In hijab row, critics say India’s BJP looking for votes in southern state

UDUPI, (India): A series of religious laws promoted by India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party in the southern state of Karnataka, including a ban on the wearing of hijabs, is raising concerns the divisive measures will stoke sectarian tensions more prevalent in the country’s north.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recently banned wearing the hijab in classrooms in Karnataka, the only one of India’s five southern states it rules. A proposal to make religious conversions largely illegal is being considered by the local legislature.

The moves have become an issue of contention involving India’s Muslim minority. Opposition parties and many political analysts accuse the BJP of fomenting tensions in Karnataka to consolidate its appeal to majority Hindus, like they say it has elsewhere in the country.

Modi’s office did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

The BJP has denied that Karnataka’s Feb. 5 hijab ban, a recent bill aimed at mainly preventing conversion of poor Hindus to Christianity and Islam, and a 2021 law prohibiting the slaughter of cows - considered sacred in Hinduism - were designed to pander to the majority community.

“The hijab controversy started as a very localised issue that could have been nipped in its bud”, said Sandeep Shastri, a political scientist who has taught in Karnataka.

“I’m keeping my fingers crossed as to what would be the repercussions of a verdict on the issue,” Shastri added, referring to a petition in the high court seeking to overturn the hijab ban.