On Sunday at noon, as I emerged from New Delhi’s Patel Chowk Metro station, I was startled to find about a dozen police officers on high alert on the street outside. They were conducting vigorous checks of people’s bags. They weren’t looking for bombs – they were inspecting the contents of their lunchboxes.

Last week, a group of students from Delhi posted a notice on Facebook announcing a demonstration outside the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters to protest against the ruling party’s refusal to condemn the lynching of a 50-year-old man in Dadri, ostensibly because he had killed a calf and stored the meat in his refrigerator. Participants were urged to to BYOB – bring your own beef – and eat it at a “Beefy Picnic” on Ashoka Road.