22 July 2011

Aid to India is a smart move

Your leading article regarding India no longer needing our aid (20 July) misses the point. Foreign aid is about geopolitical interests. It is in our interest to have a foothold in such an emerging super-power.

India is a beacon of hope and freedom in a volatile part of the world and we need to have close links with the country. There is no such thing as a free lunch. India itself gives huge aid to Afghanistan and many African countries.

It is all about winning hearts and minds and enhancing one’s commercial and political interests. Because of India’s massive population, damning statistics are produced as soon as it spends money on defence or space technology.

The founding fathers of modern India did not want an army, believing in the goodwill of its neighbours, only to be invaded by China in 1962. This episode is still referred to as India’s humiliating defeat here in the West. It is as if unless India removes its poverty it should not do anything. Almost all countries of the world have poor people and many first world countries are in trillions of pounds of debt.

Does that mean they have to stop everything and not do anything? India will not be hurt by the suspension of £295m aid but it will be a small saving at the cost of our long-term interests.

Nitin Mehta