Hoping to stave off inflationary pressures on a diet staple, the Indian government is banning exports of non-Basmati white rice varieties.

Chatter on one of Prabha Rao’s WhatsApp groups exploded last week when India announced that it was severely curtailing some rice exports to the rest of the world, triggering worry among the Indian diaspora in the United States that access to a food staple from home might soon be cut off.