New Delhi, June 15 -- Last month in Mumbai, I met a Brahmin taxi driver from Uttar Pradesh. Within five minutes of getting into his car, he asked where I was from. When I said Goa, he peered in the rear-view mirror. "Christian?"

No, Hindu, I said.

He beamed, "Jai Shree Ram."

Soon, he proceeded to excoriate Muslims, Christians and other Hindus who ate meat. When I pointed out that meat-eating Brahmins were not uncommon, he was dismissive of their faith. "Eating meat is not in our religion, not in the natural course of things," he said. "The Vedas tell you that."

His religious and culinary prejudices aligned with his political worldview: Muslims were invaders who did not deserve respect; he respected Dalits but could not share a meal wi...