Shivamogga, Karnataka: Students forced to remove janivara (sacred thread), Rudraksha at CET centre, Brahmin community leaders protest
On 16th April, two students were reportedly asked to remove their sacred thread before taking the Common Entrance Test (CET). Security personnel at Aadichunchanagiri Independent PU College in Shivamogga of Congress-ruled Karnataka forcefully removed the “Janivara” (holy thread) when the candidates entered the building. The Brahmin community has protested against the incident. They have demanded that the exam center be held accountable for offending religious feelings.
On April 17, representatives of the Bhramina Sanghagala Okkuta led by former MLA KB Prasanna Kumar complained to Deputy Commissioner Gurudatta Hegade about a CET official in charge at an examination center in Shivamogga who made students to take off their kashidara and janivara (sacred thread) before they could enter the exam room. They also submitted a memorandum to him. The association was made aware of this instance by the parents of the students.
“Of the three students, who were asked to remove their ‘Janivara’ by the security at the entrance of the centre, one opposed it and he was allowed to enter the examination hall without removing it. The others who did not resist were made to remove it. It is unfortunate that the security staff threw ‘Janivara’ into a dustbin. We strongly condemn this and demand disciplinary action against the staff. Besides, such incidents must not repeat in the future,” expressed Kumar while talking to Deccan Herald. Additionally, he disclosed that the staff ordered that they take off the “Kashi Dara,” which is worn around the wrist.
The representatives voiced, “The incident left the students in shock. The CET is a milestone in a student’s life. The officer’s act was uncalled for and against Hindu practices. Such conduct by the official would disturb students appearing for the important examination of their student career.” After receiving the details, the Deputy Commissioner declared he would investigate the matter and obtain a report from the relevant officials in a week. He instructed the relevant authorities to refrain from engaging in such activities.
However, there were no extra limitations and they were following the dress code that the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KEA) had established, he conveyed while talking to the Times of India. Furthermore, Siddalinga Reddy, the additional deputy commissioner for Shivamogga, asserted that the claims have been denied by officials.
The controversy began when a home guard hired for security duties began enforcing the dress code too rigorously and insisted that students to get rid of their Rudraksha, Janivara, and Kashidaara. One youngster complained to his parents, but other pupils removed the threads without complaint and retrieved them after the test. Candidates at another CET center, an engineering college in Shivamogga, were instructed to remove Rudraksha, according to Congress leader HC Yogesh.
Leaders of the Brahmin community demonstrated outside the institution, led by S Dattatri of the BJP and Prasanna Kumar. The crowd was dispersed by a police platoon stationed at the center to guarantee a smooth exam, which ended incident-free on 17th April.
Similar incidents in the past
Two Brahmin candidates were only permitted to enter a Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers (REET) center during Februray after taking off their sacred thread. Community groups responded sharply to the issue, which even made it to the state assembly. According to media reports and the administration’s investigation, a teacher who was the test supervisor at the center was suspended and a police constable was summoned to report to headquarters, based on Dungarpur Collector Ankit Kumar.
On 22nd September 2024, while traveling to a religious function in Thiagaraja Nagar, a Brahmin Hindu boy, Akhilesh was ambushed by four males riding a two-wheeler in a startling instance that transpired in Tamil Nadu. He was attacked while he was walking shirtless from TVS Nagar Street to take part in a bhajan that the Asthika Samajam Trust had organized. Akhilesh’s Janeu, or sacred thread (called Poonool in Tamil), was grabbed by the perpetrators, who then severed it and threatened him to never wear it again before they escaped.
On 15th May of last year, a Hindu student was compelled to take off his sacred thread prior to taking the Common University Entrance Examination (CUET). The unsettling episode happened at Bhawanipur Anchalik College, an exam center in the Assamese district of Bajali. The victim was named as Dhritiraj Basistha who went to the exam location with his mother. He was stopped at the entrance of Bhawanipur Anchalik College, where officials checked his identity card. They denied him entry after realizing he had a sacred thread beneath his shirt. “I was not allowed to enter the college to inform the higher authority,” his mother added.
That same year, another row erupted over the Common Eligibility Test (CET) for graduation level conducted by the Rajasthan Staff Selection Board when a student in Jaipur was forced to remove his sacred thread. Haren Dave, a resident of Talwara in Banswara, had his exam center allotted at Mahatma Gandhi School located near Tonk Phatak in Jaipur. The security personnel present there asked him to remove his janeu. When he protested, they took him to the school principal.
He complained to the principal about the issue and asserted that there is no provision in any exam that requires the removal of the janeu. However, the principal did not agree. When the student asked him for a written statement regarding the action, he responded, “You are trying to create an unnecessary issue.” Left with no choice, Haren reluctantly removed the sacred thread and appeared for the exam.
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