India, Sept. 1 -- A storm is quietly gathering momentum across India, one that is being ignored in the wake of geopolitics, tariffs and shortages of rare earths minerals. This hurricane can have devastating consequences for the central regime. Savitri, a resident of Seoni, Madhya Pradesh, shows up at 4 am to take her place in an already-long queue. Alok Swain in Ganjam, Odisha, starts his wait at midnight. Rakesh Singh, a muscular man of about 40 years weeps openly in Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh as his sixteen-hour-long wait turns futile.

Scenes like these are visible across India. They have a common thread: the examples are those of either farmers or their family members, who are forced to stand in the long (both number-wise and timew...