8 replies to this topic

[wjfox]

India has announced they're planning a Mars mission next year.

Is it right that Britain sends them nearly £300 million in aid, when our country is facing its worst financial crisis since the 1930s?

Discuss.

[hellgorama]

I'm from South Asia, and if the tables were turned I doubt we'd be giving away that much. And I agree the brits should be spending that cash to help their own ppl out (those who aren;t that well off of course). But then one could think of things this way. Giving money to India or any other source of immigrants will allow that country to develop a little thus reducing the number of possible future immigrants.

Problem is that is not how things go. Usually what happens is that 300billion is giving to brit's own companies, who then go into India or whoever that aid is intended and do what they are required to do. IE the money STAYS in britain. Thus the money never goes into India's economy to help it develop. And usually the project that gets done in third world countries are often offered to them as a loan. Charity and aid is an insidious form of economic slavery and an economic hitman tactic.

Now assuming that Britain gives the money directly to the Indian gov't: what usually happens is those corrupt politicians pocket most of the money and use to send their kids to britain's or america's pretigious schools. Thus a good chunk of the money returns to the west's own economy. So really IMO its pointless to give us money. It doesn't even help the intended party AT ALL (and hardly at best).

The only development has occurred thx to western companies setting up shop and finding it profitable to exploit the region's education-centred culture (every parent breeds their kids to go to university, sending them to extra tuition even after class), and large labor pool of folks willing to work for dirt cheap. So called "aid" has hardly helped.

[EVanimations]

Well it's interesting that India is becoming a part of the developed world, but if I was leading Britain I'd let those guys figure it out themselves. Guess Britain's still trying to atone for the apartheid, hm? Maybe feeling a bit guilty still?

[Guyverman1990]

Well it's interesting that India is becoming a part of the developed world, but if I was leading Britain I'd let those guys figure it out themselves. Guess Britain's still trying to atone for the apartheid, hm? Maybe feeling a bit guilty still?

Not just atone for apartheid, but Britain owes India alot after making it their colony for over a century.

[Shimmy]

Well it's interesting that India is becoming a part of the developed world, but if I was leading Britain I'd let those guys figure it out themselves. Guess Britain's still trying to atone for the apartheid, hm? Maybe feeling a bit guilty still?

Not just atone for apartheid, but Britain owes India alot after making it their colony for over a century.

Britain owes India? Surely it's the other way round. Britain made that country. Created infrastructure, government, took them from a third world bunch of warring tribes to a working country. Then Indians decided they wanted independence, Britain knew this would get messy but they were very insistent so we allowed them. Guess what happens next? Almost a million dead as they all murder each other indiscriminately. That country had no idea how to govern itself, Britain was the only thing making it a half decent place to live for that century. The only thing that stopped even more dying was the partition, those savage religions were incapable of living together without Britain to keep an eye on them. And we owe them? Without Britain's help India would still be a failed state worse than the worst parts of Africa. For the majority of countries that were colonies of western nations, the biggest mistake by far in their nation's history was convincing themselves they would be better off independent.

[GNR Rvolution]

Well it's interesting that India is becoming a part of the developed world, but if I was leading Britain I'd let those guys figure it out themselves. Guess Britain's still trying to atone for the apartheid, hm? Maybe feeling a bit guilty still?

Erm, Apartheid was South Africa? Which is a Dutch colony? As opposed to the AAM (http://en.wikipedia....rtheid_Movement)? Hey don't get me wrong, us Brits have had our fair share of imperialism and colonisation, but unless I missed something big we didn't introduce Apartheid? Now the effect of the British East India Company is something else...

[EVanimations]

Well it's interesting that India is becoming a part of the developed world, but if I was leading Britain I'd let those guys figure it out themselves. Guess Britain's still trying to atone for the apartheid, hm? Maybe feeling a bit guilty still?

Erm, Apartheid was South Africa? Which is a Dutch colony? As opposed to the AAM (http://en.wikipedia....rtheid_Movement)? Hey don't get me wrong, us Brits have had our fair share of imperialism and colonisation, but unless I missed something big we didn't introduce Apartheid? Now the effect of the British East India Company is something else...

This guy knew about British apartheid in India, I'm sure.

[GNR Rvolution]

Not trying to split hairs but apartheid as a term wasn't even coined until after WWII, and what happened in India was not apartheid. It was imperialism, there may have been racial elements to it but there was a British Raj which was composed of Indians who 'sold out' as it were.

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[hellgorama]

Well it's interesting that India is becoming a part of the developed world, but if I was leading Britain I'd let those guys figure it out themselves. Guess Britain's still trying to atone for the apartheid, hm? Maybe feeling a bit guilty still?

Not just atone for apartheid, but Britain owes India alot after making it their colony for over a century.

Britain owes India? Surely it's the other way round. Britain made that country. Created infrastructure, government, took them from a third world bunch of warring tribes to a working country. Then Indians decided they wanted independence, Britain knew this would get messy but they were very insistent so we allowed them. Guess what happens next? Almost a million dead as they all murder each other indiscriminately. That country had no idea how to govern itself, Britain was the only thing making it a half decent place to live for that century. The only thing that stopped even more dying was the partition, those savage religions were incapable of living together without Britain to keep an eye on them. And we owe them? Without Britain's help India would still be a failed state worse than the worst parts of Africa. For the majority of countries that were colonies of western nations, the biggest mistake by far in their nation's history was convincing themselves they would be better off independent.

I can partially agree with this (even though I'm south asian). While UK was developing industriously, India was stuck in the middle ages under a strict caste system (think Indian version of medieval serfdom). The irony of Ghandhi was he was murdered by one of his fellow countrymen. Concepts of democracy and status mobility (being able to work yourself up to high status) were unheard of until India became westernized.

BUT Britain enjoyed the various resource riches that India had. This was what helped Britain to prosper and become a superpower. So really neither side owes the other.