'Wasted billions'

AFTER a whirlwind tour of India, leading American Congressman Clarence Long has said that India is “a strange case of wasted billions.” The huge aid extended to this country over the past two decades, according to him, “has had little or no beneficial effect.” He further believes that “India’s distorted development strategy” has frustrated the bettering of the lives of this country’s millions. In support of his contention, he has quoted some figures. While the USA and international aid institutions were contributing $3.3 billion in aid to develop India’s potential, this country “is spending $9.8 billion on its arms establishments.” Foreign aid is thus believed to have served principally to help finance India’s military build-up. The complementary angle on aid has also been projected to prove the same erroneous thesis. If India had cut its defence spending by half, it is contended, she could have “dispensed entirely with aid from the USA and international institutions and completely financed her own programme…” Long is by no means the first American to have so blatantly displayed anti-Indian prejudices. One of his compatriots recently had argued in favour of letting millions of Asians starve by denying them aid, to ensure a better life for the rest. Such callous detractors represent strange cases of wasted Americanism. They carry old prejudices to absurd lengths, unmindful of the derisive comments they invite from far and near. They are firm believers in “aid with strings” and feel convinced that countries which pursue independent foreign policies or take an anti-US line do not deserve American dollars.