Mangaluru :  After a group of students arrived wearing saffron turbans and shawls to counter the students wearing burkha, tension prevailed outside Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) College in Udupi on Tuesday.

As the students demanded that they should be allowed to wear the hijab inside the classroom, the college authorities rushed at the entrance to convince them.

The students wearing burkha demanded that they be allowed inside the classroom to take exams and they refused to enter the classrooms without the hijab stating that they have been wearing it since childhood. The college had conveyed to the students on Monday that they are in the process of implementing the dress code.

Ayesha, a student said that the rules should have been implemented at the beginning of the year and not when there are few days left to end the academic year. Shruthi, another student said, we are not against anyone, we only want equality in the classroom.

The principal of the college, Devidas S Naik said, “MGM college is a healthy campus. Our students have been provoked because of an issue from outside. A holiday has been declared so that the situation is brought under control. We will honour the court decision and a decision in the future will be taken by the management. Till then the college will remain closed.”