I've recently heard reports of some U.S. citizens I know being asked for proof of hotel booking with a confirmation number when arriving on tourist visas at Chennai airport.

Before anyone says it, I know Indians have to put up with this sort of thing when they travel abroad, etc. However, it strikes me as a rather odd request in light of the fact that this is not explicitly mentioned as an entry requirement anywhere, it is not a field on the entry card and many smaller Indian hotels (especially those catering to budget travelers) are hardly organized enough to fiddle with formalities like "confirmation numbers." I'm not sure what happens if you staying with friends or family.

Anyway, they were given a rather hard time about this and directed to the immigration office to place a phone call to the hotel to obtain a "confirmation number" from them. Was this someone having a bad day, a shakedown attempt, business as usual or perhaps all three? I've certainly never heard of anything like this happening in Southeast Asia (to Americans, at least) and never encountered it myself in India.