UDUPI, (India): Schools reopened in southern India under tight security on Wednesday with public gatherings banned following protests over Muslim girls wearing the hijab in classrooms.

Tensions have been high in Karnataka state since late last year when at least four schoolgirls were prevented from wearing the Muslim headscarf, sparking protests that have since spread across India. In an attempt to calm tensions, Karnataka’s state government temporarily closed schools last week.

India’s hijab dispute reaches UP

This came as the Karnataka High Court imposed a temporary ban on the wearing of all religious symbols in schools while it considers the headscarf ban. As classrooms reopened in the state on Tuesday and Wednesday, police with batons were deployed outside several schools. Authorities also imposed Section 144 — a law that prohibits gatherings of more than four people — in several districts.

There were no reports of disturbances but local media on Monday said several Muslim girls chose not to attend classes or sit exams when asked to remove their headscarves. “We have grown up wearing the hijab since our childhood and we cannot give it up. I will not write the exam, I will go home,” the News Minute media outlet quoted a young girl as saying.