Thread by @Raksha_Kumar

Fantastic editorial by @the_hindu on the #HijabBan today. The court had to merely assess if "wearing of the hijab, in addition to the prescribed uniform, without variation in colour, was a ground to refuse entry into a school or college" not if hijab was an ‘essential practice’.

@the_hindu "If something is egregiously religious, it is more likely to be kept out of the campus, if uniformity and eliminating any ‘sense of separateness’ are the hallowed goals."
thehindu.com/opinion/editor…

"The ‘essential religious practice’ test itself is a pointless exercise, as the Supreme Court has established a nearly unattainable standard to determine it. Something is an essential practice only if its absence or removal has the effect of destroying the religion itself"

"What is abhorrent to constitutional principles will remain so irrespective of what is considered essential to a religion. Freedom of religion is important because freedoms are important, and not because religions are important."