HIJAB

 Hijab is the latest storm in the tea cup, a couple of years earlier most of us would have concluded it to be a typo with "K" being omitted, i.e. mistaking it with "khijab". Khijab in Urdu, the language of love and poetry as they say, means hair colour or Hair Dye as it was known, till it changed colours from Godrej to Garnier. Khijab was a must have to preserve the youthful looks, as insecurities struck the potbellied middle aged person who was mortally scared of being addressed as "Uncle". In fact there was an advertisement which latched on to this very middle aged challenge. How I wish it was the Khijab which was the bone of contention as Hair today Gone tomorrow, would also have done the vanishing act and spared us this ordeal.

Alas, it is Hijab, the veil which has stirred the hornet's nest. The controversy which erupted all of a sudden erupted at a crucial juncture in Indian politics, with five states going to polls. Although Karnataka was not the affected state as far as elections go, but an emotive issue such as this has major ramifications pan India.Sure enough instead of quietly trying to resolve a deeply polarising issue, everyone was just stoking the fire. Media had a field day, politicians cutting across party lines started to wail whether "To be or not to be veiled". Some felt it was encroaching on the religious freedom enshrined in the constitution, while the others felt it was misuse of that very freedom especially in an academic institution. Some quoted the Quran, the others cited  Muslim countries  Saudi Arabia, Palestine where Hijab was not mandatory.

Wearing of Hijab is a personal choice, one can't dispute that, however, the requirement of adherence to a uniform whether in an academic institution or any other organisation is also mandatory and needs to be respected. There is no compulsion on anyone to join any institution, the choice to quit such an organisation should be exercised rather than seek an exception on such grounds.

Be that as it may, the controversy refuses to die down. As if domestic counsel was not enough, expectedly Pak joined issues, but surprise of surprise, the US too joined the bandwagon. Fortunately friend Trudeau is himself in truck turmoil, else he would have loved to do an encore a la Farmer's agitation. Politics makes strange bedfellows.....only these bedfellows are now intercontinental. "Vote ke liye kuchh bhi karega' borrowing from a forgettable Hindi movie "Love ke liye kuchh bhi karega" that is the only commandment which politicians of all hues colours and nationalities follow.