Declining foreign aid when a State is in the throes of a disaster of an unprecedented magnitude, might not be a strategic decision. When faced with such an unusual situation, the Centre could have gone a bit soft on rigid norms such as the inflow of foreign aid (Editorial page, “Pride and foreign aid”, August 31).
P. Ramya,
Chennai
The point made in the article strongly resonates in the current climate of mistrust. Accepting foreign aid for party funding while at the same time denying aid to the people of a State in distress based on trumped up reasons of ‘self sufficiency’ will simply not do. The government needs to swallow its ‘pride’ and use all the help it can to get Kerala back on its feet.
Anany Mishra,
Bhilai, Chhattisgarh
There should have been a pragmatic, need-based and realistic approach towards accepting aid offered from various sources, especially in a time of extreme disaster. Though the Manmohan Singh government turned down offers of aid after the 2004 tsunami, there could have been a bit more flexibility on such a policy decision.
We must not forget about our offers of aid, which have been accepted.
Today’s closely-knit world is about give-and-take and humanitarian practice. It should not be viewed every time through the micro-prism of politics, diplomacy and optics. When Greece faced disaster, EU nations reached out to it. I do not think that Greece’s image in the eyes of the world has taken a hit.
A. Mohan,
Chennai
India’s stand on the acceptance of foreign aid is consistent with earlier actions and has not been directed against one country also. We have declined to accept aid from even the U.S. and others in the West. It is also odd to be referring to aid from the UAE when it has been shown to be a myth.
Makesh Kumar D.K.,
Chennai
