Onion, a vegetable widely used in South Asian kitchens, has turned into a major political weapon for the opposition both within and outside Parliament. The opposition parties have made their point given the sensitivities attached to the culinary staple.There’s no justification for the fact that onions are selling at over `200 per kg in parts of Karnataka and that prices are ranging between `100-180 per kg in other states. The only state that has perhaps partially cushioned itself against the secular rise of onion prices is Maharashtra, a hotbed for onion-based politics.
Memes on the unacceptable cost of onions have inundated the virtual space as the price rise has the potential to destabilise modest kitchen budgets. And not all hail from conservative Brahmin families like our Union finance minister and can keep away from onions, unless they are forced to do so due to the rising costs.
Not tackling the onion price crisis could have serious implications and even sway political fortunes in our country. Let us not forget that Indira Gandhi, who lost power after she imposed the Emergency during 1975-77, shot back to the helm of affairs after onions became a major poll plank in 1980. Onion garlands were a common sight those days at most gatherings after Morarji Desai’s and Chaudhary Charan Singh’s governments had failed to manage its price.
Electoral reverses for the BJP in Delhi and Rajasthan during the 1998 elections were attributed to the unhindered rise in prices and scarcity of onions. Interestingly enough, high onion prices that year prompted the then Congressman Chhagan Bhujbal to send a box of the bulb to Maharashtra chief minister Manohar Joshi as a Diwali gift.
Even in 2010, the Manmohan Singh government had to face an onion-triggered crisis of sorts leading to a ban on onion exports and an easing of duties on imports. Manmohan’s government even approached India’s arch-rival Pakistan for a helping hand with onions leading to major criticism from the then opposition BJP. In fact, that year, BJP members marched to Parliament protesting the price rise with onion hats and garlands, taking a leaf out of Indira’s book. Onions returned to haunt Manmohan’s government again in 2013 when prices crossed `90 per kilo. In fact, BJP and AAP workers then drove vans with onions and symbolically sold them at less than market prices.
Despite having known and experienced political undercurrents associated with onions, the present Modi-led BJP government seems to have taken the modest commodity very lightly. It had inordinately delayed a decision to impose a ban on the export of onions. And this indecisiveness, coupled with rampant hoarding, black marketing and a lack of coordination with onion-producing states, led to their disappearance from the market and contributed to the price rise.
Even the Cabinet decision to import 1,00,000 tonnes of onions from Afghanistan, Turkey, Iran and Egypt has come late in the day. While middlemen and hoarders had a field day making a quick buck cashing in on the lower onion output, the Centre and states remained spectators. What is sad is onion farmers have not benefited in the last three months even as the prices skyrocketed.
The government even approached Turkey for onions though its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had slammed New Delhi at the United Nations over revoking special status to Jammu and Kashmir. In fact, Erdogan’s stand had earlier led to PM Modi calling off his visit to Ankara.
Interestingly, onions, along with other vegetables, have contributed majorly to the spurt in retail inflation that crossed the 4% rubicon set by RBI. Six members of the monetary policy committee headed by RBI governor Shaktikanta Das last week paused interest rate cuts owing to rising inflation at the retail level. (The multi-member MPC had earlier slashed interest rates by 135 basis points in less than a year to boost retail consumption and perk up domestic demand.)
The management of the prices of agriculture commodities, including that of onions, has come under serious question at a time when the government has vowed to reverse the economic slowdown, enhance job opportunities and ward off a possible industrial unrest following layoffs.The present onion crisis can teach us valuable lessons in management, policymaking and governance. Firstly, technology-driven weather forecasting techniques could be easily deployed to foresee shortage of a certain commodity and measures can be immediately initiated to bridge the gap.
Secondly, hoarding and black marketing of commodities continue to be a menace even after over 70 years of Independence—consumers get fleeced while producers are forced to make distress sales. Here again, technology-driven solutions could be a better option than slapping limits on storage. Commodities management could be evolved into a state-of-the-art process with eyes and ears to the ground and by overhauling state-owned trading companies like MMTC and STC. The Price Stabilization Fund Management Committee may have to take the primary blame for the present crisis that could boomerang on Modi’s leadership and have adverse political fallout electorally in the short term in certain pockets. The crisis calls for a comprehensive review and a redrawing of policy strategies as well as outlook towards commodities.