Will India Face a Burqa Ban?

Can a ban on burqa be imposed in India? What implications does this have for India – a country which has one of the largest Muslim population in the world? India’s 175 million Muslims make them the country’s largest minority. Around 60% are under 25 years of age, meaning this figure is likely to increase in coming years. In India tensions have occasionally flared up over the use of the burqa in public spaces. But Meraj A. Khan, a legal consultant with National Commission for Minorities told India Real Time that these were “isolated incidents.” He said the commission, which evaluates the progress of development of minorities and looks into complaints of discrimination, “rarely receives complaints on episodes involving … burqa-clad women.”

On France’s ban, Mr. Khan said that India is unlikely to follow suit. “In India, it is up to the individual when it comes to religion. Nobody can enforce such things here.” In recent years there have been several incidents involving the burqa. In 2009, a state college in Karnataka, told a student she was not allowed to attend classes wearing a burqa. It was later reported that the young girl reached a “compromise arrangement” with the college but did not continue in the same college. Days later, violent protests sparked in Hyderabad after a college principal allegedly told students not to wear a burqa.

Some political forces in India, including the right-wing Hindu nationalist party Shiv Sena, would favor a ban. Citing security concerns, Neelam Gorhe, spokesperson for Shiva Sena, said that the party “welcomes the ban by the French government.” Although the party has not demanded an outright ban, it suggested there should be some restrictions on where people would be allowed to wear the burqa. She mentioned poll booths as an example of where it should not be allowed.

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