LAHORE – A Hijab-clad Muslim student has garnered admiration for making her way towards the college despite being terrorised by Hindu extremists in the Indian state of Karnataka.
Politicians, celebrities, activists, and journalists are hailing the young woman, Muskan Khan, for standing against extremism as protests intensified over the hijab ban in the educational institutions in a ‘flawed democracy’.
As soon as the clip went viral, social media was flooded with condemnation, even many Indian were red-faced after a lone girl was bullied and harassed by a right-wing group in broad daylight.
In the viral clip, Muskan can be seen raising one arm in the air and chanting Allahu Akbar in response with full force as a pack of Saffron radical chant Jai Shri Ram at her.
Muskan Khan was shortly titled ‘Sherni’ [lioness] while others commended her as a hero and courageous on social media. The girl also vowed to keep fighting for her right to wear the Islamic code in the Hindutva-dominated region.
Speaking with an Indian news outlet, Khan vowed to stand in the future saying covering the head is a part of her religion. She even mentioned that some of her Hindu friends also supported her stance.
Recalling the day of the incident, she said “I was not worried. When I entered the college, they were not allowing me just because I was wearing the burqa… I was just there to submit an assignment”.
#NDTVExclusive | "Some men were outsiders, but 10 per cent were from college, but most were outsiders," says Muskan, student in #Hijab who was heckled by students in saffron shawls in #Karnataka today.#KarnatakaHijabRow pic.twitter.com/DWff3u1MJh
— NDTV (@ndtv) February 8, 2022
“As I entered college, they started shouting the slogan ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and then I chanted ‘Allahu Akbar’ she mentioned while adding that she would keep fighting for her right to wear the hijab.
She also mentioned that the terrorizing incident started last week. “We used to wear the burqa and hijab all the time. I wore the hijab in class and used to remove the burqa”, Muskan was quoted saying by an Indian news channel.
Khan, who is a 12th standard commerce student, went on to say that the principal never raised any objection about the Islamic code. It’s the outsiders that have started this, she pointed.
The recent incident left many awe-struck as violence and hate speech against Muslims soared under the Indian nationalist party while protests have drawn public condemnation.
Check some of the reactions:
Fascists versus a lone Muslim woman in Karnataka, India.
Looks like the same kind of fascism spreading everywhere –https://t.co/blNyNLP7o7— John Cusack (@johncusack) February 8, 2022
As always,it takes a pack of men to attempt to intimidate a woman. Such frightened,pathetic excuses for human beings. Brandishing their shawls as weapons,cloaking their weakness in cruelty. A sizeable section of a rudderless generation lost to hate. https://t.co/PtQJ9zxOIM
— Pooja Bhatt (@PoojaB1972) February 8, 2022
Many people refuse to accept new rules in the Indian state while right-wing students started wearing Saffron-colored shawls – as a symbol of Hindu terror.
Muskan Khan: Pakistan slams India for terrorising Hijab-wearing Muslim student
The situation remains tense in recent days in Karnataka as far-right Hindu groups thronged into classrooms to show their support of their schools’ hijab ban.
Amid the saffron terror and protests, the Indian state-run by the Modi-led BJP announced to close educational institutions for three days.
Ban on hijab at schools triggers strong protests by Muslims in Modi s India
