CHENNAI, India — French Queen Marie Antoinette's sarcastic suggestion that her starving subjects eat cake instead of bread turned out to be the spark that ignited the French Revolution. In the end, the queen paid with her head.
In India, it is not a case of bread but rice and onions, the most important everyday staple foods. Of course, nobody has dared to ask people to consume sweetmeat in India instead.
In a nation of billion-plus population, where 76 percent live on just 25 rupees a day, onion sells at 70 rupees a kilogram, rice at 50 rupees, and tomatoes are 80 rupees. Food is the most expensive part of a family's budget. The price of onions shot up more than 46 percent in the first three weeks of December and 67 percent over the year.