Foreigners to decide.

"Iran has allowed two Indian-flagged liquefied petroleum gas carriers to sail through the Strait of Hormuz,..a rare exception to the Iranian blockade that has disrupted global energy supplies." "Shivalik and Nanda Devi are owned by state-run Shipping Corp of India." "India consumed 33.15 million metric tons of cooking gas last year, with imports accounting for about 60% of demand. About 90% of these imports came from the Middle East." Reuters. "India's external balance and government finances could be hit if oil prices stay high for an extended period,..as the Iran war pushes up oil import costs and the subsidies needed to keep key commodities available." Reuters. Subsidies promised by political parties to win elections have already reached gargantuan proportions. "After coming to power in 2014, Mr Modi has expanded India's welfare programs," and "Giant posters of Mr Modi promoting these schemes as his personal 'guarantees' dominate the landscape." "Mr Modi says his government has spent more than Rs 34 trillion ($400 billion) in the past decade, delivering direct cash benefits to low-income households and reaching over 900 million people." BBC. May be a serious understatement. In a study, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) found that "The Union government spent Rs 6.33 trillion on subsidies and transfers in 2023-24, up from Rs 2.76 trillion in 2018-19, a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21%." And "unconditional transfers have grown at 28.8% annually since 2018-19 and projected to reach Rs 4.14 trillion in 2025-26." Besides, "dozens of schemes, pensions, loan waivers, investment promotion subsidies and electricity shortfalls are simply not classified as subsidies,' wrote Aditya Sinha. In a handout to 73.7 formal sector workers, the interest rate for the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) has been fixed at 8.25% for the third year in a row, wrote Ahjit Ranade. This is 300 basis points higher than the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) policy rate which was cut by 125 basis points to 5.25% in 2025 (ET). The interest on EPF forms a floor for interest rates of fixed income instruments and prevents lower borrowing costs. In another handout, Dearness Allowance for government employees is increased twice a year in line with the rise in consumer price index (CPI) inflation and has reached a colossal 60% of basic salary (ET) even though 95% of government employees are paid five times more than in the private sector, according to development economist Karthik Muralidharan. Assam is to hold elections to its assembly by April 2026 (wikipedia) and has announced Rs 9,000 cash transfers to 4 million families under its 'Orunodoi) scheme (ET). The central government has collected over Rs 40 trillion in taxes on petrol and diesel since 2014-15. ppac.gov.in. If the price of oil stays high for some months what will the government do? Cutting subsidies may lose elections, which would be unacceptable to Mr Modi, and increasing the retail price of fuel will increase the cost of transport and raise prices across the board, cut consumption, discourage investment and weaken the rupee even further. Will Mr Modi be held responsible by the people? Our government practices the most severe form of censorship in the world (BBC). And a large section of the population has been brainwashed into 'Bhakts' (devotees) (DH) and live in a state of altered reality. Foreigners know the truth. Our fate is in their hands. A helpless nation.