UP Students Walk Down Ramp In Burqa, Muslim Body Demands Apology

An attempt by some students to display their creativity and project "unity in diversity" by walking down the ramp in burqas in a Muzaffarnagar college has led to a controversy, with a Muslim body calling for an apology from the institution's authorities.

While a representative from the Jamiat Ulama has said that the burqa is a piece of clothing for "purdah" (covering) and not an item meant to be used for a fashion show, the students pointed out that questions seem to arise both when they take off their hijab and when they don't.

The college has stood with the students, who claim they have also got support from a representative of the Darul Uloom, who has said that the fashion show was a form of representation.

The controversy erupted after a video of a fashion show at the Shri Ram College in Muzaffarnagar on Sunday went viral. The three-day event, called Fashion Splash, had students displaying both Western and traditional attire and a group of students also walked down the ramp wearing burqas. A former Bollywood actor and a television actor were also present at the event, which was organised by students studying fashion design. 

'Must Apologise'

Reacting after the video went viral, Jamiat Ulama's district convener Maulana Mukarram Qasmi accused the college of targeting a religion and warned that they will take legal action against the institution's authorities if they don't apologise.

"We condemn the incident. Burqa is not an item of fashion, it is used for purdah. It is a mark of the dignity and honour of Muslim women. A burqa is worn so that women can avoid the looks of men who have the wrong intentions. It does not behove them (the college authorities) to target a particular religion and inflame someone's religious feelings," he said in Hindi.

"The authorities of the college must apologise publicly and, if they don't, we will not hesitate to take legal action. They should not do this to followers of any religion again," the maulana added.

'Unity In Diversity'

Students said clothes of all kinds were being represented at the event and one of them decided to design burqas so that they could showcase their creativity as well. 

A student who participated in the show, said, "Everyone was trying to think of new ways to express their creativity. All kinds of dresses were being showcased and a friend of ours came up with an idea to give representation to burqas as well. Our motive was to give representation to our style of dressing and project unity in diversity. We wanted to ensure Muslim girls are not left behind."

On the controversy, the student said, "Questions are raised whether the hijab is taken off or worn. A maulana from the Darul Uloom has said that it is good that we took the opportunity we got."

Another student, Bushra Khan, said, "Nobody asked us to do this, we did it because we wanted to. There is nothing wrong with what we did. The motive was to showcase the designs."

'Platform For Creativity'

Authorities from the college have stood firmly with the students and said they would have failed in their duty if they had stopped the fashion show. 

Ravi Gautam, media coordinator for the Shri Ram Group of Colleges said, "The maulana's views are his own and I don't want to comment on that. We are an educational institution and our objective is to give students the best education possible, irrespective of religion. The event was organised by girls studying fashion design and was meant to give them a platform to display their creativity."

"The girls did not hurt religious sentiments in any way and, in fact, took their traditions forward. Everybody has the right to expression and we would have failed in our duty if we had stopped the students from expressing their creativity. I don't think the students did anything wrong," Mr Gautam said.