Try asking an economist, or even an economics teacher or student, “Which is the single most important commodity in the world? A commodity that has an impact on the whole planet?” Their response almost always will be, “Crude Oil.” Normally, when the price of a commodity goes up (whether from shortages in supply or increased demand), the consequences of that are (largely) limited to its sector or the other few sectors it fuels (if any). But primary commodities are different. These are the first step to the production and consumption of all secondary and tertiary products. Therefore, not only are primary commodities price volatile and has negligible price elasticity but they are
also extremely essential in driving the supply of many more other goods. For example, an increase in wood will drive up the costs of building houses (assuming that is the norm- like in the US), furniture, and even small commodities like pencils. Hence, primary goods have an impact on multiple sectors- making it a macro issue rather than a micro one. Crude oil is one of the most essential primary commodities. Meaning, it is inherently price inelastic. But on top of that it is also mostly concentrated in only a few nations, all of which make up the OPEC (Oil and Petroleum Exporting Countries). OPEC not only has the power to set international oil prices but also limit its supply if necessary. Crude oil is perhaps one of
the very few, if not only, commodities that can send the whole world into a stagflation. Something very similar to this took place in the 1970s (and continued into the 80s), when the OPEC decided to limit the supply of Oil. This skyrocketed the prices overnight and sent the world into supply shock. People woke up to an increase in almost every single commodity. This was because if oil was not directly involved in production, then it was required for transportation. This increased costs of production for multiple sectors across the world economy. That particular time period was the classic example that is still used to criticize the classical model of aggregate supply, and demand (long-term and short-term). This was the time that
the true gravity of the concentration of power in the hands of a carter (multiple countries legally acting as a monopoly), became truly visible. Hence, every single time you order food to your house, or start the engine of your vehicle, or do anything else- ask yourself, “Could I do this tomorrow if the oil prices skyrocketed?”

In a global economy, trade, and other financial relationships between any two countries are an important measure of their interdependence. The more trade two countries carry out with each other, the more thickened their relationship gets. It also has a larger impact on their other trade partners. In December 2021, the United States of America was India’s top trade partner. Followed by China. According to the office of United States Trade Representative (USTR), US goods and services trade with India totaled an estimated $146.1 billion in 2019; exports were $58.6 billion, and imports were $87.4 billion- making India its 9^th largest trade partner.  The Russian- Ukraine conflict has resulted in an increase in international oil and grain prices. India, largely being an importer of oil, has had to seek the former for comparatively cheap prices. Russia has fulfilled this requirement and therefore India is obliged to maintain her long-standing neutral stance. This has strained India’s relationship with the US, which has been pushing for a unified economic action against Russia. In view of long-standing Indo- US ties and the need to counterbalance China, steps have been taken by both the governments to restore confidence in economic, diplomatic and defiance ties between the two countries. This has resulted in recent interactions between Prime Minister Modi and President Biden, and visits of the Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM), Defence Minister (DM) and Finance Minister (FM) to the US; all in the month of April. Despite the temporary strain there is a widespread consensus in India and the US that shared democratic values, increasing intensity of trade and increased cooperation over the years will result in convergence between the two countries in the years ahead. It is clear that if India does not find a way to address its energy requirements, in the long run, its relationship with the US would come under strain every time oil and gas becomes expensive.

Fostering, promoting and/or tolerating terrorism are some charges that a country almost always denies. An acceptance of these claims can completely erode trade agreements, international relations, and peace pacts. (Even though the chances are, that these are already remarkably low in such countries). But terrorism isn’t always outward looking and may not fulfill our traditional schemas and definitions of it. Terrorism is defined as “the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political gains.” This definition very well encapsulates the possible use of violence against one’s’ own citizens- based on their gender, race, religion, caste and age. It holds true even if such an act is propagated by the government/a government organisation- disguised as an act of “patriotism” or something else entirely. The fear of calling their own government terrorists (due to the word’s misunderstood concept and strong connotation)  is what allows citizens to be exploited and become accomplices. This exploitation exceeds one that is personal, communal or religious/racial- it becomes economic, national and international. Inwards terrorism is a possible cause for a country suffering from an international and national economic distress. The cause of this are the negative ripple effects terrorism creates within an economy. These can be as direct as the destruction of livelihood, and property- to as nuanced as uncertainty in the markets. Both the international and national financial market in the United States collapsed after the September 11^th attacks and is known to only have begun recovering in 2003- post the invasion of Iraq. A decreased international investment and financial interest can drive out businesses from particular regions or countries leaving them to deal with increased unemployment, increased health-care costs for the state to bear, and unhappy citizens. This can further cause a shift in where the country stands on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Human development Index (HDI) scale of the world. Lying on the lower side of the HDI can cause an efflux of tourists and international employees. Not only this, developed democracies and non-violent countries may deem it necessary to pull back on trade and dissolve long standing non-violence and peace agreements and pacts. All of these factors can hit the economy of a country in no time and leave the government frustrated which may perpetuate this vicious cycle again. Therefore, as well educated citizens of any country and/or students of economics, it is our responsibility to keep our eyes and ears open to inward and outward terrorism. It is a disease that can leave a country handicapped in no time.

A journey from the roads of Kashmir to the roads of love.

The wind brushing back my hair. Earphones plugged. An orange sky and ivory blue clouds to accompany me as I walked downhill in the valleys of Kashmir. A state and a state of war and love. Perhaps the only place where the two meet quite often. Not knowing much about war, the khushnama weather flooded with my re-verbed slow romantic music, got me thinking about love. The more I thought about it, the more I felt it. As the sky transitioned to pink, the wind purple, the noises and voices around me faded by the moment- I lifted and flowed like the water in the Dal lake as the Shikaras paddled through it. I increased the volume of my music realising I had been in love all this while. The feeling written about for as long as people could write, sung for as long as people could sing and thought about as long as people could think. But I was thinking, writing and singing not to a particular person. Rather about items, and feelings, and other materialistic things and living beings. All the music and scenery combined made me fall deeper in love with my past. My future. My family. Mothering my furry babies back home. Sushi. The cork I got from Cambridge as a promise to take it back one day. Or the wooden souvenir the old man gifted me once. My ability to write half-phased poetry. The chaos with which I think or talk or write or photograph. Or the feeling of my grand-parents’ hand on my head. Or the letters my parents write me on my birthday. My addiction for debating. The Ghats of Varanasi. Or the jungles dawned by Arrowhead in Ranthambhore. The nazakat with which Kashmiris speak. Or the moment I first went paragliding in Interlaken. The second I knew I was getting to keep my rescued cat for the rest of her life. Or when I exercise and eat healthy. With my ambition. Or with history and philosophy. The magic with which my body functions without a flaw. Or the butterflies I have around babies and animals and when I’m given a compliment. Or when I run to my therapeutic swing. The feeling of getting onto a midnight flight. Or a late-night car ride. Don’t we really complicate the notion of love and romanticise one person instead of the moments that have made us. Maybe the years of literature and music are all wrong. Or maybe they were right all along but we just didn’t open ourselves to interpretation that is the simplest. Maybe we indulge too much in our love for intricacies and reading too much in a thought that was meant to remain Sufiyana. I think it’s time to un-learn all that we think we know about love because it much more and much simpler than we are willing to admit. It’s only then that we will realise that we’ve felt this beautiful feeling from the second we took our first breath- falling in love with the mother’s and father’s warm hands which held us. And we will experience it till our last. Only then will we stop waiting for it- for the person. Because the sky has always been pink and the wind always purple.     

Just a thought

It is only when one goes to Kashmir does one realise what the war is all about.

Just a thought

If leaders are putting their photographs on the vaccine certificates isn’t it fair to put them on the death certificates as well? If the people getting vaccinated are “your” citizens then the ones dying are too.

Each year a cyclone rages against the Eastern coast of India and each year it causes billions of dollars in damages, displacing millions of people and killing tens of thousands each year. This year was worse; India had to face the rage of mother nature both on the Western and the Eastern fronts. Recently, cyclone Yaas hit the states of Odisha and West Bengal in the East, damaging fragile ecosystems and causing extensive damage.

While an enormous effort was made by the respective State Governments to keep the damage to the minimum, rarely does one have ones way against mother nature. Responses to extreme weather events almost always fall short of responses mounted against them. However, effective leadership can make a lot of difference. Both the CMs set an example by leading from the front.

However, this is also tale of two Chief Ministers with different priorities. Mr. Naveen Patnaik, CM of Odisha, has often been hailed by both sides of the aisle as a true leader who is empathetic to the public. Odisha is no stranger to nature’s fury, be it cyclones or draughts. Yet, year after year, it bests these calamities. This year turned out to be no different. As soon as the weather anomaly was detected, appropriate measures were taken. A rescue effort began on Odisha’s coast. All the fishermen were warned to not venture out into the ocean; villages were soon being evacuated along with the livestock. Food was distributed, barrages set up, and proper arrangements to accommodate the displaced were made. The entire effort is testimony to one man’s planning which all Oriya people, irrespective of their political affiliation, have come to respect. In the crisis, Sh. Naveen Patnaik has set an example in collaborating between Central and State Governments in the spirit of cooperative federalism. This allowed Odisha to soon get back on its feet.

On the other hand, recently elected CM of West Bengal, Ms. Mamata Banerjee, also visited many coastal regions including East Medinipur and the Sundarbans. Some of these areas are not navigable, and are home to one of the most fragile and important ecosystems of India.

In the wake of the storm, the state and the Central Governments found themselves with a major task ascertaining damage, and providing relief and rehabilitation. National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) teams were ready and in sync with the State Government and first responders to minimize cyclone impact. However, more was needed to be done. The Prime Minister scheduled an aerial survey of the affected areas in West Bengal and Odisha to ascertain the damage and meetings with the respective Chief Ministers. Sh. Patnaik received the CM and apprised him of the damage as well as financial and other assistance required by the state. He committed to work in sync with the Central Government. The CM politely rejected the PM’s proposal for immediate assistance and looked to long term development to prevent such damages from natural calamities.

From Odisha, the Prime Minister reached Bengal where all eyes were on his highly anticipated meeting with the CM after the recently concluded fever-pitched state assembly elections. Apparently the CM didn’t show up for the meeting on time. In fact, no one from the West Bengal Government did. It seems that the Governor and the Prime Minister waited for thirty minutes , even though she was in the same premises. When she briefly did, she just handed over a proposal to the PM demanding a relief of Rs. 20,000 crores for the Sundarbans and left just as abruptly along with her trail of officers and bureaucrats. As proceeded as per her schedule to Digha to review relief work. Such attitudes and confrontation have no place in our federal structure. During such a crisis, both the Governments should come together and work to help the public. Smt. Banerjee must realize she and Sh. Modi both occupy constitutional offices and must work towards solving the problems of the country keeping aside their political differences.

Last twenty-four hours. 4.03 lakh new cases. 4092 lives lost.

What do we hear from those in power? Silence.

A silence filled with moans and cries,

Lives lost while counting votes and lies.

Trees cut as we gasp for breath,

A new house is built with the bricks of death.

As mothers hold the bodies of their dead sons,

(Or the other way around on Mother’s Day),

All of us lose over two hundred thousand precious loved ones.

They stay silent with no words to spare,

They keep quiet in these times of despair.

The parliament they built for no good cause,

(A parliament of owls is convening outside),

Stands at the feet of youngsters we’ve lost.

Trading oxygen cylinders for one life after another,

History books will remember them forever.

As in the rallies un-masked they stand,

We can see the red blood on their hands.

AGEISM- stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination against people on the basis of their age. Usually, this is a complaint of the old against the young. This makes other kinds of ageism invisible.
 
It is a word we hear very often in politics, and workspaces, but only to garnish casual conversation. The truth is, the prejudice this word represents is deeply rooted in our society. The meaning of this word has also broadened over the years. I am someone who has experienced it very closely and personally. My age is 15, and I will be 16 in a month. Already stereotyped as a disinterested party to ageism, right? It is very easy to do so. Such prejudices are so deeply ingrained and so unconsciously practiced, is it not anyone’s fault? Maybe, but they remain damaging, nonetheless. My journey with ageism is a case in point. 
 
 
I grew up in a semi-conservative family. My mother, a very religious woman, was conservative, but has now started to embrace today’s world. My father, on the other hand, a decade younger than my mother, is very open minded. I almost feel as if they keep rubbing off on each other. It’s like my mother is getting more open-minded with time and my father is getting more conservative. Between them, they raised me to the best of their abilities, and have done an excellent job. 
 
 
I was exposed to many adult problems ever since I remember, problems that were meant to be understood, handled and solved by some adult. I never had much pressure in the beginning to understand or solve them, but as time passed, I began to do it myself. And as soon as my teachers, family and friends realized that I was not doing a bad job at all, they encouraged me to do it. I also found myself in many situations that I had no choice but to deal with. I grew up with a sister two decades older than I am, she has Borderline Personality Disorder, an illness which lies on the border of neurosis and psychosis. You may guess the kind of Bollywood I saw growing up! Besides, I had to understand other adult family problems that happened with increasing frequency ever since I turned twelve. Mother nature probably thought that if I already had started gaining emotional maturity, maybe I should have the physical maturity to go with it. I started menstruating when I was nine. I barely knew what it meant. So now I had the hormones and growth of an average twelve or thirteen-year-old! I don’t see this in a negative light. My soul, body and mind had the opportunity to mature quicker, and to start thinking ahead of my time! Nothing wrong with that, right? I told myself this was an asset. In times of Badshah, Post Malone and Travis Scott, I had the opportunity of diving into Asha Bhosle, Jagjit Singh, Mohammed Rafi, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and so on. I was a well-argued atheist by the time I turned eleven. I started writing poetry in eighth grade, though much of it remains locked away. I entered and won my first Model United Nations in sixth grade. I competed with adults in youth parliaments and came up second to none. I got interested in politics and started my own blog, again in eighth grade. And I enrolled myself with the youth wing of a national political party as a volunteer at fourteen. By the time I approached my fifteenth birthday, I fell in love with all things a twenty-year-old would be in love with. My friends group ranged from sixteen-year olds to twenty- three-year olds.  My mother has been reconciling slowly with my growing up so fast.
Where is ageism in this? Have I just wasted your time? I promise you I have not.
I did not give it much thought at first, but I started seeing it everywhere soon enough. In school, I was always filled with curiosity. I had questions to ask, I had things to say and I was hungry for information. There were times when those questions would be considered too inappropriate for my grade- belonging in the adult realm- but to me they always seemed as obvious and important. Ever since I remember, I was laughed at because I was weird, different, the odd one out. Many times, I would say something which was considered a lie, just because I maturely told people to mind their own business and refused to prove myself to them.  People would often talk to me about their problems (“I lost my keychain”), started to cry because they slipped in public, etc. and I would feel like I was stuck with insecure babies, even though I was exactly their age. I was fun, outgoing, social; yet the responsible one. The one with an overwhelming sense of her duties, the mom of the group. 
 
When I would try and join the organizing committees of youth parliaments, I was initially shooed off for my age. “You are too young for this responsibility”, they would explain. I learnt to laugh it off, persist, get my way, or move on. 
 
At parties, I preferred talking to grandparents and parents of my friends. I respected and related with them. They loved me. If not with them, I would be in a corner baby-sitting a child or a dog. I felt most at home there. I always felt the need to be in the best books of all my friends’ parents and families. It was part of long-term relations. Little did I know that my generation had a word for this- “clingy”, and “intrusive”. Like much else, would laugh it off.

 As a political volunteer, I soon started handling their volunteer South Delhi social media. I was told to add people to my team. I would take interviews and go through resumes; and would sometimes reject them. The only thing I heard was- “Who is this kid to reject me?”, “She is not even educated enough”, and so on. But someone once told me that- when we drive through a street, stray dogs chase and bark at us. As soon as we stop, they stop barking. This means that an important proof that you are moving forward is the noise people make. They louder this news, the more you may be doing something right. I soon realized that hatred is born out of fear, pain, jealousy and ignorance. Like always, I just laugh it off.

When I used to introduce myself to people, especially those older than me, they would think of me as an intellectual, well-bred, cultured, even attractive person…till they discovered my age. I would suddenly become a “kid”, a “push-over”,“immature” “doesn’t know what she is talking about” and was condescended upon- “oh this is mature talk- you can leave” and so on. I thought the situation might improve if I tried explaining to them why I was so mature, and why they should treat me as an equal. I tried with a few people and it turned out two ways. Either they believed that I was genuinely mature and would treat me like an equal from then on. Or, mostly, they thought that I was just trying to fit in with my emotional baggage by lying, and the wise thing for them was to either get away from me- because I was “crazy”, or to treat me like a baby. The truth is, they were treating me like a normal fifteen-year-old, but I felt as if they were treating me like a three-year-old. In any case, I barely related with my generation, and this just made it worse. There were times when I would just say to someone- “Aye, this generation is so wasted. All they do is sneak out, party and smoke up.” And they would just laugh and reply, “Bro even you are from this generation.” I would laugh it off with them. I do not exactly blame people for this because even I get stunned sometimes when I realize I am just fifteen abnormally drawn into babysitting other people my age.

All of this is ageism. Judging someone and having a stereotype in mind just on the basis of someone’s age, without understanding their journey or getting to know them, is the most ignorant and immature thing that we can do. Yes, I will still have to wait for my legal age to do a lot of things because that is only when it will seem “right.” But as a community, as friends and family, maybe we can stop this pervasive discrimination. If we make conversation or a relationship with someone younger, and we enjoy it and feel comfortable without feeling odd- there should be nothing wrong with it and no one looking over our shoulders except to give us some advice, and check if we are safe, occasionally. Letting a person, you truly feel comfortable with, go because of their age- is the biggest mistake we can make. Let me cast the argument for my religious fellow citizens. According to Hindu tradition, the soul has a different age than the body. The soul lives on till the end of time but keeps inhabiting different bodies. And sometimes maybe we can tell ourselves that someone who is young and mature has an older soul with older memories and wisdom, hence it would be a sin to treat them any other way. Let’s finish ageism. Let’s love the soul and the mind, let us get rid of our hunger for right and wrong. Because, more often than not, that is an illusion, a bhram.