PBMS condemns Karnataka college incident, Khajuria flays Religious bias, seeks strict action against officials involved in discriminatory act

JAMMU:  In a strong condemnation of what it described as a blatant act of religious intolerance, the Poonchi Brahman Maha Sabha (Jammu & Kashmir) has strongly condemned an incident at Sai Spoorti PU College in Karnataka’s Bidar district, where Brahmin students were allegedly asked to remove their Janeu (sacred thread) before being allowed to sit for the Common Entrance Test (CET).

The Sabha termed the episode a grave violation of religious freedom and personal dignity. According to reports, several students were denied the opportunity to write the crucial exam after they refused to comply with the controversial directive. The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA), responding to growing public outrage, has suspended the college principal Dr. Chandra Shekar Biradar and a staff member, Satish Pawar.

Pt. Ashok Kumar Khajuria, founder of the Poonchi Brahman Maha Sabha, asserted that the suspension of a few individuals was "grossly inadequate", and demanded stringent legal action against all involved, particularly naming the invigilator Muddassir, who allegedly enforced the discriminatory order.

 “Such actions have inflicted immense emotional and mental trauma on innocent students whose only fault was practicing their faith,” Khajuria said in a public statement released Saturday.

Highlighting the significance of religious expression in a pluralistic society, Khajuria emphasized that peaceful religious practices should never become grounds for exclusion or humiliation, especially in educational environments meant to nurture equality, inclusion, and mutual respect.

The organization has urged the Karnataka government and KEA to ensure redressal, either through a re-examination or the allocation of alternate government college seats to the affected students, thereby safeguarding their academic prospects. “No child should ever be made to choose between their education and their faith,” Khajuria stressed.

In a broader appeal, the Sabha has demanded the immediate implementation of uniform guidelines across all examination centers nationwide to uphold and protect students’ constitutional rights to religious freedom. It called for proactive steps to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future. Khajuria concluded with a reminder of India’s enduring ethos of unity in diversity, stating, “The strength of our nation lies in its pluralism. Acts that threaten this harmony must be met with firm and decisive action.”