In a confrontation caught on camera, a student in a hijab stood her ground as she was heckled by a large group of slogan-shouting young men wearing saffron scarves at a Karnataka college.
The video of the Muslim student standing up to the saffron-wearing group and fighting back has been widely shared on social media. The incident took place at the Mandya pre-University college.
In the video, the young woman parks her scooter and heads to the college building when students wearing saffron scarves shout "Jai Shri Ram" and advance towards her.
She does not look intimidated as she shouts back: "Allah hu Akbar!" She keeps shouting it, raising her hand, and keeps walking, followed by the men.
"What is the problem if I am wearing the burqa?" she stops and says to a person not seen on camera.
As the men, still chanting slogans, catch up with her, college officials step in. They are seen holding the group back and escorting the student.
Multiple incidents across Karnataka today saw the hijab versus saffron scarves fight taking a more communal turn with violence in cities like Harihara and Davengere. As protesters threw stones at each other, the police had to use tear gas and batons to restore order.
The government has declared all schools and colleges shut for three days.
The day began with protests outside the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) college in the Udupi district - one group in the hijab and another wearing saffron scarves shouting slogans.
The Karnataka High Court, hearing a petition filed by five women from a government college in Udupi, appealed to students and others to "maintain peace and tranquility".
The hijab protests began last month at the Government Girls PU college in Udupi when six students alleged, they had been barred from classes for insisting on wearing the headscarf.
The protests spread to more colleges in Udupi and beyond, with staff banning the hijab and many students taking a confrontational position by showing up in saffron scarves and shouting slogans.
On Saturday, the state's BJP government banned clothes which it said, "disturb equality, integrity and public order".
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