https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/china-versus-india-race-lost-even-before-could-start-ishank-sagar
In November 2011, Time Magazine dedicated its cover to a green elephant, with a charkha as an eye, battling a red dragon, symbolizing the great game of one-upmanship between China & India in the 21st century.
For last many years, commentators have time and again compared the two Asian giants & described their quest for economic prosperity as 21st century race between two of the oldest and richest civilizations, for global superiority. However, if one thinks rationally, it is not difficult to find that it was a race that never really happened. The Chinese had already won the game, even before Indians could take off from the starting line.
Recent GDP data & various projections put forth by various institutions & agencies showing India surpassing China as the fastest growing major economy, has prompted a flurry of news stories and articles.
Now consider this, a research paper, published in October 2014 (Asiaphoria Meets Regression to the Mean) by two Harvard economists, Lawrence Summers & Lant Pritchett, made a splash about economies of China & India. According to the paper, if China and India continue their current rate of growth, both will add US$56 trillion to the global economy by 2033 and China's share of the additional US$56 trillion would be a staggering US$51 trillion, while India would contribute just US$5 trillion.
The reason I quoted the report is to highlight the real story. Let us be very clear; India is so far behind the Chinese (Indian GDP: US$2.1 trillion; China GDP: US$11 trillion), that even a 5-6% growth off such a huge base would keep China out of India's sight for at least next 50 years, if not more.
Now coming back to why India lost the race before it could even start, there are many reasons for that.
First & foremost, India's utterly corrupt, rotten and disgusting political system. Many argue that India despite its problems is far better than China because we are a democracy and we have freedom of speech & expression here. In later part of this article, I would debunk this theory. But before that, let us understand little bit about Indian political system.
As a matter of fact, Indian political system is so easy to manipulate that even the most dyslexic of politicians can easily buy, fib, bribe or con their way to power. Politicians across the spectrum offer money along with meals, liquors or goodies to ensure people vote in the election. So, in reality, that is all it takes, few million rupees and bottomless carat of liquor to win a seat in country's parliament or state legislatures.
This speaks volume for the very character of Indian politicians who unlike in the west or other countries are not the usual statesman. These bunch of illiterate and FIR evading buffoons are disgrace to this great country. Their ultimate lust for power and the ease with which they could steal the mandate is one of the most important reason for India's problems.
I have been told numerous times that China is far more corrupt and officials and party cadres take huge kickbacks while processing every business request. Well, they'd be correct and indeed they are correct. But there is one thing that differentiates two countries and that is,"China is more corrupt but too efficient, while India has this dubious distinction of being too corrupt and too inefficient at the same time" That's why you have Mumbai Trans-harbour Sea Link bridge, a 20-odd kms long sea-bridge first conceptualised in 1980s to decongest the city. However even after 35 years, project is yet to see the light of the day!!
"Oh common!! delays happen, we are a free country after all" the very Indophile in most of you must be screaming loud. Well, then let me shut this Indophile once and for all. India perhaps is one of the largest dictatorship, in disguise and our buffoons aka politicians exercise its right to be autocratic as and when it desires or as it suits them. Incidents after incidents, be it corruption, scandals, scams, Indian politicians do exactly what they want to and trust me, nine out of ten times, they get away with it. A fall person takes all the blame, thereby protecting the fat cats on top, and after spending a few years of time, the fall person is set free to walk out of the Bellagio version of Indian jails, Tihar, scot-free. Some past incidents have proved that in many cases even Indian judiciary had been hand in glove with these buffoons. Corrupts, scamsters, & murderers are set free by this very judiciary, with judges pronouncing their judgements,"Baizzat Bari Kiya Jata Hai (not guilty and free to go)
How then are we any different from China? We are in fact worse. At least they don’t act like they have systems to defend the freedom of civil rights and laws in their country. “It’s our way or the highway,” they say, while the Indian government prefers to pussyfoot around and do back-room dodgy deals, sugar coating it all under a flaccid façade of democracy and freedom.
Then India's crumbling urban infrastructure comes into the picture. Time and again, even United Nations report ranks Indian infrastructure lower than Equatorial Guinea. Just compare any Indian city with the Chinese. Their cities are clean, their skyscrapers put Manhattan to shame, their roads are wide, their airports make ours look like glorified cow sheds and their public transport is super efficient. The Chinese have learnt a very important lesson early on here - that they have to invest in their own urban infrastructure. A concept that is completely lost on us Indians.
Just compare Mumbai & Shanghai. Any traveller flying from Mumbai to Shanghai feels like a direct ‘beam-me-up-scotty’ from hell to heaven. Both are port cities, but yet so different. Chinese authorities have very well maintained the old sector of Shanghai, while the newer reclaimed Pudong area of Shanghai on the other side of the Yangtze looks like something out of The Jetsons. Mumbai in comparison looks like the poor, disease ridden cousin who gambled away all his money and is now left with only a few family heirlooms, which once shined but are now fungus covered.
Even on social front, India's performance have been so poor that it puts sub-Saharan nations to shame. Illiteracy, malnourishment, gender inequality, on all important parameters, India has showed little to no progress. Even after 60 years of independence, more than 40% Indians defecate in open. Availability of clean drinking water remains elusive for more than 400 million Indians. Female foeticide, a practise that indeed is most prevalent among the very so-called middle class families in India. Crimes against women have peaked and what our society does? Nothing! After Nirbhaya rape incident, instead of taking some thoughtful and effective actions, the best solution our 'buffoon' politicians could come up with was, Banning the Taxi apps!!
India needs to be taught to respect women, if it ever wants to achieve the status of the Chinese. Of course, some Indophiles would quote, "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme, but such a dear project of Indian PM gets only Rs. one billion as budgetary support. Do we really treat women badly? Of course, not. There definitely are various countries especially in Africa and Arab world, who treat women as slaves, but they don't aspire to be like China, like we do.
The elephant on Time Magazine’s cover for me is thus nothing more than symbolism. Of course, with the size of our population, India would easily achieve second largest economic power status by the mid of this century, but it just won't ever be able to beat China.
In November 2011, Time Magazine dedicated its cover to a green elephant, with a charkha as an eye, battling a red dragon, symbolizing the great game of one-upmanship between China & India in the 21st century.
For last many years, commentators have time and again compared the two Asian giants & described their quest for economic prosperity as 21st century race between two of the oldest and richest civilizations, for global superiority. However, if one thinks rationally, it is not difficult to find that it was a race that never really happened. The Chinese had already won the game, even before Indians could take off from the starting line.
Recent GDP data & various projections put forth by various institutions & agencies showing India surpassing China as the fastest growing major economy, has prompted a flurry of news stories and articles.
Now consider this, a research paper, published in October 2014 (Asiaphoria Meets Regression to the Mean) by two Harvard economists, Lawrence Summers & Lant Pritchett, made a splash about economies of China & India. According to the paper, if China and India continue their current rate of growth, both will add US$56 trillion to the global economy by 2033 and China's share of the additional US$56 trillion would be a staggering US$51 trillion, while India would contribute just US$5 trillion.
The reason I quoted the report is to highlight the real story. Let us be very clear; India is so far behind the Chinese (Indian GDP: US$2.1 trillion; China GDP: US$11 trillion), that even a 5-6% growth off such a huge base would keep China out of India's sight for at least next 50 years, if not more.
Now coming back to why India lost the race before it could even start, there are many reasons for that.
First & foremost, India's utterly corrupt, rotten and disgusting political system. Many argue that India despite its problems is far better than China because we are a democracy and we have freedom of speech & expression here. In later part of this article, I would debunk this theory. But before that, let us understand little bit about Indian political system.
As a matter of fact, Indian political system is so easy to manipulate that even the most dyslexic of politicians can easily buy, fib, bribe or con their way to power. Politicians across the spectrum offer money along with meals, liquors or goodies to ensure people vote in the election. So, in reality, that is all it takes, few million rupees and bottomless carat of liquor to win a seat in country's parliament or state legislatures.
This speaks volume for the very character of Indian politicians who unlike in the west or other countries are not the usual statesman. These bunch of illiterate and FIR evading buffoons are disgrace to this great country. Their ultimate lust for power and the ease with which they could steal the mandate is one of the most important reason for India's problems.
I have been told numerous times that China is far more corrupt and officials and party cadres take huge kickbacks while processing every business request. Well, they'd be correct and indeed they are correct. But there is one thing that differentiates two countries and that is,"China is more corrupt but too efficient, while India has this dubious distinction of being too corrupt and too inefficient at the same time" That's why you have Mumbai Trans-harbour Sea Link bridge, a 20-odd kms long sea-bridge first conceptualised in 1980s to decongest the city. However even after 35 years, project is yet to see the light of the day!!
"Oh common!! delays happen, we are a free country after all" the very Indophile in most of you must be screaming loud. Well, then let me shut this Indophile once and for all. India perhaps is one of the largest dictatorship, in disguise and our buffoons aka politicians exercise its right to be autocratic as and when it desires or as it suits them. Incidents after incidents, be it corruption, scandals, scams, Indian politicians do exactly what they want to and trust me, nine out of ten times, they get away with it. A fall person takes all the blame, thereby protecting the fat cats on top, and after spending a few years of time, the fall person is set free to walk out of the Bellagio version of Indian jails, Tihar, scot-free. Some past incidents have proved that in many cases even Indian judiciary had been hand in glove with these buffoons. Corrupts, scamsters, & murderers are set free by this very judiciary, with judges pronouncing their judgements,"Baizzat Bari Kiya Jata Hai (not guilty and free to go)
How then are we any different from China? We are in fact worse. At least they don’t act like they have systems to defend the freedom of civil rights and laws in their country. “It’s our way or the highway,” they say, while the Indian government prefers to pussyfoot around and do back-room dodgy deals, sugar coating it all under a flaccid façade of democracy and freedom.
Then India's crumbling urban infrastructure comes into the picture. Time and again, even United Nations report ranks Indian infrastructure lower than Equatorial Guinea. Just compare any Indian city with the Chinese. Their cities are clean, their skyscrapers put Manhattan to shame, their roads are wide, their airports make ours look like glorified cow sheds and their public transport is super efficient. The Chinese have learnt a very important lesson early on here - that they have to invest in their own urban infrastructure. A concept that is completely lost on us Indians.
Just compare Mumbai & Shanghai. Any traveller flying from Mumbai to Shanghai feels like a direct ‘beam-me-up-scotty’ from hell to heaven. Both are port cities, but yet so different. Chinese authorities have very well maintained the old sector of Shanghai, while the newer reclaimed Pudong area of Shanghai on the other side of the Yangtze looks like something out of The Jetsons. Mumbai in comparison looks like the poor, disease ridden cousin who gambled away all his money and is now left with only a few family heirlooms, which once shined but are now fungus covered.
Even on social front, India's performance have been so poor that it puts sub-Saharan nations to shame. Illiteracy, malnourishment, gender inequality, on all important parameters, India has showed little to no progress. Even after 60 years of independence, more than 40% Indians defecate in open. Availability of clean drinking water remains elusive for more than 400 million Indians. Female foeticide, a practise that indeed is most prevalent among the very so-called middle class families in India. Crimes against women have peaked and what our society does? Nothing! After Nirbhaya rape incident, instead of taking some thoughtful and effective actions, the best solution our 'buffoon' politicians could come up with was, Banning the Taxi apps!!
India needs to be taught to respect women, if it ever wants to achieve the status of the Chinese. Of course, some Indophiles would quote, "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme, but such a dear project of Indian PM gets only Rs. one billion as budgetary support. Do we really treat women badly? Of course, not. There definitely are various countries especially in Africa and Arab world, who treat women as slaves, but they don't aspire to be like China, like we do.
The elephant on Time Magazine’s cover for me is thus nothing more than symbolism. Of course, with the size of our population, India would easily achieve second largest economic power status by the mid of this century, but it just won't ever be able to beat China.
