– M Rafi Ahmed
Much perturbing to witness a doctor from Kashmir being forced to withdraw from his DNB (Nephrology) course just because he was sporting a beard as the private medical college hospital insisted him to shave. The Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital (KMCH) is now hogging the limelight for all wrong reasons with the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association seeking the intervention of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin.
It may be recalled that the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court in 2018 ruled in support of a police constable who was punished for growing a beard in adherence to the teachings of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Justice L Victoria Gowri noted that while the police force requires strict discipline, this should not lead to the punishment of minority community members for their religious observances.
The court emphasised the importance of respecting the rich diversity of religions and customs in India. “…upkeeping discipline in the department does not permit the respondents to initiate punishment on employees belonging to the minority communities, particularly Muslims for maintaining a beard which they do throughout their lives…,” said the court.
Police constable G Abdul Khadar Ibrahim filed a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, praying to the High Court to quash the punishment order issued by the Commissioner of Police, Madurai City. Ibrahim, who joined the police force in 2009, stated that he had maintained a beard as part of his Muslim faith. As such, the CoP’s order was quashed and the petitioner was allowed to sport a beard.
In the case of Dr. Zubair Ahmad from Kashmir, he was allotted a DNB (Nephrology) seat at Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital (KMCH), Coimbatore, through the NEET-SS second counselling round conducted by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS). Since he was forced to sign a document to shave the beard, the doctor refused and withdrew from the programme.
Meanwhile, The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association on Thursday has written to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, seeking his immediate intervention in a disturbing case of alleged religious discrimination against a young Muslim doctor from the Kashmir Valley. Despite offering to cover his beard with a surgical mask and agreeing to comply with all hygiene protocols and institutional dress codes, the hospital administration allegedly refused to accommodate him.
National Convenor of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association Nasir Khuehami said that the hospital was unequivocal in its demand that Dr. Zubair shave or trim his beard in order to enrol. “He was categorically asked to shave his beard to be permitted to study at the super-speciality hospital,” the Association’s letter stated. Notably, Dr. Zubair completed his MBBS, MD, and senior residency at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Srinagar, without encountering any such restriction.
Worth mentioning that sporting a beard is a matter of religious observance for men of many faiths, such as some Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians. Interestingly, playwright, critic and political activist George Bernard Shaw first embraced wearing a beard by saying: A man who values his beard more than money.
And as editor of Household Words, Charles Dickens published an article by Henry Morley urging men to shun the razor, called “Why Shave?” in 1853. Also, Walt Whitman, the father of free verse and among the most influential American poets whose long beard was a centre of attraction. To this, Frederico Garcia Lorca in his “Ode to Walt Whitman” (1940) wrote: Not for a moment, Walt Whitman, lovely old man, have I failed to see your beard full of butterflies. Dr Zubair’s case has become sensational, attracting a global audience.
