Nasir Pasha, the general secretary of the Popular Front of India in Karnataka, claimed on Sunday that colleges in the state were causing unneeded controversy over the hijab (headscarf) issue, therefore intruding on Muslims' right to religious freedom.

According to Pasha, in reaction to the debate surrounding hijab on many campuses around Karnataka, "certain universities are causing unjustified problems around the topic of headscarves and breaching the basic, religious freedom of Muslims."

Six Muslim students were denied access into classrooms at Udupi's Government PU College and were made to sit outside, according to the college's leader. The students were wearing headscarves, he alleged.

"As a result of this, a small group of students from Pompei Institution in Aikala, Mangaluru, marched to the college wearing saffron shawls and demanding that headscarves be prohibited," he alleged.

The leader went on to say, "A similar dispute erupted at the Government First Class College in Koppa, Chikmagalur, which was a forerunner to the one in Koppa. Dress regulations are only needed to be enforced up to and including SSLC, according to the facts. Using the argument that headscarves are not permitted at PU or Degree colleges is illogical since there is no such required dress code imposed in these institutions."

"It is also an incredibly inappropriate decision on the part of the college's principal to restrict access into the classes to pupils who are wearing headscarves. A notable example is a fact that Islamic college students have been attending courses while conforming to the current rules on dress codes at the university level "He went on to say more.

In Pasha's opinion, girls have the freedom to make their own decisions and wear modest clothing of their choosing, but he believes that it is difficult to achieve equality via what we wear.

As Nasir Pasha put it, "instead of causing problems about headscarves because of internalized prejudice, it is imperative in this day and age to go into the matter of offering value-based, quality education."