The US-Iran war has occupied the front pages of newspapers as well as prime slots in the electronic media. Many national leaders have been figured prominently. However, one surprising absence is of the United Nations and its leadership.

One would have expected the UN to be putting out messages for peace and avoidance of hostilities while also making attempts to mobilise relief and at mediation between the warring parties.

But none of this has happened. This is a major lapse because unlike a dispute between two parties, this war involves almost every country in the world given the disruption in oil and gas supplies from West Asia.

The complete absence of the UN from this West Asia crisis could lead to growing marginalisation of the world’s premier multilateral agency. One hopes this does not happen.

V Vijaykumar

Pune

Rupee volatility

Apropos ‘Pressure point’ (April 14), the rupee’s recent turbulence underscores the delicate balance between intervention and market autonomy. The RBI’s crackdown on speculative trades has offered short-term relief, yet history reminds us that such measures rarely secure lasting stability. Currency strength ultimately depends on fundamentals like crude prices, portfolio flows and investor confidence, not regulatory ceilings.

The lesson is pragmatic: central banks can manage volatility but cannot dictate value. Durable resilience requires structural reforms that bolster exports, attract investment and reduce dependence on volatile energy imports.

India’s economic credibility will be judged not by temporary restrictions but by its ability to sustain confidence in the rupee. Policy must therefore move beyond firefighting towards building long-term stability.

K Chidanand Kumar

Bengaluru

Finance capital flows

This refers to ‘Finance capital in time of war’ (April 14). The article makes a counter-intuitive but well-supported observation — finance capital has not followed the war machine as conventional wisdom would suggest. Defence stocks declining despite rising demand, and capital moving towards oil speculation instead, reveal how unpredictable conflict-driven markets actually are. For investors, the key takeaway is that war-related opportunities rarely materialise as cleanly as anticipated.

M Barathi

Bengaluru

Published on April 14, 2026