Amidst the ongoing exposes on USAID, the latest revelation that has come out from the United States concerning India is that the controversial agency was routing millions of dollars in the form of aid money to carry out dubious and bizarre activities. Mind you, several security experts from India and abroad, US and elsewhere, have accused the USAID of carrying out nefarious activities, regime change operations using American taxpayers’ money.
It has now been revealed that $21 million was infused by the US ‘deep state’ under the guise of promoting democracy and increasing voter turnout, with an unstated vested agenda of fueling anti-national or chaotic practises and support ‘outlier’ elements within India.
Meanwhile, $29 million aid to Bangladesh has also been scrapped which was given on the pretext of “strengthening the political landscape in the South Asian country” and the US’ stance before and after the violent coup of Sheikh Hasina glaringly exposed what the intended outcome was and its efficacy.
Two most interesting facts with the announcements are that they came just a couple of days after PM Modi met US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
Despite such a huge cut, no question is being raised on the aide cuts. Though, the BJP had welcomed the decision soon after the announcement. The party’s social media Head Amit Malviya said, “$21M for voter turnout? This definitely is external interference in India’s electoral process. Who gains from this? Not the ruling party for sure!”
He further alleged that in 2012, the Election Commission of India (EC) signed an MoU with the Indian Foundation for Electoral System which is linked to George Soros’s Open Society Foundation (OSF). Soros’ OSF is primarily funded by USAID, he added.
Surprisingly, Soros has often spoken against India and reiterated his efforts to remove PM Modi at any cost.
Since the inauguration of Trump as the President of the United States and announcement to stop USAID funding, we at TFI have covered extensively on how this money was being funnelled into India and was used against the Indian government and nation’s political stability.
Often hailed as paragon of independent journalism, the BBC, which is a well-known agenda peddler against India, has been one of the significant beneficiaries of the USAID. In 2023-24, BBC Media Action, the broadcaster’s international development arm, received a staggering £2.6 million from USAID.
This becomes even more concerning given the fact that the financial year was one step behind the biggest election year across the globe, including India.
Moreover, the WikiLeaks recently revealed that USAID has been funding an NGO called Internews Network, a U.S.-based media support organisation that operates in over 100 countries. Funneling money through Sambhavana Institute, the aid was used to train 75,000 media personnel with 2,500 workshops.
To the surprise but no surprise, most of the journalists and activists associated with Sambhavna Institute are anti-government in their approach like Ravish Kumar, Akash Banerjee, Yogendra Yadav, Harsh Mander, Kavita Krishnan, Sandeep Choudhary, and Pranjoy Guha Thakurta, among others.
The stripped cash flow on the name of aide is actually a big success and has busted the anti-India elements and their smear campaign. In fact, it is a major win for India as a Moneycontrol analysis report reveals that over one-fifth of the USAID’s $21 million aid to India since 2001, came in the last four years.
In the last four years, India received $650 million aid for voter turnout. This time period coincides with the intensified smear campaign against the Modi government in general and PM Modi in particular.
The chronology of the fundings and the statements and subsequently, the developments clearly outline and justify the trail of money and motive against India. The effort coming after PM Modi ‘s visit holds significance and raises hope that after foreign money inflow is restricted, the anti-India elements will die down sooner or later.
