Comments on: The Century without an Indian Summer

By: Ray

Ray — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:18:35 +0000

The Tiananmen Square episode did not unfold as the Western media outlets would want you to believe. There was no bloodshed. Once again, the public has been lied to.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8555142/Wikileaks-no-bloodshed-inside-Tiananmen-Square-cables-claim.html

By: Ray

Ray — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:06:08 +0000

Uday, my interpretation of John’s comments are that India’s demographic advantage over China (one child policy) is not as great as one would assume. A large portion of India’s population advantage comes from the poorer segments of society hence they are disadvantaged in areas of nutrition and education which can lead to lower IQ. Therefore having a less than adequately educated young population base to support can be a burden for India as they will consume resources with adding much value.

By: The Century withoud an Indian Summer

The Century withoud an Indian Summer — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:43:12 +0000

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By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 04:35:04 +0000

But there is a problem too that may affect these core economic strengths and that’s the level of corruption that exists at all levels of society. Having strong regulations does not tell you whether the banking industry is clean or not; all the regulations are as nothing if they’re not enforced.

You may like to look at this website http://www.ipaidabribe.com/ which was set up by a former public servant in India to highlight instances of bribery and corruption. Indians who have been affected by bribery are invited to submit examples of bribe-taking and corruption among public officials. There is even a Corruption Quotient test you can take to see how corruptible you might be!

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 04:24:45 +0000

Well if you say China was doing SOMETHING RIGHT under Mao Zedong … possibly you’re referring to the Cultural Revolution? Much traditional Chinese culture was destroyed during the period from 1968 or thereabouts to 1976 but it probably also convinced many in the government that reliance on ideology was dangerous and that if China were to progress and retain the people’s loyalty, it had to do better than simply rely on ideology and propaganda. Eventually those politicians and their allies who supported the Cultural Revolution were weeded out of government somehow and a pragmatic mind-set was adopted.

By: below_freezing

below_freezing — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 09:58:11 +0000

There is more freedom in China than in India. It is a fact that social development + money = freedom. Dalits cannot even bicycle in upper caste areas in India, while there are no places off-limits to Chinese today other than military zones. Protesters in China get what they want (Dalian chemical plant protests) while in India, they often just get paid off by corrupt officials who loot them blind and make the payments back 1000 fold later.

By: Sam

Sam — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:40:52 +0000

After reading all, I can say for one thing that China has leaped (Great Leap) ahead this time and that is because it had it’s policies chalked out, planned and executed well in advance, only because it was and is an authoritarian rule whereby, there is/are no challanges from any quarters like India faces within it’s fragmented and coalition government and democracy. Democracy works very well in fully developed countries due to it’s literacy rate and highly developed infractructure and GDP growth rate, but unfortunately for India to leap ahead with it’s so called democratic norms with dilapidated infrastructure, low literacy rate and imporverished mass is like an ant trying to pull a cart with an elephant in it. The developed and other well-to-do economic countries may applaude India for it’s freedom and democratic norms, but what does India get out of such empty accolades, NOTHING but misery. I guess the world was trying to democratize China hook or by crook, one way or another but could not, look at the tianamen square episode for example, what happened? Authoritarian triumphed and today the same world looks towards China for goods and funding, they also look up at China with awe and fear and to some extent with respect as well, all this due to ‘The Great Chinese Leap of 21st century’. Also the in-born corruption in India and Indian politics makes the theory of free country a JOKE as far as a country so diverse such as India is concerned. I think India needs a ‘selfless’ dictator for a decade then maybe they can talk hard!

By: below_freezing

below_freezing — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 06:02:34 +0000

I disagree. In 1958-1976, though China’s GDP/capita did not grow, its absolute economic size did. And it was during this time that China started outpacing India in the fundamentals – literacy, lifespan, and major technologies such as nuclear weapons, aerospace and heavy engineering. This is considering that India gained independence 2 years earlier, did not suffer 15 years of continuous war (since WW2 was fought in China, not in India, and India had no civil war), and had the infrastructure left behind by the British Empire. Right now, India’s lifespan and literacy rates are about equal to those of China’s during the Cultural Revolution. Clearly, China was doing SOMETHING RIGHT under Mao. China’s first nuclear submarine was launched in 1971. India’s was launched in 2011, and doesn’t even have the reactor installed. China’s first indigenously produced tank rolled off the line in 1959. India’s Arjun still is in construction. I think we can see the gap between the nations, and it originated precisely in the 20 years that we thought were “wasted”. They were only wasted in that China did not FULLY develop its potential, but China was not sitting still at all. India, however, was.

By: below_freezing

below_freezing — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 05:57:20 +0000

I think you have it backwards. As we saw from the Dalian chemical plant protests, the Shanghai truckers strike, the Hainan strikes, etc. the Chinese government readily adjusts itself and has almost always accepted protestor demands. In fact, there has not been a single major protest within the past 10 years in a major city whose demands were not accepted.

In rural areas, JUST LIKE IN INDIA, corrupt officials do indeed suppress protests, but the degree of suppression is no different than India at worst.

By: Indian Says

Indian Says — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 18:34:06 +0000

How China made it ‘was because it didn’t allow any Western influence and when China was ready to influence its own growth on the West than China appeared international for the West to see and thus influenced itself upon the West’.Nice logic Huh?!