War Far Away, Pain Right At Your Door
There is a war burning in West Asia — far from India's borders, far from our daily worries. But here is something nobody is telling you clearly — that war is quietly walking towards your kitchen, your house, your farm, and your factory. You may not see it coming. But you will feel it.
Let us talk simply, the way one neighbour explains to another.
West Asia — the region that includes countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran — is not just the world's petrol pump. It is also a massive warehouse of raw materials that India depends on heavily. India bought goods worth nearly ₹8.3 lakh crore from this region in 2025 alone. That is not a small number. That is the foundation of many things you use every single day.
Now, missile and drone attacks are hitting energy facilities in the Gulf. Ships are scared to sail. The Strait of Hormuz — a narrow sea passage through which a huge chunk of the world's oil and gas travels — is under serious threat. If that route closes, the impact will not just stop at petrol prices. It will go much deeper.
Your home could become costlier to build.
India gets 68% of its limestone from West Asia. Limestone is the main ingredient in cement. No cement, no construction. And even if cement is available, its price will shoot up. Gypsum — which is used for plastering your walls, making false ceilings, and giving your home that smooth finish — also comes 62% from the same region. If ships stop, your dream home project either stops or burns a bigger hole in your pocket.
Your food could become expensive too.
India imports about 65% of its sulphur from West Asia. Sulphur may not be something people notice in daily life, but it is used to make sulphuric acid, which is essential for producing phosphate fertilisers. Fertilisers feed our crops, and crops feed us. If sulphur supply is disrupted for a month or more, production of phosphate fertilisers in India could be affected.
At the same time, if LNG or sulphur supplies are disrupted for a month or more, India’s overall fertiliser production — including urea and phosphate fertilisers — could face disruptions, potentially affecting farmers in the coming season.
Less urea means farmers may struggle during the next sowing season. When farmers struggle, food production can suffer. And when food production falls, food prices rise — something households, especially those on tight budgets, feel immediately.
The steel in your city's roads and bridges is also at risk.
India gets nearly 59% of its Direct Reduced Iron — a key raw material to make steel — from West Asia. Steel is everywhere. It is in the beams of buildings under construction, in the infrastructure projects your city is waiting for, in the auto parts and machinery. Industry people are already saying that while alternative sources exist for materials like limestone and DRI, the real killer is the rising and unstable price of oil and gas. Most steel plants run on LPG and LNG. When gas prices go up, the cost of making steel goes up, and ultimately, that cost passes on to you.
Even the shine on your jewellery is at risk.
India's diamond cutting and polishing industry — which employs lakhs of workers, mostly in Gujarat — gets more than 40% of its rough diamonds from West Asia. If conflict disrupts that trade, those workers feel the pinch first. Jobs slow down. Incomes fall.
So what is being done?
India is already adjusting. Refiners are buying more oil from Russia at discounted prices. Fertiliser companies are looking at Southeast Asia for sulphur. Limestone can potentially come from Thailand or Vietnam. But these alternatives take time, cost more to ship, and cannot replace West Asia overnight.
The fertiliser sector has some breathing room for now since it is currently the off-season for farming. But experts are clearly warning — if disruption continues beyond one month, the next crop season will feel the squeeze. That means the farmer in Punjab, the vegetable grower in Maharashtra, the paddy cultivator in Andhra — all of them could face higher input costs with no guarantee of better prices for their produce.
There is a quiet truth here that needs to be said plainly. Wars do not stay in the places they start. They travel through trade routes, through shipping lanes, through price tags in your local market. This one is no different.
Every brick that costs more, every bag of fertiliser that gets delayed, every power bill that climbs higher — these are not just economic numbers. These are real burdens on real families who are already managing tight budgets, rising expenses, and uncertain futures.
The war may be far away. But its shadow is already falling on us — slowly, silently, and surely.
(Girish Linganna is an award-winning science communicator and a Defence, Aerospace & Geopolitical Analyst. He is the Managing Director of ADD Engineering Components India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany.)
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or position of the publication, its editors, or its management. The publication is not responsible for the accuracy of any information, statements, or opinions presented in this piece.
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Rahul Gandhi unveils 5 poll guarantees for Kerala, targets PM Modi and CM Vijayan
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): In a high-stakes campaign here, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday combined five populist electoral pledges with a fierce assault on Kerala’s ruling Communists, alleging Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is being "controlled" by Narendra Modi in the same manner Donald Trump exerts influence over the Prime Minister.
Speaking at the valedictory function of the state-wide ‘Puthuyuga Yatra’ led by Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan as part of the Congress-led UDF’s preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections, Gandhi said, “The same way Trump is controlling Modi, the Prime Minister is controlling the Chief Minister of Kerala."
Announcing five guarantees for the people of poll-bound Kerala, he said, “The first guarantee is free travel for all women in KSRTC buses."
The other guarantees announced by him were a monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,000 for college-going girl students, increase of welfare pension to Rs 3,000 per month, a new health insurance scheme worth Rs 25 lakh coverage for every household in the name of former chief minister Oommen Chandy and interest-free loans of up to Rs 5 lakh for youngsters who want to start businesses.
In addition, he said a dedicated ministry would be created for the welfare of senior citizens.
Launching a scathing attack on Pinarayi Vijayan, Gandhi said PM Modi is "controlling the Chief Minister".
He alleged that even CPI(M) workers were aware of this and would admit it.
“I want to understand why the CBI and ED take action against opposition politicians but do not take action against the Chief Minister of Kerala,” he said.
Gandhi said there were 36 cases against him and that he was interrogated by the Enforcement Directorate for 55 hours.
“Why has the ED taken no action against the Chief Minister and his family? The reason is they are working together,” he alleged.
According to him, in Kerala, it was not the CPI(M) and BJP, but the “CJP” that was working together to defeat the UDF.
Gandhi also accused the LDF government of "functioning in the interests of big corporates".
“This is the most corporatist government Kerala has ever seen. It is against the interests of workers, small businesses and farmers and is working for the interests of the biggest businessmen,” he alleged.
He said the CPI should be renamed the “Corporate Party of India”.
“At least stand for what you say you are,” he said.
Referring to the alleged gold theft at Sabarimala temple, Gandhi claimed that the investigation was prevented from reaching the top leadership.
“Don’t worry, we will take strict action against those who dishonoured Sabarimala."
He also alleged that the LDF government had created a serious unemployment situation in the state.
“Modi has destroyed the employment system in India and the CPI(M) has destroyed it in Kerala,” he said.
Taking on the Centre, Gandhi alleged that the Prime Minister had “let the country down”.
“He has betrayed the country,” Gandhi said.
He said he was using the word deliberately and believed the Prime Minister had "betrayed the country" by signing the trade deal with the United States.
Gandhi claimed that the consequences of the agreement would be borne by the people of India.
“No Prime Minister before him opened our agriculture to American agriculture. Large American mechanised firms are going to compete with small Indian labour-intensive firms,” he said.
He said the deal would lead to devastation for farmers cultivating crops such as cotton, corn, pulses, fruits and soybeans.
Gandhi also claimed that the Prime Minister had "compromised" the country’s energy security.
“Imagine the Prime Minister of India committing to President Trump that we will buy oil from where America wants us to. Imagine a country as powerful as ours having to take permission from the US if we want to buy oil from Russia,” he said.
Referring to the trade deal, he said the US could extract data from India, which he described as the "most valuable asset" in the era of artificial intelligence.
“AI is all about data and India, with 1.4 billion people, is the largest producer of data. All of it has been signed away by Prime Minister Modi,” he alleged.
Earlier in the day, during a dialogue with the Information Technology (IT) Fraternity at Technopark here, Gandhi said that if India had said that its data was the most valuable in the world, there would have been no taxes on agriculture or on small and medium businesses.
He claimed that, except him speaking out against it, there was "not a peep" in India when its data was "handed over" to the US as part of the deal signed by the central government.
During his interaction with the tech professionals, the LoP in Lok Sabha also said that China has built a "superb and unmatched" industrial system in the world, but the neighbouring nation was "coercive and undemocratic".
He was also concerned that China dominated the electric motors and batteries technology which saw wide usage in the Ukraine-Russia war and the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
"That is a huge problem," he said, adding that he was confident that if aligned properly, an Indian company can take on the Chinese in that space.
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