The US onslaught on Iran, and the resultant closure of the Strait of Hormuz, are having a massive global impact, and the consequences for Indian migrant workers are just one example. In recent weeks, with prices soaring, businesses closing, and fuel reserves rapidly running out, many migrant workers have been fleeing Indian cities and hurrying home to their villages in a desperate attempt to survive.

The current shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders and limited availability of fuel, along with major food price hikes due to the war, has forced many restaurants and other businesses in the big cities like Delhi to close. In fact, many people are increasingly struggling even to cook in their own domiciles due to the lack of cooking fuel, and some are returning home so they can cook on traditional firewood stoves, which is not possible in their cramped city lodgings.

Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has claimed that gas cylinders are still easily available, but this is often not the case. In fact, migrant workers in Delhi are unable to access domestic gas consumer cards, which allow people to book gas cylinders online, demonstrating the direct and disproportionate impact of the crisis on migrants.