The shutdown of meat shops during Navratri began, as almost every polarising campaign does, as a demand by fringe groups years ago but has escalated into stated or unstated policy in the recent past. After cities in Gujarat, holy towns like Varanasi, and Ghaziabad saw meat shops forcibly or voluntarily shut down during the nine-day Hindu festival dedicated to Goddess Durga, New Delhi and Bhopal appear to have joined the bandwagon this year. Chaitra Navratri is scheduled to start on March 30. While meat-eating Hindus adopt a restrictive or vegetarian diet during Navratri, it does not mean that meat cannot be sold at all or that everyone........

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