When the Strait of Hormuz Enters the Indian Kitchen
A few days ago, my sister dropped a message on our family WhatsApp group: “Mera induction cooktop Jaipur mein hai kya?” It was a funny line on the surface. Most of us have had an induction cooktop at some point in life — usually in hostel days, when it powered Maggi, chai and late-night experiments. Then adulthood arrives, LPG cylinders and piped gas take over, and the induction plate disappears into storage. But the message stayed with me. Because it captured something larger: how a geopolitical conflict in India’s near neighbourhood can suddenly enter the Indian kitchen. That is what the current Iran–US war, and the instability around the Strait of Hormuz, is really about for India. Not abstract geopolitics. Not just Brent prices on a terminal. But everyday vulnerability. Reuters reported this week that Iran has not formally closed the Strait, and some Indian vessels have been allowed through, but shipping remains disrupted enough for India to seek passage for more str...