There is no timeline on the US-Iran conflict and the Strait of Hormuz standoff. When the US attacks began, President Donald Trump had promised a quick and effective victory. That has not happened. Instead, by applying a chokehold on the Strait, Iran has seriously disrupted economies in much of the world that depend on oil supplies from the region, and need for them to be cheap.
In the expectation of a quick end to the conflict, the Indian government has been absorbing the impact by tapping into its oil and gas, as well as foreign exchange reserves. Also, there is no denying that electoral compulsions have, thus far, prevented any steps to pass the burden on to the people. However, now the process has begun to involve the people in warding off as much as possible the negative consequences of the petroleum supply crisis.
The Prime Minister’s appeal on Sunday asking Indians to play their role in facing this challenge is not so much a burden as raising prices would be, because people are expected to do what they possibly can. As he has mentioned, many of these practices were adopted during the Covid crisis with good effect. Work from home, online meetings, in fact, have become quite the norm. Use of public transport, the metro, and carpooling are anyway common sense practices that, if adopted, can be convenient while assisting the government in ensuring petroleum use is minimalised.
It must be remembered that India is among the largest importers of gold because of high public demand. This is one of the biggest draws on the foreign exchange reserves. So, suspending gold purchase for some time makes immense sense. Also, if possible, using foreign exchange for tourism and weddings, etc., can be substituted by undertaking the same activities at home. It will be harder, of course, for farmers to begin using natural fertilisers, but that is anyway the direction farming has been expected to take. All this is better than having prices going up all around. If the war lasts even longer, that too is inevitable.
It is strange that opposition parties and some analysts have targeted the PM for making this appeal, as though India has other choices. Some claim that other nations, particularly China, have responded better. That is uninformed thinking, because the fallout of the crisis is already being felt across the spectrum even more than India. Even the US is facing a steep hike in petrol prices. It seems, despite having faced negative mandates for just such unadvised opposition, these parties have failed to learn the required lesson. People do need to stand with the government at this juncture.
