Day 51 – Q 4.Should India have denied the monetary help extended by the UAE to Kerala flood victims? Critically examine.
4. Should India have denied the monetary help extended by the UAE to Kerala flood victims? Critically examine.
क्या भारत ने संयुक्त अरब अमीरात द्वारा केरल बाढ़ पीड़ितों को दी गई मौद्रिक सहायता से इंकार करना चाहिए था? समालोचनात्मक जांच करें।
Approach:
- Introduction
- India’s policy with regard to foreign aid.
- Reasons behind
- Conclusion
Introduction:
India turned down the UAE’s reported offer of Rs 700 crore as aid for flood relief in Kerala. The money is being offered for rehabilitation of the victims of Kerala floods and reconstruction of public properties damaged due to the monsoon fury. The Indian government has decided to refuse any help to deal with the post-flood reconstruction and rehabilitation process.
India’s policy: India had graciously accepted foreign financial assistance in the aftermath of the massive Bihar floods in July-August 2004, West Bengal cyclone of 2002, Gujarat earthquake of 2001, Latur earthquake of 1993 and Uttarkashi earthquake of 1991. It was in 2004 that the Manmohan Singh government took a decision to shed “the poor country” tag attached to India.
In the aftermath of the tsunami in December 2004 in the Indian Ocean, the government refused to accept financial assistance from foreign countries. Before this, India used to accept aid from the international community in the wake of a big natural calamity. The policy of non-acceptance of foreign financial assistance has been practice ever since barring a few exceptions like the Uttarakhand cloudburst of 2013 and Odisha cyclone of 2014.
India should have refused the aid or not?
Shouldn’t have refused the aid:
- Huge investment will be required for the rehabilitation and redevelopment.
- Goodwill- Many of the Keralites have UAE as their second home. Accepting assistance would have generated further goodwill.
- Not accepting the help may indirectly affect the relation with the country.
Refusing the aid is right:
- Accepting the aid would hurt self-dependency and sovereignty indirectly.
- India has projected its image of an aid-provider. It has taken pride in being the first responder to a calamity in its neighbourhood. India has extended assistance to Nepal, Myanmar, Philippines, the US and China.
- It would further fuel secessionist tendencies in kerala.
Conclusion:
India on its own with corporate and NGO’s help is self-equipped to handle the disaster and its aftermath. In this light accepting something which is not required would only have increased our dependency on other nation.
Given India’s policy, foreign nations should instead of providing monetary aid can assist is better through technological assistance and knowledge sharing.
Best answer: John Nash
