India, Aug. 1 -- On July 18, Microsoft pulled the plug on Nayara Energy, one of India's largest oil companies. There was no warning, no explanations. Neither was there any legal order from any Indian authority. It was a decision made in some boardroom halfway across the world, and with that the company lost access to Teams, email, documents and records.

On July 30, the US President Donald Trump announced sweeping 25 percent tariffs on Indian exports. Shrimp, auto parts, solar panels, pharmaceutical ingredients. The reason cited for these tariffs that came into immediate effect was India's oil and defence dealings with Russia.

At first glance, these two incidents look disconnected, but they are not. They are both flickers of the same vol...