To Beard Or Not To Beard

It seems that in secular India, religious beliefs cannot be overstretched. When a Muslim boy studying in a Christian minority school is asked to shave his facial hair, he takes it as an affront to his relgious beliefs especially as Sikh boys are free to maintain a beard. Are people afraid that permitting young Muslim boys to grow a beard is a step towards “Talibanisation” of the country and hence this practice should be nipped in the bud?