On the 23rd of August, around 6:04 pm, India etched its name in history by becoming the first country to successfully land a spacecraft on the south pole of the moon. This significant achievement marked India as the fourth nation to accomplish a soft landing on the moon, following the United States, the former Soviet Union, and China. While this accomplishment received widespread national and international acclaim, it also stirred up controversy.
In an unexpected turn of events, India's recent triumph with the Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon's south pole triggered a heated debate surrounding foreign aid between the United Kingdom and India. A social media post by journalist Sophie Corcoran and statements from news presenter Patrick Christys have sparked a contentious global discussion.
Corcoran took to platform X (formerly known as Twitter) to argue that the UK should reconsider its aid to India in light of India's advanced space program. She suggested that the UK should reclaim its investments. Christys, a presenter at GB News, took this sentiment further, demanding that India repay the £2.3 billion in foreign aid provided by Britain from 2016 to 2021. He also alluded to the 57 million pounds designated for India in the upcoming year.
Christys quipped, “I congratulate India for landing on the dark side of the Moon. I would also like to invite India to return the £2.3 billion of foreign aid money that we sent them between 2016 and 2021. We are also set to give them 57 million pounds next year, and I think British taxpayers should retain that, don’t you? We shouldn’t be giving money to countries with a space program. As a rule, if you can afford to launch a rocket to the dark side of the Moon, you shouldn’t be seeking our assistance.”
Naturally, these comments were met with strong opposition in India, a country that has a history of enduring over two centuries of colonial rule by the British.
This raises the question: What exactly is UK aid, and has it truly benefited India in any substantial way?
The UK aid logo is prominently displayed in regions where their projects are active, such as health clinics, school materials, and emergency food supplies. It serves as a public acknowledgment of development initiatives supported by British taxpayers. Officially, UK aid to India was meant to end in 2015 after India expressed its self-sufficiency. However, a review by the UK aid spending oversight body revealed that approximately £2.3 billion (Rs 23,000 crore) in aid was provided to India between 2016 and 2021.
Given the British history of economic plunder and exploitation, their appeal for funds from countries they have historically exploited takes on a rather ironic and even comical tone.
#UK #India #Britain #Trillion #AidMoney #ColonialEra #PatrickChristys #ISRO #Chandrayaan #HWNews
In an unexpected turn of events, India's recent triumph with the Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon's south pole triggered a heated debate surrounding foreign aid between the United Kingdom and India. A social media post by journalist Sophie Corcoran and statements from news presenter Patrick Christys have sparked a contentious global discussion.
Corcoran took to platform X (formerly known as Twitter) to argue that the UK should reconsider its aid to India in light of India's advanced space program. She suggested that the UK should reclaim its investments. Christys, a presenter at GB News, took this sentiment further, demanding that India repay the £2.3 billion in foreign aid provided by Britain from 2016 to 2021. He also alluded to the 57 million pounds designated for India in the upcoming year.
Christys quipped, “I congratulate India for landing on the dark side of the Moon. I would also like to invite India to return the £2.3 billion of foreign aid money that we sent them between 2016 and 2021. We are also set to give them 57 million pounds next year, and I think British taxpayers should retain that, don’t you? We shouldn’t be giving money to countries with a space program. As a rule, if you can afford to launch a rocket to the dark side of the Moon, you shouldn’t be seeking our assistance.”
Naturally, these comments were met with strong opposition in India, a country that has a history of enduring over two centuries of colonial rule by the British.
This raises the question: What exactly is UK aid, and has it truly benefited India in any substantial way?
The UK aid logo is prominently displayed in regions where their projects are active, such as health clinics, school materials, and emergency food supplies. It serves as a public acknowledgment of development initiatives supported by British taxpayers. Officially, UK aid to India was meant to end in 2015 after India expressed its self-sufficiency. However, a review by the UK aid spending oversight body revealed that approximately £2.3 billion (Rs 23,000 crore) in aid was provided to India between 2016 and 2021.
Given the British history of economic plunder and exploitation, their appeal for funds from countries they have historically exploited takes on a rather ironic and even comical tone.
#UK #India #Britain #Trillion #AidMoney #ColonialEra #PatrickChristys #ISRO #Chandrayaan #HWNews
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NewsTranscript
00:00 On the 23rd of August around 6.04pm, India etched its name in its history by becoming
00:05 the first country to successfully land a spacecraft on the south pole of the moon. This significant
00:11 achievement marked India as the fourth nation to accomplish a soft landing on the moon followed
00:15 by the United States, the former Soviet Union and China. While this accomplishment received
00:20 widespread national and international acclaim, it also stirred up controversy.
00:24 Hello everyone, my name is Zehnav Zalkutty and welcome to HW News English. In an unexpected
00:30 turn of events, India's recent triumph with the Chandrayaan-3 mission to the moon's south
00:34 pole triggered a heated debate surrounding foreign aid between the United Kingdom and
00:39 India. A social media post by journalist Sophie Corcoran and statements from news presenter
00:45 Patrick Christie have sparked a contentious global discussion. Corcoran took to PlatformX,
00:51 formerly known as Twitter, to argue that the UK should reconsider its aid to India in light
00:55 of India's advanced space programme. She suggested that the UK should reclaim its investments.
01:00 Christie, a presenter at GB News, took this sentiment further, demanding India repay the
01:05 £2.3 billion in foreign aid provided by Britain from 2016 to 2021. He also alluded to the
01:13 £57 million designated for India in the upcoming year. Christie squibbed, "I congratulate
01:19 India for landing on the dark side of the moon. I would also like to invite India to
01:24 retain the £2.3 billion of foreign aid money that we sent them between 2016 and 2021. We
01:30 are also set to give them £57 million next year. And I think British taxpayers should
01:36 retain that, don't you? We shouldn't be giving money to countries with a space programme.
01:41 As a rule, if you can afford to launch a rocket to the dark side of the moon, you shouldn't
01:45 be seeking our assistance." Naturally, these comments were met with strong opposition in
01:50 India, a country that has a history of enduring over two centuries of colonial rule by the
01:56 British. This raises the question, what exactly is UK aid and has it truly benefited India
02:02 in any substantial way? The UK aid logo is prominently displayed in regions where their
02:08 projects are active, such as health clinics, school materials and emergency food supplies.
02:15 It serves as a public acknowledgement of development initiatives supported by British taxpayers.
02:20 Officially, UK aid to India was meant to end in 2015 after India expressed its self-sufficiency.
02:26 However, a review by the UK Aid Spending Oversight Body revealed that approximately £2.3 billion
02:33 in aid was provided to India between 2016 and 2021. Given the British history of economic
02:40 plunder and exploitation, their appeal for funds from countries they have historically
02:44 exploited takes on a rather ironic and even comical tone. It is quite unfair how the Brits
02:50 are asking back the aid money from India as if it were rational. The UK provides aid money
02:56 for development initiatives and emergency food supplies, whereas ironically, during
03:01 World War II, Winston Churchill diverted essential supplies from Indian civilians who were suffering
03:07 from the Bengal famine at the time and transferred these supplies as stockpiles to Europe.
03:12 Looking back in history at both the world wars, during World War I, Indian taxpayers
03:18 paid £100 million for a war that wasn't even theirs. Again, in World War II, out of
03:24 Britain's total war debt of £3 billion, as of 1945 money, £1.25 billion was owed
03:31 to India and was never actually paid. This history of exploitation extended to cultural
03:37 and historical artefacts such as the ring of Tipu Sultan and the wine cup of Shah Jahan.
03:42 Additionally, India's most prized possession, the Koh-i-Noor diamond, is set within the
03:47 British Crown.
03:48 So, to put it simply, the British are requesting the money they provided between 2016 and 2021
03:54 to be returned. In the light of this, my appeal to Mr Patrick Christie is straightforward.
04:00 I kindly ask for the reimbursement of the £100 million that our Indian taxpayers contributed
04:05 during World War I, along with the accumulated annual interest over 105 years. Additionally,
04:11 let's factor in the £1.2 billion that the UK owes us from World War II and has yet to
04:17 fulfil. This amounts to £1.8 billion USD in today's currency. Furthermore, let's
04:24 not overlook the staggering £45 trillion USD that the East India Company looted from
04:29 us during the colonial era.
04:33 After taking into account the aid that was given, we simply request that you return the
04:38 remaining balance for the sake of clarity. If you can fulfil this, we will consider the
04:43 matter resolved from our end.
04:44 Thank you for understanding.
04:45 That's all for now. For more such news updates, follow HW News English. Thank you.
04:50 [music]