DigitEye India Fact Checkers
After the defeat of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka Assembly elections, several claims have been shared on social media platforms on the controversial hijab ban issue.
One such video on May 22 is going viral with the claim that hijab was now allowed in all Karnataka colleges. The tweet, tagged with chief minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah, deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, also thanked them for the decision.
आज से कर्नाटका के किसी भी कॉलेज में हिजाब पर कोई रोक टोक नहीं होगा.!!pic.twitter.com/sDoW03v1fX
— 🚩पुतिन पंडित (रशिया वाले)🚩 (@putin_pandit) May 22, 2023
The video shows several burqa-clad women walk through a gate being hailed by some or heckled by others. A police official in the video directs the burqa-clad women to walk. The caption in Hindi can be translated to: “From today onwards there will be no ban on wearing hijab in any Karnataka college”.
Fact Check
When we checked some key frames of the video on Google Reverse image search, an old video uploaded in February 2022 surfaced. It pertains to a college in Karnataka after the then BJP government banned hijab saying that “any clothing that would disturb equality, integrity and public law and order” will not be allowed. The order had been upheld by the Karnataka High Court, while the Supreme Court upheld it with a split verdict. Hence, the old video with the new claim is false.
The newly-elected Congress government is considering revoking the ban in colleges but an order to this effect is still pending. Priyank Kharge, Karnataka’s new minister told the news agency ANI about the new Karnataka government’s stand:
#WATCH | On Amnesty India demanding hijab ban in Karnataka be rolled back, State’s minister Priyank Kharge says, “…We are very clear on our stand we will review any such executive order, we will review any Bill that is regressive to the economic policies of Karnataka, any Bill… pic.twitter.com/LYAN2H9n8R
— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2023
Claim: Video dated May 22, 2023 claims “From today onwards there will be no ban on wearing hijab in any Karnataka college”.
Conclusion: Old video shared with the claim as the Karnataka state government is yet to revoke the ban.
Rating: Misrepresentation — 
