HIJAB CONTROVERSY EXPLAINED IN TAMIL | HIJAB ROW ISSUE | UNITY IN DIVERSITY | STUDENTS PROTEST

Описание: An Indian state has shut high schools and colleges for three days after a row over the hijab that has gained international attention after Nobel Prize-winner Malala Yousafzai weighed in.

The government of Karnataka state in southern India took the decision after protests by students over Muslim women wearing headscarves in the classroom escalated into violence.

On Wednesday, the state's high court, which was hearing two petitions filed on behalf of some of the Muslim women, requested the chief justice to set up a larger bench to deliberate the matter.

The developments occurred after protests by six teenage students at a government-run college over wearing hijabs spread to other colleges.

Several Hindu students then turned up wearing saffron shawls - the colour seen as a Hindu symbol - to protest against Muslim women wearing hijabs.

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On Tuesday, Malala - who was 15 when she survived an attack by the Taliban in Pakistan for speaking up for the right of girls to be educated - called on India's leaders to do something to "stop the marginalisation of Muslim women".

The issue began gaining attention when six teenage students at a government-run pre-university college - equivalent to a high school - in Karnataka's Udupi district began protesting over being barred from classes for wearing a hijab.

Udupi is one of three districts in Karnataka's communally sensitive coastal region - a stronghold of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Commentators often describe the region as a laboratory for majoritarian Hindu politics. The BJP is also in power in Karnataka.

The college said it allowed students to wear the hijab on campus and only asked them to take it off inside the classroom. But the protesters - who all wear the mandatory college uniform - argued they should also be allowed to cover their hair in the classroom.

"We have a few male teachers. We need to cover our hair before men. That is why we wear a hijab," Almas AH, one of the students, told BBC Hindi.

The students denied allegations that they were acting at the behest of the Campus Front of India - the student-wing of the radical Islamic group, Popular Front of India - who were advocating for them.

The issue of Muslim women wearing hijabs had cropped up in a few other colleges in Karnataka earlier too, but it started gaining momentum when photos of the women protesters in Udupi went viral.

Last week, a video showing gates being shut on a group of hijab-clad students - shot at a pre-university college in Kundapur in Udupi district - had led to outrage.

Groups of Hindu students - both male and female - also began going on marches against their classmates wearing hijabs.

But there was no violence until Tuesday - hours before the court began hearing the petition, incidents of stone-throwing and even arson were reported from some cities.

Local authorities imposed Section 144 - a colonial-era law that prohibits the gathering of more than four people in one place - to curb the protests.

In Shivamogga district, a group of male students were caught on camera hoisting a saffron flag at their college, prompting the government to announce an inquiry.

In Mandya district, a viral video showed a young woman wearing a hijab being approached by a mob of men with saffron shawls. As they yelled Jai Shri Ram (hail Lord Ram) repeatedly, she stood her ground, shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) as college authorities escorted her away.

On Wednesday, Justice Krishna Dixit, who was hearing two petitions filed on behalf of the Muslim women protesters, said that the matter should be referred to a larger bench.

"Having regard to the enormity of questions of importance which are debated, the court is of the considered opinion that the papers be put at the hand of the chief justice to decide if a larger bench can be constituted in the subject matter," said the judge, legal news website Live Law reported.

Of the two petitions, one argues that choosing what to wear is a fundamental right guaranteed by India's constitution. The other questions the legality of a recent state government dress code order for educational institutions, which bans headscarves and hijabs.

Their lawyer had argued that the government's order on banning the hijab was both unconstitutional and illegal - he had also asked the court to pass an interim order that would allow the students to attend classes ahead of exams.

According to Live Law, justice Dixit also said that the petitioners could seek interim relief after the chief justice took a decision on forming a larger bench.

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