How ungrateful are Indians
Putting the 280 million British aid in perspective Debmalya Sinha Recently during an Oxford University Union Debate event, Indian MP Mr. Sashi Tharoor was invited as a guest speaker and he gave a speech about why British government owes India reparations. While Indians took this as an epic, Lagaan-esque[9] win, most British people have raised one question : why should British hardworking taxpayers have to give 280 million pounds (2014) as a financial aid while India, a nuclear power, has recently launched a (successful) space mission (codenamed Mangalayan) worth $690 million to Mars! Personally I am, like the Indian government, quite against the need of such aids especially when the “aid” is basically a “peanut”[10] in a 1 trillion economy. But I was curious, exactly what amount of money do us greedy Indians get from the hardworking British taxpayers. I’m trying to find that out in this short article. But first, a little background to the story. Background:
Image 1: Stills from Lagaan, an Indian epic[9]
After the Mangalayan launch, angry British lawmakers argued over some export quality (Indian?) tea poured inside fine china to stop this “aid” to those ungrateful Indians[1] who even can’t give a 30 billion Jet Fighter deal to UK’s Eurofighter Typhoon, and rather gave it to (more cost effective) D’assault Rafael jets from France (the only nation supported India for UN security council by the way, also has history with previous purchases of Mirage jets). It was a well known and much derided fact in Britain news media that India’s space program is funded by the U.K. aid. Then some people pointed out that the situation is actually worse! The country which gets 280mil in aid, gave away 300 mil aid to other poorer countries! “Abomination”, said everyone (or so as I assume), “How ungrateful are they?”
Image 2: A United Nations soldier on duty, PM Mr. Cameron, The Queen and the koh-e-noor diamond looted from India on top of her head.
Talks of finally stopping the financial aid was brewing like a chamomile tea, slowly, even before all these “UK funded” spaceman-spiff stuff. However tradition is something British lawmakers hold as dear as their Queen, so a faction argued about the evils to the hungry-india-poor-indiaTM (HIPI)TM will happen if Britain stops the 280mil financial aid to a 1 trillion economy. But then Indian government chipped in and basically said, “well SahabJi, moomfali nahi chahiye, wo Koh-e-noor wapas kardo bas” (We don’t need the peanuts[10] in the name of aid, just get us the Koh-e-noor diamond back which you looted a century ago.) His Highness PM Mr. Cameron, basically said two words: “Lol, Nope!”, as he went back to London, and finally cancelled the financial aid to HIPITM. Mr. Tharoor and Oxford Union SrirachaTM: Have you heard the points he made? Oh my locks god. He absolutely killed it and the creaky ancient wooden room at Oxford almost broke from the claps he got (mostly from Indian students I recon). If you didn’t see the video[3], please do it now! Otherwise, duh, there no point.
Image 3: Bhai at Tere Naam and Mr. Sashi Tharoor at yet another speech
Now as he talked about reparations, many thought he was talking about money, while at 14:26, He clearly says, he’s not. He’s looking for an apology those millions of people slaughtered, billions and billions of pounds worth property looted for 200 years. However, current British taxpayers are basically seemed unaware of the atrocities British government did until ’47. They hear that India, a greedy third world dustbin is again asking for money and the taxpayers will have to give it. They are common, hardworking people like any other and they have a valid point, because, UK Govt. is not exactly selling queen’s jewelry for “reparations” and the common people will have to bear it. Inevitably came up the issues of 280 mil per year. Which sounds, for a simple student as me with a pesky stipend, simply huge! But how huge is that for a simple hardworking taxpayer here at England? The Math: Facts: [4,5] 1. UK total taxpayer about 29.7 million people 2. 81.6% of them are basic taxpayers which comprises of 33.2% of total revenue 3. 14.7% of them are high income taxpayers which comprises of 36.8% of total revenue 4. 1 % of them are very high income taxpayers which comprises of 29.7% of total revenue
So this means about 24.235 million people pays about 33.2% of that 280 million which is 92.96 million pound per year. Now a simple division tells us the individual prices the basic taxpayers give is about 3.83 GBP per person. Per Year. Exactly how much is worth that? Aaand the answer is : (drumrolls) One Six Inch Sub from your local Subway Joint! Yes, not a footlong sub, not the fancy Salad, just a six inch and the drinks are extra! You’ll just get a pack of fries from KFC with that money and nothing else! UK citizens waste 68 Million pounds in electricity just while boiling excess water for tea with an overfilled electric kettle[8]! UK is one of the countries which didn’t have any year in peace for centuries. At least in some part of the word UK funded war wages on which is mostly unnecessary and they are mostly doing this just to support US of A because they saved their A twice in two world wars. The War in Afganistan[6] alone cost 37 Billion pounds – that’s about 2000 pounds from each UK households. Do I need to put more examples to put that aid in perspective?
Image 4 : Subway UK menu, Murica, KFC UK Menu
Still now, the question remains, why will the British taxpayers have to give anything at all, no matter how small it is to those poor people in India! Answer is simple: they won’t have to! They can forget 200 years of loot, rapes and massacres in India and even forget the fact that the very foundation of UK’s prosperity was based on the loot, massacre, destruction of local trades and pushing their own goods to its milking cow colonies like China, India and many more. They can also forget how much they spend in overfilled kettles and completely unnecessary wars and bicker about the financial aids to countries like China(yes, they send about 30 mil to, oh my god, CHINATM as aid too) , India who had to get themselves up from the gutter British Empire put them in, just to emerge as the two fastest growing economies in the world. India sure don’t need the peanut aids, but, do certainly needs the apology from the British government and its people of the unthinkable atrocities it did, for Two Hundred Years. In the end, I’d like to say, Namaste, as a goodwill, and if UK has to send any satellites to space anytime, come to ISRO[7]. We’ll sort you out in much lesser cost than the counterparts. Happy now?
Bibliography: [1] Ungrateful Indians: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9064112/What-doesIndia-want-from-Britain.html [2] India’s rocket is UK funded rant: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2947400/Lunar-cy-Indiagets-cash-British-aid-send-250million-rocket-moon.html [3] Sashi Tharoor rant jibe speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7CW7S0zxv4 [4] Who pays how much taxes : http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/jan/27/how-manypay-top-rate-of-income-tax-uk [5] Table 2.1 total UK individual taxpayers: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/number-ofindividual-income-taxpayers-by-marginal-rate-gender-and-age [6] Afganistan War cost: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/30/afghanistan-war-costbritain-37bn-book [7] ISRO: http://www.isro.gov.in/ [8] Overfilling Kettle: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23175220 [9] Lagaan : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169102/ [10] Peanut rant: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2096628/British-foreign-aid-India-tellsBritain-dont-need-peanuts-offer-us.html