Udupi. After protests from the radical Islamic party SDPI, the Karnataka government has withdrawn its decision to honor the principal who banned hijab. The Karnataka Education Department had selected BG Ramakrishna, principal of Kundapura PU College in Udupi district, for the Best Principal Award, but now he will not be given the honor. The Education Department in Karnataka honors the best principal every year on Teachers’ Day.
According to reports, two teachers were selected for the Best Principal award this year, including Kundapura PU College Principal Ramakrishna and Hunsuru PU College Principal A. Ramegowda of Mysore district. But as soon as the news came out that Ramakrishna will receive the Best Principal award, the radical Islamic party SDPI, the political wing of the banned Islamic organization PFI, started protesting against it.
In fact, Ramakrishna, following the rules of PU college, did not allow the girl students wearing hijab to enter the class in February 2022. After his decision, there was a huge uproar in the entire state regarding the hijab ban. Ramakrishna said that he was informed by the Education Department that due to technical reasons, he will not be given this award at present. He said that he has been told that however his award has not been canceled.
In fact, after the protest by SDPI, many fundamentalist forces and other people became active, after which many posts were made on social media criticizing the education department. According to sources in the education department, to avoid any controversy, it has been decided not to give the award to Ramakrishna for now.