding the conductor's explanation, she said wearing the cap for long did not make it a law and insisted that it should be removed immediately.
Ultimately, the conductor complied with the woman's demand and removed his skull cap, bringing the contentious episode to an end.
As a regular bus commuter, no driver/conductor’s religious preference has ever mattered to me,just the way they never discriminate based on religion or class. Why does one need this kind of validation in life?#Bengaluru https://t.co/yYTNufcb7p
— Jahnavi Ravindra (@Jahnaviravindra) July 12, 2023
If maale, bottu, chains are fine why not a cap? Moral policing is bad. If there was any violation let the authorities take charge.
— Srujana Deva (@SrujanaDeva) July 12, 2023
We should not be romanticising his patience because it's survival for him amongst a crowd.
The venom has completely consumed the minds. Shame! https://t.co/wLJLtWpwsH
Previously, in June 2022, BMTC had clarified that news reports in a Kannada news channel alleging that Hindu bus drivers were wearing saffron shawls to protest against Muslim employees sporting skull caps at work to be false.
The woman’s argument with the bus conductor echoed the 2022 hijab controversy that broke out in a government school in Udupi district of Karnataka. Students wearing saffron shawls opposed their hijab wearing classmates and the BJP-led Karnataka government introduced a rule barring the wearing of hijabs in government colleges in the state. The case is currently in the Supreme Court and will be heard by a three-judge bench.