Does Prannoy Roy have a Taliban agenda?

Everytime I watched him, the gleam in his eye, that deadpan tone in voice, and the way his hands almost seemed to grab the desk, I could sense that madness, the commitment to a cause. I thought it was to the tremendous amount of moolah his TV channel was making. Now I realise it is probably a deeper agenda.

Prannoy Roy has been promoting Talibanisation.

Supreme Court judge Markandeya Katju may have rejected a Muslim student’s appeal to sport a beard to school (huh? Is it possible to sport it elsewhere and avoid the school thing?), but it has opened up a veritable can of lice with his rather sweeping judgement that growing a beard was akin to ‘Talibanisation’ of the country. He did not express any opinion on the moustache or an evening shadow or a stubble, which is required before the beard becomes a beard.

Muslim organisations are angry:

“This is a shocking remark and has hurt the sentiments of community members. We are planning to file a plea against the verdict,’’ Rajya Sabha MP and Jamiatul Ulema-e-Hind leader Maulana Mehmood Madni said. “Indian ulema are vehemently opposed to Taliban and its dangerous agenda. The verdict may affect our efforts to quell misconceptions about Islam.’’

It has not hurt my sentiments, maybe because I don’t have a beard. Seriously. Now, one judge giving a verdict on a student is hardly something to fret over. Besides, these Ulema guys are the last people to quell misconceptions about Islam.

One report even says:

Muslims are now worried that the verdict may be used to harass Muslims in the future.

This is such irresponsible journalism. How many Muslims have been consulted? Don’t clean-shaven men and clean-shaven women qualify as Muslims? Who can dare harass them only because of some hairs poking out of the chin? Don’t men from other communities have beards?

While I am personally against this beard is ‘sunnat according to Islam’ stuff (what if the poor guy has sparse hair growth?), I don’t think some bearded student attending school is going to matter. Sikhs are expected to follow the five Ks, but you don’t hear their Khalsa having to justify every move. There are the occasional cases, mostly overseas, about not being permitted to wear the turban.

Are Swami Ramdev and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar helping the Taliban?

It really is funny. The judge probably hasn’t seen a Mr. Narendra Modi. Or was he taking a swipe at that gentleman? After all, we have heard of Hindu jihad in the recent past.

If that is the case, Katju saab, then Jai Ho!