After a video went viral on social media of a student in burka being heckled by several other male students wearing saffron shawls, Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister has blamed the young woman for the ‘provocating’ the mob. Speaking to reporters, Karnataka Education Minister BC Nagesh, on Wednesday, February 9 said, “The girl was coming outside and the students were coming inside. They didn't want to gherao that girl. When she was shouting ‘Allah-hu-Akbar’ there was not even a single student around her. Why did she provoke? She was saying ‘Allah-hu-Akbar’ on the campus. We should not encourage saying ‘Jai Sri Ram’ or ‘Allahu Akbar’ at the school or college campuses.”
However, the video of the incident shows that the provocation was by the male students, who are seen walking upto the burkha-clad student, waving their saffron shawls and shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram,’ after which she retaliates by shouting ‘Allah-hu-Akbar.’
The video, which went viral on social media, shows the burkha-clad woman arriving near her college on her two-wheeler and immediately, some male students can be heard shouting, as the woman gets off her two-wheeler and starts walking to the building. Then, a few male students from the mob walk up to her and start shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ while waving their saffron shawls. It is then that the woman shouts ‘Allah-hu-Akbar’ as a response to them.
After this, the mob of saffron-clad men follow and continue to heckle her as she proceeds to walk away. When a reporter stops her to try and speak to her, the mob is seen closing in on her, again shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ to try and drown her voice out. The college authorities are then seen trying to stop the men and persuading the woman to go into the college building.
A more expanded and clean feed of the above episode. #KarnatakaHijabRow pic.twitter.com/TIieUQJUWN
— Imran Khan (@KeypadGuerilla) February 8, 2022