Growing up in India in the 1960s, I knew that America gave us wheat, and Britain gave us literature. One of my most vivid childhood memories is of watching Geoffrey Kendall’s Shakespearana troupe performing in my home town of Dehradun. Visiting my uncle in New Delhi, I saw a stack of elegant hardcovers on a table in his study, borrowed from the library of the British Council. Later, as a student at Delhi University, my own education in literature and history was largely shaped by the books from the same library. My uncle read V.S. Pritchett and A.J.P. Taylor. My preferences were for Anthony Powell and E.P. Thompson.

Those memories came back when, now temporarily living in London, I read the commentary in the British press about whether the UK should stop giving aid to India. Over the years, while the British Council libraries were allowed to run to seed, the Department for International Development supported rural health and education schemes. Several years ago, when Indian billionaires started buying British companies, calls were first heard for the dismantling of Dfid’s operations in India. This month when, despite continued aid activity, the Indian government said it might buy French warplanes rather than British ones, these calls were renewed.

The arguments made for ending official aid to India are twofold.