A state in southern India re-opened some schools on Monday (14) that had been closed following protests last week over female students not being allowed to wear hijabs, or head-to-toe burqas, in class.
The issue, widely seen by India's Muslim minority community as a bid to sideline it by authorities in a Hindu-dominated nation, comes as prime minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prepares for elections in key states.
Police stood guard as students in pink uniforms, about a dozen wearing hijabs, entered a government girl's school where the issue first flared in Karnataka state's district of Udupi, about 400 km (248 miles) from the tech hub of Bengaluru.
Authorities have banned gatherings of more than five people within 200 metres (650 ft) of educational institutions in the area, which have begun classes from primary to high school, although higher grades and colleges are still shut.
The move came after a state court, which has set a hearing of the matter for Monday (14), told students not to wear any religious clothing, ranging from saffron shawls to scarves or hijabs, in classrooms until further orders.
"Whether wearing of hijab in the classroom is a part of essential religious practice of Islam in the light of constitutional guarantees needs a deeper examination," the court said in an interim order last week.
The issue was spotlighted following protests last week after some schools refused entry to students wearing the garments, deemed to have fallen foul of a Feb. 5 order on uniforms by the state, which is ruled by BJP.
Ayesha Imthiaz, a student in Udupi, said it was humiliating to be asked to take off the hijab before class.
She felt her "religion had been questioned and insulted by a place which I had considered as a temple of education," she told Reuters on the weekend.
An official in the coastal district of Udupi, Pradeep Kurudekar S, told reporters authorities would wait for further orders from the court or the government to resume all classes.
The issue prompted expressions of support for Muslim girls and women from the US government and Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai.
(Reuters)
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)