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Karnataka revokes 2022 hijab order, allows limited religious symbols with uniforms
The Karnataka government withdrew the 2022 order that barred hijabs in uniformed classrooms, allowing limited religious and traditional symbols with the uniform. The new directive maintains uniforms but states symbols must be supplementary and not alter the basic purpose of the uniform, and cannot be used to deny participation. This ends the 2022 controversy and redefines how symbols may be worn in state educational institutions.
Why It Matters
It reshapes state policy on religious symbols in schools, balancing secular governance with personal beliefs, and follows a history of related legal debates dating back to 2022.
Timeline
5 Events
Karnataka revokes 2022 hijab order; permits limited symbols with uniform
May 13, 2026
The government issued a directive withdrawing Government Order No: EP 14 SHH 2022, dated 05.02.2022, effective immediately. The new order allows students to wear items such as hijab, turban, sacred thread (janivara), rudraksha, and other traditional symbols with institutional uniforms, provided they do not interfere with discipline, safety, or student identification. Uniforms remain mandatory, and symbols must be supplementary to the uniform without changing its basic purpose. The directive lists Peta/Turban, Janivara/Sacred thread, Shivadaara, Rudrakshi, and Headscarf among the permissible symbols and bars exclusion from classrooms or examinations for wearing these items.
Supreme Court split verdict on hijab case
October 2022
The Supreme Court delivered a split verdict in October 2022; one judge upheld the restrictions, while the other ruled in favour of the petitioners. The matter was referred to a larger bench.
Karnataka High Court ruling on hijab restrictions
March 2022
The Karnataka High Court upheld the government's position, ruling that the hijab was not an essential religious practice under Islam and affirming the authority of educational institutions to enforce dress codes.
February 5, 2022 government order on uniforms
February 5, 2022
The state government issued Government Order No: EP 14 SHH 2022 directing students to follow uniforms prescribed by educational institutions; in places without an official uniform, students were instructed to wear clothing consistent with equality, integrity and public order.
Hijab controversy begins in Udupi
January 2022
The controversy first emerged in January 2022 at a government pre-university college in Udupi, where a group of Muslim students said they had been denied entry to classrooms because they wore hijabs.