Members of various Brahmin organizations condemning the incident, staging a demonstration in Mysuru, asking some students to remove their ‘holy thread’ at CET examination centers in Shivamogga and Bidar. , Photo Credit: Hindu
RIn Karnataka, there were two examples of students from the Brahmin community who were facing obstacles at the examination centers to wear Janiwara (‘Holy thread’). In both examples, the students came to the centers to write the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (CET) 2025, which determines the eligibility for admission to professional courses such as engineering and architecture. In one example, two students were initially prevented from entering the hall wearing their ‘holy thread’ in Shivamogga, but were later allowed to write the exam after the intervention of the authorities. However, in another example, in Bedder, a student did not miss the exam because the authorities did not allow him to enter the wearing ‘holy thread’. Immediately after these incidents, the authorities clarified that the ‘holy thread’ was absent in the list of items that are not allowed inside the CET exam hall. He said that these were examples of “misunderstandings” – two domestic guards in Shivamogga and one by a principal and a clerical staff.
As the resentment over both the incidents increased, the government responded rapidly. People accused of creating obstacles for the students were suspended in Shivamogga and rejected in Bedar. Bedar district in -charge and Forest Minister, Ishwar Khandre, met the student who missed his examination in Bidar. The minister offered a free engineering seat to the student in a college run by his family in Bhalki. Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner of Shivamogga clarified that no one had “cut” ‘holy thread’ at the center, contrary to the claims broadcast on many social media sites and TV channels. The government seemed to be particularly on defensive as there was an explosion in disputes following the findings of the ‘caste census’ in the state cabinet. The report has provoked the “upper castes” because it suggests that their population is “low” that they claim.
A part of the media and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party convicted the Congress government under the leadership of Siddaramaiah, known for the cause of Ahinda (minority, backward classes and Dalits). Brahmin groups staged protests across the state. He was involved in some places by BJP leaders, who argued that wearing ‘holy thread’ was part of the religious rights of the community and was violated.
Equality between these incidents and a dispute in 2022, when colleges in coastal Karnataka closed their doors to hijab girls, many people did not strike. It is true that the reference to hijab ban was different. Hijab’s ban was a part of a step to determine a uniform at Pu College of the Women’s Government in Udupi in December 2021. It was led by the BJP MLA to ensure “equality in classrooms”. But soon, the ban spread to several colleges in coastal Karnataka. Many Muslim girl students left college and did not write the examination that year as they were asked to remove the hijab inside the institutions. In current affairs, ‘Holy Thread’ was clearly not being allowed inside the examination centers inside the examination centers, which was as part of the efforts to curb the misconduct of the examination. But they proved to be examples of extreme enthusiasm. What is common between two controversies, however, is the idea of religious rights.
Alia Asadi, one of the five students of the Women’s Sarkar Pu College in Udupi, who protested against the college ban on hijab in classrooms, and who was a petitioner before the High Court and later the Supreme Court demanded indicating different reactions to disputes. On April 20, he wrote on X: “Wearing hijab is as important for us to wear Janiwara [is] To a Brahmin. There is no pain of a Brahmin [who is] Prevented from writing an exam to wear Janiwara And a Muslim girl pain [who is] Stopped writing an exam to wear a hijab? Then why this difference? Officers who stopped students to wear Janiwara [were] Immediately dismissed. No action was taken against those who closed the door of education for the students of hijab and students … This is our system. ,
The hijab issue is pending in the court. Hearing a petition filed by the students who were not allowed within classes wearing hijab, the Karnataka High Court upheld the institute’s authority to determine a uniform. A challenge was decided in October 2022 due to a challenge in the Supreme Court. The case was transferred to a large bench, where the hearing is yet to come.
adhitya.bharadwaj@thehindu.co.in
Published – 23 April, 2025 01:17 AM IST