Wear hijab at home, not outside where there is ‘Hindu Samaj’: Pragya Thakur
"Hijab is a purdah. Purdah should be (used) against those who see you with evil eyes. But it is certain that Hindus don't see them with evil eyes as they worship women," she added.
Amid the ongoing hijab row, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pragya Singh Thakur said headscarves should be worn when people feel unsafe at homes and not outside, where there is 'Hindu Samaj'.
Seeking to draw a parallel to assert her point, Thakur, the Lok Sabha member from Bhopal, said disciples of 'gurukul' (traditional Hindu educational institutions) wear 'bhagwa' (saffron) attire, but when such students go to other schools, they wear the school uniform and follow the discipline of the educational institutions. Thakur made the comments while speaking at a function at a temple in Bhopal's Barkheda Pathani area.
"But if you distort the knowledge and discipline of schools and colleges in the country and start wearing hijab and applying khijab then it will not be tolerated," news agency PTI quoted her as saying.
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"Hijab is a purdah. Purdah should be (used) against those who see you with evil eyes. But it is certain that Hindus don't see them with evil eyes as they worship women," she added.
In 'sanatan dharma', the place where women are not revered is like a crematorium, Thakur said while chanting a 'shloka' (verse). "You should wear hijab in your homes," she added while citing the marriage customs among Muslims.
Karnataka has been embroiled in the hijab controversy since last year. While students are trying to assert their right to exercise their religious freedom, another section of people has been advocating for uniformity in the dress code in educational institutions and has opposed wearing of the hijabs by girls.
The controversy began after a group of students in the southern state alleged they were denied entry to classrooms for wearing the hijab. Soon after, the controversy spread to other colleges and the matter snowballed into a major issue.
The Karnataka high court has, meanwhile, restrained the students from wearing any religious attire to educational institutions till the matter is pending with the court. The court has been hearing a batch of petitions on the matter for the past few days.
(With agency inputs)
