India: 7 years in jail for eating beef

Put your hands up and step away from that burger.  It could land you in jail.

That's right.  Thanks to a new law in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, you could get seven years of hard time for eating beef — or for storing or transporting it, for that matter.  And police can search anyplace where they suspect that such an offense "has been, is being or is likely to be committed," reports the Indian Express.

Chuckle if you want.  But this is serious business.  The specter of cow slaughter has been used to whip up tensions in the so-called "cow belt" countless times in the past.  Not only does it result in violence between Hindus and Muslims, but it is also often the motivation behind the lynching of Dalits — some of whom are employed to remove cattle carcasses.

In that context, the extremely stiff sentences and broad police powers granted by the law have the whiff of religious persecution.