The Dhaka Times Desk After Sri Lanka banned the burqa in the wake of the Easter Sunday attacks, Shiv Sena, an ally of India's ruling BJP, demanded a similar move yesterday (Wednesday).
Burkas were banned in Sri Lanka on Monday, Reuters reported, citing the pretext that security forces would be able to identify people more easily when searching for suspects in the attacks. More than 253 people were killed and more than 500 were injured in that attack in the country. Among them there are 42 foreign nationals.
The Mumbai-based Shiv Sena wrote in an editorial in the party spokesperson Samana that we welcome Sri Lanka's decision. We demand Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow the same steps - ban burqa and niqab in India too.
According to the staunch Hindutva organization, the burqa has nothing to do with Islam. Indian Muslim women wear burqa only following Arab tradition. To protect themselves from the heat of the sun, Arab women follow the tradition of wearing a burqa when going out.
The news agency Reuters reported that the Ministry of Home Affairs of India was contacted to inquire about this, but no response was received.
Meanwhile, Muslim leaders termed the burqa ban as a violation of civil rights. The Shiv Sena's claim is believed to have sparked fresh controversy in the Hindu-majority country ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
It should be noted that 14 percent of India's population of 130 million are Muslims.
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