Two students in Karnataka's Shivamogga - one in Class 6 and the other in Class 9 - boycotted preparatory exams on Monday after being denied permission to write them while wearing a hijab.
One of them was allegedly threatened with police action for not following the ban on hijabs.
A parent of the younger child told NDTV "this (refusing permission for wearing a hijab) was never there before" and that school authorities had yesterday screamed at children for not following a state government order banning students from wearing clothing with religious significance.
"Our children want to wear the hijab and they want an education. Hindu students wear vermilion... Christian students wear a rosary (so) what is wrong if our children wear the hijab?" the parent asked.
A parent of the other child said the girl had been wearing a hijab to school for the past three years and no complaint had been raised in that time.
"My daughter was wearing the hijab in class. She was asked to remove it and attend the daily prayer. After the cops threatened her, she was forced to remove the hijab," the parent told NDTV.
