No Kashmiri student has to shave his beard in K’taka: JK Students Association after meeting Siddaramaiah 

Bengaluru, Nov 11 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir Students’ Association said on Monday that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has assured that no Kashmiri student will have to shave their beard in nursing and medical colleges and their cultural and religious practices will be respected.

The Chief Minister’s Office, along with the Principal Secretary for Medical Education, Mohammad Mohsin, IAS, assured that strict action would be taken against the officials involved, the association said.

“A show-cause notice has been issued to the Dean and Director of the Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences, and the principal has received a formal warning. Medical education authorities have also directed that any future issues of this nature be dealt with immediately,” it said.

It added that this timely intervention reassures students across the country of their right to uphold personal beliefs and cultural identity free from discrimination.

“We commend the Karnataka government for its commitment to justice, equality, and inclusivity, setting a positive precedent for educational institutions nationwide,” the association said.

This assurance follows an incident where approximately more than 30 Kashmiri students at the Government College of Nursing in Holenarasipur were reportedly compelled to shave their beards.

The students association has reiterated that the office of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah clarified on Sunday that the matter has been resolved.

Kashmiri students have provided written statements indicating that the matter has been resolved amicably. The government also sent a notice to the Director and Principal of the college, seeking a report on the incident, the association said.

The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association expressed gratitude to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Principal Secretary for Medical Education for their prompt intervention.

"Medical colleges have been instructed to be cautious when issuing such instructions to prevent misunderstandings and instructions and orders. The right to personal appearance, including the choice to grow a beard, is a fundamental aspect of an individual’s freedom and identity. The college administration has apologized for this infringement," it added.

A group of students from Jammu & Kashmir who are pursuing their nursing courses at the Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences in Holenarsipura taluk in Hassan district had to write to the Chief Minister and seek his intervention after the college management forced them to trim or clean shave their beards to perform their clinical duties at the college.

The students alleged that the college authorities barred them from participating in any college activities and were marking them absent for their clinical duties if they did not trim or clean shave their beards. The nursing college is affiliated to the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bengaluru.

The students contested that it was their cultural and religious practice to grow beards and that they refused to trim or clean shave. However, the college management citing hygiene standards while performing their clinic duties argued that the students need to have well-trimmed or clean-shaven beards. They were asked to trim their beards to a measure of '01' a point little over 0.

The issue led to a face-off between the faculty and the students who were scared that the college management would cut down marks for their internal assessments and that would in turn affect their academic results.

The group of nursing students from the college then contacted the Jammu Kashmir Students Association who in turn wrote to the chief minister's office and sort his intervention to resolve the issue.