Dear Justice Siddiqui,
The SC judgment in the case of a Muslim student in a Christian school in MP has raised the question whether a minority student in a minority educational institution, or otherwise, may choose his facial appearance or dress in accordance with his religious belief. Many schools have prescribed uniform which may not be acceptable to some parents or students. The problem is not limited to minority students in general institutions but extends to minority educational institutions which admits students of other religious communities, but extend to all students in all educational institution. 

It is not limited to the question of Sikh students wearing a turban or the Muslim students keeping a beard or wearing a cap or Hindu students sporting a tikas or sandal paste on their forehead or a ‘chooti’ at the back of their head but to the freedom of the students to have free choice in these matters. The sub-question that arises in whether a Muslim student of a Muslim educational institution can be required to sport a beard or to wear Islamic dress.

It is perhaps possible to formulate a balanced view. An educational institution should have the authority to prescribe a uniform but it should be designed  after carefully considering the religious requirements and the wishes of  its multi religious parent-student body. On the other hand, every student should be free to sport  a symbol of his religious identity or wear a dress according to latest fashion.

In the case of Md. Salim, the order of the Supreme Court could be anticipated. We are aware of the various judicial decisions which say that sporting a beard is not a basic requirement of Islam. In fact, a Kerala High Court judgment had said that eminent leaders of the Muslim community like Iqbal and Jinnah did not keep beards. The Supreme Court should not have decided the case in narrow terms relating to the petition, but prescribed a more widely applicable and balanced criteria in the matter under which the institutions have a regulatory role but the students are free to express their religious identity or contemporary style.
Kind regards
Yours sincerely,