Karnataka Protests Get More Violent, Teargas Used On Campus

Karnataka has ordered schools and colleges to shut for three days as protests intensified over a ban on wearing of hijab by students. 

Fresh demonstrations on Tuesday saw officers fire tear gas to disperse a crowd at one government-run campus, while a heavy police presence was seen at schools in nearby towns. 

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai appealed for calm after announcing all schools in the state would be closed for three days.

"I appeal to all the students, teachers and management of schools and colleges... to maintain peace and harmony," he said. 

Students at a government-run college were told not to wear hijabs last month, an edict that soon spread to other educational institutions in the state.

"All of a sudden they are saying you are not supposed to wear hijab... why did they start now?" said Ayesha, a teenage student at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College in the coastal city of Udupi. 

Ayesha said a teacher had turned her away from her chemistry exam for wearing the hijab.

"We are not against any religion. We are not protesting against anyone. It is just for our own rights," she told AFP.

Fellow student Amrut, standing nearby among a crowd of boys wearing saffron shawls, said the dispute had unfairly prevented him from attending class. 

"We had... requested them not to wear hijab," he said. "But today they are wearing hijab. They are not allowing us to go inside."

Karnataka High Court began hearing a petition challenging the legality of the ban on Tuesday but adjourned before issuing a ruling.