The world is going through a seismic shift in the geopolitical order. As Lenin once supposedly said: “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen”. With the United States-Israeli attack on Iran, and Tehran’s valiant retaliatory fight against the global order by targeting and exposing the fragility of financial hubs such as Dubai, bringing the invincibility of oil and natural gas economy in to serious question, forcing the easing of the West’s crippling sanctions on Russia and even Iran in the process, closure of the critical Strait of Hormuz, the last few weeks have become a testimony to that quote. We are witnessing a permanent shift away from a unipolar, Western-centric world towards a firmly multipolar world. India too has been used as a tool both by the US and Israel in this transnational chess game, whether in barring us from buying Russian oil and then “allowing” a one month reprieve or in inviting an obliging and genuflecting Modi for a state visit to Israel just a few hours before an airstrike brutally attacked and killed the Iranian supreme leader Ayothallah Khameini. De-dollarisation is actively happening and powerhouses such as the Yuan are strengthening by the day, paradoxically Indian rupee continues its freefall as the raging conflict in West Asia simmers on. Unless something drastic happens, this trend would likely continue with economic uncertainty looming large in the near future and India’s prospects seriously in question in the distant future. Also read: 10 Things Evident From the US-Israel War on IranBy any measure, the energy crisis that is unfolding now is of epic proportions. Countries all around us are already gripped by panic – Philippines has declared a state of emergency, Sri Lanka has adopted a four-day work week policy, Myanmar is in crisis mode with black-marketeers selling oil for 10 times the usual price, South Korea is implementing curbs on driving while Pakistan and Bangladesh are staring at a likely shutdown.An RTI (Right To Information) reply by the Indian government has been reported to state that India has only 10 days’ worth of strategic oil reserves. The Union government is putting up a brave front assuring people that we have enough reserves but the situation on the ground tells a different story. Petroleum & Natural Gas ministry has directed the oil refineries to prioritise domestic supply of LPG over commercial use, resulting in the shuttering down of several restaurants and eateries across the country and even closure of ceramic and textile factories. Needless to say this has led to loss of jobs and livelihood for many workers already. Reports indicate that a standard 14 kg domestic cylinder would be reduced to 10 kg with curbs planned on number of cylinders allowed per household, time restrictions to book, etc. Hoarding has begun, evident from the recent blast in Rajkot, Gujarat, caused by illegal storage of more than 40 cylinders in a residential space. The government has been keen on pointing out that oil prices are still being kept the same, that seems to be a carefully calculated gesture keeping in mind the ongoing multi-state Assembly elections. In any case, this seems to be just the tip of the iceberg with the West Asia chaos showing no signs of letting up as the oil and natural gas facilities across Iran, Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel, Bahrain and Oman continue to be hit. Every single day of continued attacks only portends months, if not years, of setback to even get to a pre-war level of oil and gas production in the Gulf. It will never be the same again.Can India withstand the global crisis?China, unlike India, seems to be well-positioned with a reported six-month reserve of oil. China also enjoys unrestricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz. While still being the largest importer of crude oil in the world, China has gone through a paradigm shift in the last two decades by investing massively in electric vehicles and renewable energy sources. Almost 60% of all new vehicles in China are either electric or plug-in hybrids further reducing oil dependency over time. India is not even at 8%. China’s behemoth mass transportation relies heavily on battery and solar power, unlike in our case where diesel is still the backbone of our mass transport, and which is inherently inadequate already. With this crisis now at our doorstep, it is evident that the golden time period to have buttressed our position was the last two decades that were pilfered badly. The myopic political leadership at the top has rather prioritised propaganda over performance, religious polarisation over rational decision-making and choreographed photo-ops over conscientious relationship-building at the international level. The regime has fallen woefully inadequate in making the country self-sustaining in spite of all the brouhaha over Atmanirbharta. Even though “policy paralysis” was an epithet thrown at the previous UPA government, it is precisely Modi’s policy paralysis on the world stage that is going to make this energy crisis bite us harder. The “moun” Modi approach when the US-Israel murdered Iranian Supreme Leader, as well as Iranian schoolgirls, is costing us dearly as Indian-bound oil and gas carriers traversing the Strait of Hormuz are having to pay heavy tolls in Chinese Yuan. The demographic dividend window of having a vast youthful population has been wasted thus far with joblessness among graduates hovering at an alarming 40%.On the contrary, the regime has been successful in creating a ‘Dhurandhar class’ among the youth in the country that is unapologetically bellicose, utterly misinformed about reality and unflinchingly willing to put Modi on a pedestal. A blood-thirsty violent jingoistic screen saga has been able to garner thousands of crores from the people at a time when economic inequality is at an unprecedented level. A foreign policy built on hobnobbing with Trump and Netanyahu while wilfully ignoring the causes espoused by the global south whether it is in the case of Palestine, Cuba or Iran, has only left us isolated and vulnerable. As our BRICS partner, Brazilian President Lula da Silva thundered against neo-imperialist policies of the West targeting mineral-rich countries, but Indian political and billionaire class is intertwining itself deeply with Western capitalism as seen in the case of Ambani seemingly backing a new oil refinery in Texas. Another BRICS partner, South Africa, spearheaded the genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice while Modi became the only leader in the entire Global South to have expressed unconditional support to Israel in the midst of the ongoing pogrom against Palestinians. At this decisive moment in world history, India, once a beacon of non-aligned movement at the height of Cold War, has thus been reduced to an afterthought, a mere tool in the hands of warmongers. Modi’s past handling of crises as a window into the futureBoth, in the self-made November 2016 demonetisation crisis and the 2020 COVID lockdown predicament, the country has seen Modi’s shock-and-awe theatrics rooted in nothing but hubris and his ability to abdicate state responsibility that resulted in avoidable misery for the vast majority of the population and countless deaths that remain unaccounted for.The energy crisis that is worsening by the day has the capacity to bring out both, the best and worst in our country now. Let us earnestly hope that the regime that is now in its third stint has learned some lessons from the previous crises and would act in a just and humane way to steer the people through foreseeable travails. G. Naveen has written articles on politics, with emphasis on social justice, for more than 20 years on various platforms. He is a physician by profession.