Wow, this sounds so much like China. In college I had a professor who obsessed over a conundrum: India, the world's largest democracy, is also its poorest. Why?

Wow, this sounds so much like China. In college I had a professor who obsessed over a conundrum: India, the world's largest democracy, is also its poorest. Why? He believed it was due to caste, religion, and education. I wonder if India is continually looking east and trying to duplicate some of the Chinese rise to power.