India, Dec. 19 -- I watched the video clip of Bihar chief minister (CM) Nitish Kumar tugging at the hijab on a young woman's face in utter disbelief. It was a public event in the state and the woman - Dr Nusrat Parveen - was there to receive her appointment letter for a government job in the AYUSH medical programme from the CM. As the camera captured the bizarre moment, you can see the deputy CM of the state - the BJP's Samrat Chaudhary - gently pulling at Nitish Kumar's kurta to try and pull him back.

Since then, the debate has been diverted to a predictably shrill one about the veil.

This is a red herring.

It is actually irrelevant whether you support the hijab or you do not. Personally, I have never been a fan of any custom or tradi...