There is comparison galore. No subject on India is being discussed by the netizens, without China and Pakistan creeping through in the discussions. China in terms of developmental issues, mostly and Pakistan, terrorism related issues, mostly. China being admired, mostly and Pakistan being vilified, mostly. Not without reasons though
China has two decade of super fast economic growth to show. The maximum number of people, who have moved from poverty to abundance, is such short time, in recorded human history. It has glittering cities, raising vertically each puncturing the sky. Highways crisscrossing the whole of the country. Trains, which run well above 350km/hour and tracks, being laid everyday and shrinking the country everyday, while wowing the whole world.
Pakistan, on the other hand, has the opposite to show. From once, being the Crowning glory of a promising Islamic state east of Bosphorus strait, to be counted amongst failed state and being grouped along with Afghanistan - AfPak.
Nothing could have been starker in comparison, if we compare China an atheist state and Pakistan a theist state. Both the states as in their current identity were bored around the same time. China floundered in the first few decades and the Pakistan was the promising raising star. And then, both these countries engaged the west and mostly USA. The results are there for everyone to see.
I never had the fortune to visit Pakistan, but was lucky enough to walk the streets of Shanghai and Beijing quite a few times.
India has managed to exist throughout these years with modest achievements to show. A state constituting many nations, secular, by constitution, where, more people are killed in the name of religion. The largest Muslim population for any Country in the world, yet constituting just twenty percent Indias population. Where one Hindus religious ritual directly contradicts anothers. A country, where, there is no common language in which every citizen of the country can communicate in.
We get patted for being the largest democracy in the world. We get patted to be the reservoir of the largest science educated human pool and the largest English speaking population, yet thirty percent of our population is illiterate. We get petted for a working (somewhat) legal and law and order system yet the last person we would like to interact with, is a policeman.
We run down China, for being a non-democracy and we rundown Pakistan for being a theocracy. But, we vote for the politician of our cast, creed and religion, who promises temple or a mosque in addition to Pani Kapda Makan.
We rundown the USA and west, in general, for being an immoral society, where women show skin and yet, proudly flaunt Khajuraho and Kamasuta.
We proclaim at the top of our voice that we are a secular democracy, but overlook people dying of hunger, a country where almost fifty percent of the citizen officially lives in poverty.
A country where contradictions within contradictions keep us tied up in knots. For an outsider, its like Durian, either you love it or hate it. There is no middle path.
China today is a society that has moved away from distribution of poverty to equitable distribution of wealth.
An average Chinese, sound confident and non-apologetic. The have faith in their leaders and their administration that runs like a corporate. Leaders, move to national scene based on performance - their performance in provinces and cities. China is country which runs like a corporate. Decisions are taken and implemented. They are focused and have clear-cut goals and national interest in place.
We may not agree with their way, but their ways delivers. Delivers desirable results
We also do not agree with Pakistans ways, but it to delivers. Delivers undesirable results.
We need to let go holier than thou attitude. Develop an open attitude towards everything that is alien to us. We are not and NOT I MEAN the epitome of everything civilized, everything cultured and everything intellectual. Running down every country, society, systems and culture that is alien to us, and turning our backs to everything novel, would turn us into the proverbial ostrich with its head dug in sand.
The rich Indian civilization that we talk about came around, because we accepted ideas that were novel. We cultivated a culture of openness and discussion, which enriched the society. Today almost everything that we take pride in are centuries old. We have nothing to show that we have achieved in modern age and post modern age.
With the opening of the windows China is reaping what they have sown since 1980s. Pakistan is reaping what it had sown since the 80s.
One society is on its way to be the superpower in the next few decades and the other back to Stone Age.
We have to learn a lot.
