New Delhi, June 5 -- The air in early May was thick with threats from across the border of drones and debris. Do these threats affect people differently depending on where they are situated on the socio-economic ladder?

For people at the base of the pyramid, cross- border threats just add to everyday uncertainties. These are plain ordinary uncertainties, unconnected to job threats from artificial intelligence or tariff threats to export sector jobs. In urban India, dwellers in informal settlements live under the perennial threat of eviction. As gross domestic product (GDP) goes up, and with that urban real estate values, eviction possibilities increase.

Service shacks in upscale localities supplying tea and other essentials operate unde...