The recent decision of the Congress-led Karnataka government to withdraw the previous BJP government’s 2022 order banning hijab in schools and pre-university colleges (classes 11 and 12) has triggered sharp reactions from the Opposition BJP-led NDA in the state. While the BJP has attacked the Congress government, calling the decision “appeasement and vote bank politics”, the JD(S) has questioned its timing. The Congress government led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has however strongly defended the move, saying it is meant to protect the “tradition and culture-based symbols” of all communities, not only Muslims. In February 2022, the then Basavaraj Bommai -led BJP government had issued the order stipulating that students must stick to the uniform prescribed by schools and PU (pre-university) colleges, triggering protests across the state and stoking communal tensions, especially in coastal Karnataka, where the issue had first erupted in December 2021.…