When a few students turned up at Government Degree College in Balagadi in Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka wearing saffron scarves, the management of the state-run degree college found themselves in a difficult situation. This particular section of students turned up with saffron scarves as a protest against women who were attending classes wearing hijab.

Initially, the college accepted the demands of the students donning saffron scarves and asked women not to wear hijab and attend classes, but as reported by PTI, it decided that till January 10, everyone was allowed to wear what they choose.  

This is not the first time this issue has cropped up in the same college. It was three years ago that a meeting was convened by the college regarding the same concerns and a decision was arrived at. Now, a parent-teacher meeting is being convened by the college on January 10 so that the issue can be resolved. "The decision arrived at would be binding on everyone," stated the Principal of the college, Ananth Murthy. The local MLA, police, local leaders and other officials will also be a part of this meeting. He also added that all was going well until students turned up wearing saffron scarves and were raising objections regarding the dress code of other students.

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"Three years ago, a similar controversy had erupted in the college and it was decided that no one should come to the college wearing hijab but for the past few days, some women are coming to the college wearing it. Hence, we decided to come to the college wearing saffron scarves from yesterday," said Vinay Koppa, a second-year student pursuing BCom.

The student also went on to claim that upon their request, the administration of the college had asked the women several times to refrain from wearing the hijab, but nothing changed. He also stated that if the issue is not resolved, the agitation will only intensify.