Calls In The UK To Stop 'Aid' To India After Chandrayaan-3 Landing, Indian Netizens Say 'You Owe Us $45 Trillion'

The successful touchdown of India's Chandrayaan-3 near the Moon's southern pole gained global recognition, as numerous nations extended their congratulations to ISRO scientists for accomplishing what was previously deemed unachievable.

However, following the mission's success, there have been growing calls in the United Kingdom (UK) media to withdraw the aid UK sends to India.

An article in Express attempts to makes a case for discontinuing the aid, and the author writes, "So well done those Indians. Getting to the Moon ain’t easy. But I have a question: if India is rich enough to send rockets to the Moon, why on earth is Britain still giving it aid?"

In a message shared on X (formerly Twitter), Sophie Corcoran expressed that the United Kingdom should refrain from providing assistance to India due to its developed space program. She further suggested that it's time "we get our money back".

The message quickly garnered attention, and Indian users responded, asserting that the UK should also return the money looted from India, which they stated amounted to $45 trillion.

This stir led to the term '45 trillion' becoming a trending topic on X (formerly Twitter).

The figure was initially brought into the spotlight through economist Utsa Patnaik's research, which was published by Columbia University Press.

Patnaik's study asserted that from 1765 to 1938, Britain drained a staggering total of approximately $45 trillion from India.

As reported by The Guardian in March this year, although India had stated its lack of need for aid in 2015, aid from the UK continued.

The Independent Commission for Aid Impact conducted a review, revealing that between 2016 and 2021, approximately 2.3 billion pounds (equivalent to Rs 23,000 crore) in UK aid were provided to India.

This assistance encompassed loans extended by the government-operated British International Investment to predominantly smaller enterprises.