For the starter, China and India are two very different countries, though both boasting thousands years history, but China has been a single unified country since 200 BC while India as an unified nation is the modern creation of British legacy. Therefore, the identity has never been an issue for Chinese. The same cannot be said about Indians, thus, the slogan of "unity in diversity".
I like to say we are a civilizational state. The colonial legacy is what it is, the British empire ruled India, and lots of other parts of the world, including, quite famously, the USA, right ?
China is a civilizational state too. It is also almost an ethnostate of the Han people, the land of the Han. Not a lot of diversity, not a lot of religion, these two together make for unity, not the other way around. "unity is diversity" is about the most retarded thing one can believe in, sounds nice, doesn't work in reality.
In thousands of years, Chinese have almost always under a central government led by an Emperor, a Son of Heaven. So its current authoritarian govornance system is just the continuation of Chinese tradition and culture.
The modern China (PRC) largely eliminated the social ills and superstisions that plaqued China for thousands of years from the get-go, though through rather brutal revolution, while India still has to carried its historic and cultural burdens on the way to modernization. Case in point, your still live and well caste system (even among IT professionals in silicone valley) and your lack of land reform. So China is more or less redrawing its bluepint in a sheet of clean paper, but India has to do it on an used canvas.
India would do well as a country if we can establish the Hindu rashtra. The caste system is mostly on it's way out, it's illegal to discriminate based on caste and getting rid of it is one of the stated goals of the RSS (of which I'm not a member). The caste system is most prevalent when it comes to arranging marriages, which I'm fine with.. it's really stupid but that is in the personal realm of people's lives. Let them do as they wish with their family affairs. Don't put much stock in the stories out of silicon valley, there is often a hidden agenda behind them.
In conclusion, not denying the existence of the caste system but it is a bit overblown, spl when it comes to bashing India on forums like this.
The original "caste system" or varna as described in the texts is that work determines caste, not birth. Somewhere along the way it became rotten. I've cited this example here recently on a few occasions about how all artist and painters/sculptors, or brick laying labour.. all are shudra, who work with the hands. So some millionaire famous musician or painter is the same cast as some poor labour guy fixing the road, because their hands do the working.
If you reading the old spiritual texts and teaching people.. Brahman.. I'd include padres, molvis, all holymen from any religion, as well as all teachers and professors as the Brahman caste.
All businessmen, traders, shopkeeprs.. some big CEO or some guy selling vegetables on a small cart are vaishyas.
All "warriors" from some special forces commando, to a fat policeman, to a security guard.. all are Kshatriya.
It's not how it's practiced, sadly. Hopefully the Hindu rashtra will fix it.
As you mentioned, Chinese are more industrial minded, and I would add, more rational and materialistic as most Chinese believe in YOLO and want to make the best out of this life. In the other hand, Indians are more merchant minded and "spiritual" as many of you believe in Karma which gives them a reason to sit this life through.
East Asians in general, Koreans, Japs etc are generally a more industrious lot than south Asians.
You're completely wrong here though with saying "Indians are more merchant minded and "spiritual" as many of you believe in Karma which gives them a reason to sit this life through."
Karma means action, Dharma means duty. To sit this life through, or to commit acts of terror in the name of god because here is nothing and the afterlife is everything is not a native Indian belief and not the Hindu way.
Both countries have abundant talents, while Chinese talents shine in China and India's talents shine in foreign lands, as you said, more visible on world stage. Many of your brightest are making living overseas their live goal. So we have a difference in available talent pools for nation building.
The difference goes on. Let's save it for the next time.
Brain drain, the best among us leaving for greener pastures in the west is a thing but lately there is also a phenomenon of 'Brain gain' .. where people are returning from the west to set up and start businesses here. A lot of people who get a good education still aspire to settle and live in the west but it's not like the 90s. There's infra and growth and a big ever growing market for goods and services here. Things are changing, slowly.
