Karnataka Government Reverses BJP's 2022 Hijab Ban, Allows All Religious Symbols in Classrooms
13 May 2026 | The Wire
Karnataka has officially withdrawn a controversial February 2022 order passed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in power in the state at the time that had allowed educational institutions to ban hijabs in classrooms. Students are now allowed to wear religious and customary symbols along with prescribed uniforms in schools and colleges.
A new order, issued on Wednesday, May 13, allows students to wear "limited traditional and practice-based symbols" along with their uniforms – including hijab, sacred thread, rudraksha, shivadhara and sharavastra. The order applies to government schools and colleges, aided institutions and private educational institutions under the state's School Education Department.