Many Indian politicians learned the exact opposite lesson from the 90s to 2000s when China's economy far outgrew India's despite the supposed geographical, labo

Many Indian politicians learned the exact opposite lesson from the 90s to 2000s when China's economy far outgrew India's despite the supposed geographical, labor, and education similarities between the two (i.e. see the debate from a western perspective in [1][2][3]). The idea that democracy and free markets help with economic growth simply didn't pan out for India w.r.t. its neighbor and biggest rival. As far as Modi is concerned, why keep trying something that doesn't work? Especially when the alternative is self serving. [1] https://foreignpolicy.com/2003/07/01/can-india-overtake-china/ https://foreignpolicy.com/2003/07/01/can-india-overtake-chin... [2] https://foreignpolicy.com/2009/10/06/india-plays-catch-up/ https://foreignpolicy.com/2009/10/06/india-plays-catch-up/ [3] https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/07/05/think-again-indias-rise/ https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/07/05/think-again-indias-rise...