Split over hijab: On the Supreme Court verdict
The Supreme Court of India’s verdict on the head-scarf case should not lead to denial of education rightsA two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court has been unable to resolve the conflict between a girl student’s freedom to wear a head-scarf and the state’s interest in keeping schools a place of equality and secularism. It is unfortunate that a clear verdict did not emerge from the elaborate arguments advanced before the Court for and against the Karnataka government’s bar on the wearing of the hijab. The split verdict perhaps reflects the division in the wider society on issues concerning secularism and the minorities. Justice Hemant Gupta, rejecting the idea that hijab could be worn in addition to the uniform, has held that permitting one community to wear religious symbols to class will be the antithesis of secularism. Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, on the other hand, has ruled that asking to remove the head-scarf at an institution’s gates is an invasion of their privacy and dignity. The issue is why a head-scarf that does not interfere with the uniform cannot be a matter of choice without being a target of hostile discrimination; and whether the hijab is going to be used to deny girl students their right to education. Justice Dhulia represents this viewpoint when he asserts that discipline should not be at the cost of freedom, when he wonders why a girl child wearing a hijab should be a public order problem and declares that ‘reasonable accommodation’ of this practice will be a sign of a mature society. He also empathises with the position of girl students who have to overcome greater odds than boys to get an education.Justice Gupta, on the other hand, has foregrounded equality and discipline as the essential hallmarks of a secular institution in a diverse country, and rules that the Government violates no constitutional principle when enforcing a prescribed uniform. He goes to the extent of saying the constitutional goal of fraternity would be defeated if students are permitted to carry their apparent religious symbols with them to the classroom. The split verdict has given rise to the question of whether matters on which opinions could be sharply divided and have significant political implications should be placed before Division Benches of even number. In the prevailing political climate, the Karnataka government mandating either a prescribed uniform or any dress that was “in the interest of unity, equality and public order” was seen as majoritarian assertion in the garb of enforcing secular norms, equality and discipline in educational institutions. A verdict that legitimises this non-inclusive approach to education and a policy that may lead to denial of opportunity to Muslim women will not be in the country’s interest. Reasonable accommodation should be the course as long as the hijab or any wear, religious or otherwise, does not detract from the uniform.
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Perhaps (adverb) – maybe, for all I know, for all you know
शायद
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Public order (noun) – Public Order means the state of normality and security that is needed in a society and that should be pursued by the state in order to exercise constitutional rights and to thus benefit a harmonious development of society सार्वजनिक व्यवस्था
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Lead (to) (verb) –cause, give rise to, result in, bring about वजह बनना
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Invasion (noun) – attack, incursion, offensive, assailing
आक्रमण
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In addition (phrase) – Furthermore, moreover, also, additionally, as well,
इसके अलावा
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Unfortunate (adjective) – unlucky, hapless, out of luck, down on one's luck
दुर्भाग्य
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Elaborate (adjective) – detailed
विस्तृत
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On the other hand (phrase) – Used to introduce a contrasting point of view, fact, or situation.
वहीं दूसरी ओर
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In the garb of (phrase) – in the name of, for the sake of
की आड़ में
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Antithesis (noun) – A person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else.
प्रतिपक्षता
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Course (noun) – a procedure adopted to deal with a situation
कार्यप्रणाली
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Diverse (adjective) – various, sundry, manifold, multiple, varied, varying
विविध
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Prevailing (adjective) – current, existing, prevalent, usual, common
मौजूदा
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Dignity (noun) – self-esteem, self-worth, self-respect, pride, morale
गरिमा, गौरव
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Rule (verb) – Decide, Judge, Declare, Pronounce, Decree, Dictate
निर्णय देना
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Denial (noun) – refusal, rejection, repudiation, disavowal, negation
इनकार
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Bar (noun) – restriction, impediment, barrier, block, hindrance
रोक
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Permit (verb) – allow, license, authorize, enable, sanction
अनुमति देना
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Overcome (verb) – to defeat or succeed in controlling or dealing with something:
दूर करना
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Implication (noun) – Consequence, repercussion, effect, outcome
परिणाम/ प्रभाव
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Apparent (adjective) – obvious, evident, clear, manifest, plain
स्पष्ट
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Majoritarian (adjective) – Of, relating to, or advocating/supporting majority rule, especially as a political principle:
बहुसंख्यकवादी
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Hostile (adjective) – not agreeing with something; opposed to, against, disinclined to,
विरोधी
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Conflict (noun) – Battle, fight, war, struggle, skirmish, clash, encounter
संघर्ष
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Emerge (verb) – appear, arise, come out, surface, develop
उभरना
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Split (noun) – Difference of Opinion
विभाजन
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Resolve (verb) – Solve settle, come to a decision
समाधान करना
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Advance (verb) – to suggest an idea or theory
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Reflect (verb) – indicate, show, display, demonstrate,
प्रदर्शित करना
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Concerning (preposition) – about; on the subject of
के विषय में; के विषय पर
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Hold (verb) – adjudge, declare, decide
निर्णय करना
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Class (verb) – categorize, classify,
श्रेणी देना
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Viewpoint (noun) – standpoint, perspective, point of view, position, opinion
दृष्टिकोण
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At the cost of (phrase) – by giving up or hurting (something else)
की कीमत पर, इसके बदले में
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Wonder (verb) – think about, reflect on, deliberate about, speculate about
सोचना, आश्चर्य होना
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Reasonable accommodation (noun) – ‘Reasonable accommodation’ is a philosophy that promotes equality, allows positive rights to be granted, and prevents discrimination based on disability, health, or personal beliefs. Its primary application is in the field of disability rights.
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Empathise (verb) – to be able to understand how someone else feels
सहानुभूति रखना
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Odds (noun) – something that makes it seem impossible to do or achieve something
बाधाओं
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Foreground (verb) – to give the most importance to a particular subject, etc.
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Hallmark (noun) – a feature or quality that is typical of somebody/something
कसौटी, नमूना
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Secular (adjective) – non-religious, lay, non-church, temporal, worldly
धर्मनिरपेक्ष
Secularism (noun) – the belief that religion should not influence or be involved in the organization of society, education, government, etc. धर्मनिरपेक्षता
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Violate (verb) – breach, infringe, rape, break, transgress
उल्लंघन करना
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Enforce (verb) – impose, apply, carry out, administer, implement,
लागू करना
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Extent (noun) – Degree, amount, range, scope
हद
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Fraternity (noun) – The state or quality of being fraternal or brotherly; brotherhood.
भाईचारा
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Give rise to (phrase) – cause, lead to, generate, result in, bring about
उत्पन्न करना
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Mandate (verb) – Require (something) to be done; make mandatory.
अनिवार्य करना
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Assertion (noun) – declaration, statement, claim, affirmation, Contention
दावा
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Legitimise (verb) – Make legal
वैध करना
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Detract from (phrasal verb) – to make something seem less valuable or less deserving of admiration than it really is
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State (noun) – country, nation, land, sovereign state, nation state; government
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Interfere (with) (verb) – intervene, meddle, interrupt, intrude, hinder
हस्तक्षेप करना
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Assert (verb) – declare, affirm, state, claim, aver
दृढ़ता से कहना