Cows don't roam free in Sri Lankan cities, either. You are aware that South Asia is a subcontinent and a whole set of islands, and not one singular city,right?
And yes I know the region pretty well. I've lived more than half my life outside my home country (in 3 different ones). Though never been to Sri Lanka no.
However, the other settings seem about right to conservative vs. reality. I literally just got out of the airport in a taxi and thought I was gonna die, so fast and close to an oncoming car was the taxi going. Probably about two atoms worth of "air" between their side mirror and the taxi's.
Traffic lights might as well not exist. Everyone was just going through the intersection at the same time. No elephants on the raods either but an army of Tuk Tuks. Actually preferable to car taxis. Never took one again. Bus travel was interesting as well.
Using "Knowing the region pretty well" to be confident about a country you've never set foot in is like me assuming alligators are roaming free in corn fields in Iowa because I've been to a few states in US and have seen Florida through youtube.
You clearly don't know the region half as well as you think you do.
But they were mostly Tibetan or Thai Buddhists. Most of my experience is indeed from Thailand and India.
Mate, <50% of India is vegetarian.