The father of an Amritdhari Sikh student who was allegedly told to remove her turban by her college here has stood by the struggle of Muslim girls fighting for their right to wear the hijab.

Gurcharan Singh, the father of the 17-year-old student who “politely refused” to remove her turban and was allowed to attend classes subsequently, has written to the authorities of Mount Carmel Pre-University College and the Sri Guru Sahib Sabha, underlining the importance of the religious headgear to the sect.

The student was on February 16 allegedly told to remove her turban while attending classes, in view of the high court’s interim order restraining students from wearing religious attire on campuses.

Singh, an IT professional, emailed the college the same day, explaining that the turban was part of the mandatory religious attire of an Amritdhari Sikh. The college allowed the girl to attend classes wearing the turban.

The matter cropped up again on Wednesday when officials from the state education department visited the college to ensure the high court order was being enforced. After the girl was again allegedly told to remove her turban and she refused, Singh wrote to the administrator of the Sri Guru Singh Sabha in the city.

“Asking a Sikh to remove his/ her Dastaar (turban) is a big insult to a Sikh and the entire Sikh community. We also stand by those Muslim girls/ women who want to cover their head with scarf/ dupatta as a part of their faith and request authorities to allow them to do so as it was already practised in our country and it does not cause any trouble to other people,” Singh wrote.

A source in the college said: “We sought her opinion on the matter in view of the high court’s interim order but did not ask her to remove the turban.”