Dear Bangarappa. | Photo credit: File photo
According to new rules related to Karnataka’s school and college dress code announced by School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa on Wednesday (May 13), students can wear turbans, sacred threads, Shiva beads, rudraksha beads, scarves and other symbols.
However, the regulation says these symbols must only complement the prescribed uniform and “must not alter, modify or defeat the basic purpose of the uniform”.
Addressing the media, Mr. Bangarappa said the matter was brought to his attention by Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao following an incident in which students writing the CET examination were forced to remove the sacred thread. “He (Dinesh Gundu Rao) told me that we have to take up the matter with the Chief Minister. According to him, such matters should not come up as it undermines the confidence of the students,” the minister said. Mr. Rao was present at the press conference along with Rizwan Arshad, Shivajinagar MLA.
The new order dated May 13 states that no student can be denied entry into an educational institution, classroom, examination hall or any academic activity for wearing these permitted symbols along with the prescribed uniform. However, any national or national dress codes already in place will continue to apply during exams if necessary.
BJP calls it ‘appeasement’
After the announcement, Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka said the Karnataka government, “shaken by the political message emanating from the Davangere bypoll” and growing unrest in parts of its minority constituency, had retreated back to its familiar policy of appeasement.
“In a desperate bid for damage control, the Siddaramaiah government has decided to reopen the hijab issue through its latest regulation on uniforms in educational institutions. It’s the same old Congress formula – create political distractions through identity-based decisions when the government fails,” he said in a post on X.
Mr. Ashoka called it a “calculated political bribe to appease a particular community that has recently expressed its displeasure”.
“The Congress party is hurtling down the same dangerous path that led the TMC in West Bengal to political and social unrest,” Mr. Ashoka said.
Supreme Court case
The larger legal issues surrounding the Karnataka hijab case are still pending before the Supreme Court of India. Since the two-judge panel hearing the case issued a split verdict and did not reach a final decision, the constitutional issues raised in the case must still be resolved by a larger panel.
Published – 13 May 2026 23:12 IST
