Can't compare India with China. We may be a so-called vibrant democracy, but that still doesn't ensure food for a large section of our people. Our politicians are not sincere in running the country. In India there is no consensus like "Nation first, politics later". China has a think tank in place since several millennia that decides a consistent domestic and international policy. The author praises "vibrant diversity" in Indian society, while actually, our society is divided on lines of religion, caste, language, financial status, etc. Politicians thrive in these vote banks and ensure their return to power successfully, term after term. For Indian politicians it is power at any cost...the nation can go to hell. Indian politicians and govt officials have no accountability while in China they are jailed or shot dead. The smallest man in big Chinese cities may have no voice, but he has bicycle lanes on all the major roads with cheap access to health and education. Chinese universities provide abundant facilities for athletics and sport, and that's how their medal tally is rising in every successive meet. Even tax rates are much lower in China. I was happy to see rickshaw pullers taking their families out to dine in decent restaurants at the end of the day. A bottle of beer is available to them for the equivalent of Rs. 12. while similar beer costs Rs. 70 or more. Here, our govt taxes people's happiness in a rather sadistic fashion, courtesy Chidambaram and Sharad Pawar....
