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Hyderabad: Minority Affairs
Minister Salman Khursheed Friday asked educational institutions to
be sensitive to the concerns and feelings of all communities,
specially when it comes to dress codes and food habits.
Reacting to an
incident in Karnataka where a private college disallowed a Muslim
girl to wear a head scarf, the minister said such issues should be
sorted out through dialogue.
"We have to be
sensitive and considerate to concerns and feelings of every
community. This has nothing to do with only minority communities. We
have to be careful about all communities. I think these matters
should be settled through dialogue and not through accusations and
mistrust," he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference here.
He pointed out
that there were many institutions that accommodated dress codes and
food habits of different communities. "If we can live together in
this country, we should try and accommodate," he said.
Sri Venkataramana
Swamy (SVS) College in Bantwal, Karnataka, stirred a row by barring
a Muslim girl student from entering the classroom wearing a head
scarf.
Khursheed
said a parallel could not be drawn with France.
"I don't think
there is much to learn from France. Let us not forget that what
happened in France relates to schools run by the state. The extent
to which the state is required to be neutral between different
communities is not the same right minority or majority institutions
have," he said.
Asked about
renowned Islamic scholar Moulana Wahiduddin Khan's statement that
the 'burqa' was not an Islamic dress code, the minister said Islam
used the word 'hijab' which is probably different from burqa.
"Hijab can be
interpreted in different ways. Whether it is a religious or cultural
issue, we have to be sensitive to the feelings of other
communities," he stressed.
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Why ban on veil, VC asks the college:
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