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Wen 丨 Sharp-eyed wolf
Editor丨Law
India, a country that can be called "strange", in layman's terms, the country is characterized by "cows, ghosts, snakes and gods, gathered in one cave".
Here, you can see the brilliant civilization, shining through the tunnel of history.
You can also see the Ganges, called "Mother", which has been wantonly "abused" and is now almost reduced to sewage.
As a result, many people have formed two very different impressions of India.
Those who like it will say that they will make a trip to India in their lifetime, while those who do not like it will swear that they will never set foot on that land in their lives.
In fact, objectively speaking, as an ancient country with thousands of years of civilization, India does have its own proud place in some fields.
But at the same time, India today also has many problems that hinder its progress.
This is a situation that almost all discerning people can see.
However, for Indians, perhaps out of their own national "pride", they never admit that they have these problems.
Especially on the Internet, once someone dares to say that India is not good in the slightest, it will inevitably attract "united" Indians to besiege together.
And this has also enabled India to achieve a dream that has never been realized in reality on the Internet, that is, it is "respected" as the "Internet P5".
Of course, simple display is groundless, and the favorite means of Indians is "pulling and stepping on", among which, the most compared is our China.
For example, not long ago, a so-called Indian elite summarized India's four advantages in his video, clamoring that China could not compare with one, which once caused heated discussions and was approved by many Indians.
But, is that really the case?
What are the four advantages in the mouths of the Indian elite? Is China really inferior to India?
Excellent geographical environment
There is no doubt that India, the owner of the most fertile land in Asia, has always had a unique geographical advantage, so that even in the world, there are few places that can be called better located.
Therefore, in the eyes of the Indian elite, "superior geographical environment" is India's first advantage over China.
India dominates the South Asian continent and borders the impassable Himalayas to the north, cutting it off from other regional powers, leaving only Bangladesh and Pakistan, which are inferior to their own.
Looking south, India looks like a dagger inserted into the Indian Ocean, and there is no country in the Indian Ocean that can compete with it.
Therefore, many people will say that if India has a strong navy, it can even cut off the Indian Ocean and set up tariffs on the sea.
In this way, India has indeed taken advantage of the right time and place.
But is the truth really as rosy as it seems?
It is undeniable that India's geographical environment of "backing mountains on one side and facing the sea on three sides" has indeed given India a natural advantage of "easy to defend and difficult to attack" on land.
This is also the reason why India has been very comfortable and protected from the scourge of war for a long period of history.
However, as we all know, in modern times, war has long been not limited to land, and even since a certain time, the sea has become the protagonist of war.
So, in this context, India's advantages translate into disadvantages.
The huge maritime pressure brought about by the "three facing the sea" makes India obviously the only "hegemon" in the Indian Ocean, but it has never been able to have much say.
In addition, India's isolation has also made it suffer in today's economic globalization.
Indeed, India has the most fertile land, and it can achieve self-sufficiency even without communicating with the outside world and relying only on internal farming.
However, the development of society has never been just about "eating enough".
Therefore, when entering a highly developed modern society, the "isolated" India will inevitably be marginalized and ignored by the whole of Asia.
Compared with India, China's geographical location is much more balanced.
Although China is under great pressure in the current international environment, it also reflects China's importance in the Asian region.
The long coastline brings many good harbors and continues to contribute to economic development.
The vast expanse of land that stretches out makes China have too many places to consume domestic demand.
In addition, it is worth mentioning that although compared with India's fertile fields, there are not many "fertile" lands in China in agriculture.
But it is precisely because of the rich geographical environment that China has given birth to a more brilliant and diverse civilization.
In this way, China is necessarily worse than India.
More optimistic demographic outlook
As we all know, India's population has maintained a rapid growth rate in recent years.
And this also made many Indians rejoice, including the Indian elite, in his opinion, since China can rise with the "demographic dividend" in the past, then India can naturally do it, even better than China!
But is that really the case?
In fact, as early as a few years ago, with the deterioration of Sino-US relations, the United States imposed a series of sanctions on China, and many large companies have begun to seek to expand outside of China.
Among them, many companies think of India.
After all, as a country with the same population, coupled with a superior geographical environment, this is almost a copy of China.
So why can't the miracle that can be created in China be replicated in India?
However, the idea is beautiful, and when it is really implemented, it is a headache for these enterprises.
What's going on here?
To put it nicely, it is that there are not many working people in India, and to put it ugly, it is the laziness that Indians carve in their bones!
According to data released by the Chinese and Development Research Center, in 2021, China and India had 986 million and 950 million working populations, respectively, a small difference.
However, China and India are really engaged in labor work, with 748 million and 488 million respectively, widening a huge gap.
That is to say, only 51% of Indians are willing to work hard in the working-age population, and the remaining nearly half of Indians are more willing to "eat and wait for death" than consume their own energy.
Of course, you might say that this is just data, what if half of the Indians work and are not counted in it?
This actually has to be asked of companies that invest in India.
In previous years, affected by the epidemic, many companies have invested in India one after another, hoping to seek new development momentum.
However, this year, after the masks were taken off, these companies that invested in India have "fled", and even prefer to pay sky-high "liquidated damages".
Do they say they are doing charity and sending money to the Indian government for nothing?
I think the facts speak for themselves.
In addition, does the "demographic dividend" really just mean that the more people, the better?
Obviously, more people are not better, and importantly, "fine" is needed.
In fact, China has long had foresight on this point, and since the poorest days of the last century, the Chinese government has vigorously promoted compulsory education.
At that time, many people said, what is the use of this? Do you still need to know words to move bricks?
There are still many people who have such ideas.
But in fact, it is precisely because of these insistences that the quality of China's population is no longer what it used to be.
Not only those elites standing at the top of the pyramid, but also most ordinary people can get the life they want with a little effort.
It is true that we are still a long way from those developed countries, but this does not mean that India can touch porcelain.
In this regard, India is not necessarily better than China!
Great military strength
I believe you must have heard the saying that India is the third military power in the world today.
Of course, many friends will laugh at all this, but in the eyes of the Indians themselves, this is an indisputable "fact".
The Indian elite, for example, listed India's "strong" military strength as its third advantage over China.
However, there is a good saying: "The strong never boast of themselves, and the weak will bluff".
Obviously, the military strength of a country is never won by lip service, but in reality!
In 2008, a terrorist attack in Mumbai, India, caused a sensation in the world.
Ten terrorists broke into Mumbai, burned and looted, killed 195 people, and were annihilated on the third day, which really makes people question the Indian government.
In fact, this is not the first terrorist attack in Mumbai.
The same thing happened back in 2003, but surprisingly, India apparently learned nothing from the attack.
And this also makes India's anti-terrorism operation one of the most important negative teaching materials in the history of counter-terrorism in the world!
"A peek into the late autumn", why is Mumbai's counter-terrorism so unsuccessful this time? The simple answer is precisely that the Indian military has been too slow to react.
According to follow-up reports, India's national security guard arrived belatedly nine hours after the attack.
Inefficient military responses are an important cause of tragedy.
As we all know, in recent decades, from the Soviet Union, to the United States, and now Russia, India has spent a lot of money to buy a lot of top-notch weapons and equipment from these military powers.
Perhaps because of India's closed geographical environment, there is no threat to itself, as long as India gives enough money, many countries are willing to give it.
But, military strength, can it really be bought with money?
Indeed, in terms of weapons and equipment, under unrestrained squandering, India has stood at the top of the world.
However, how much combat power can these weapons and equipment be transformed into? This really needs to be put on a big question mark.
Facts have proved that the strength of military strength, weapons and equipment are only auxiliary conditions, and an army's military discipline and combat awareness are the key to determining victory or defeat.
Just like the Korean War decades ago, why not crush the weapons of the United States against China?
But in the end, did the Americans succeed?
In addition, compared with India's pure buying behavior, China has been committed to independent research and development of weapons in recent decades.
Today, a lot has been achieved.
In this context, there is no doubt that with the continuous deepening of research, China's weapons and equipment will always be at the forefront of the world.
India, on the other hand, still needs to follow behind other countries and pick up people's wisdom.
In the end, can India's proud military strength really still exist?
The answer is self-evident.
Excellent diplomatic position
In recent years, under the continuous pressure of Western countries, China's diplomatic environment can be described as extremely bad.
In this regard, many countries secretly rejoice, including India.
In the view of the Indian elite, today's China, "making enemies everywhere", has long been struggling, while India is full of friends, whether it is Russia or the United States, they have to sell India three thin noodles.
How is this not a diplomatic victory?
Indeed, on the surface, India's diplomatic environment is much better than China's, but do these countries really regard India as a "friend"?
In my opinion, this is inevitably wishful thinking on the part of the Indians.
Why is the United States wooing India?
Apparently, to limit Russia and China.
Why is Russia wooing India?
Obviously, when it is for its own work, India does not add to the mess behind.
In other words, whether it is the United States or Russia, they give India a good face only because India is valuable, not because India is really full of "friends".
Today, in the context of the continuous intensification of confrontation between the United States and Russia, India has already shown some "pampering and arrogance" and repeatedly jumped in the international situation.
Although on the surface it advertises that it is neutral, its actual behavior is to the United States today and Russia tomorrow, and what to do depends entirely on the "sincerity" given there.
Indeed, in the short term, such a "smart" approach from India has brought him many benefits.
But in the long run, are Russia and the United States really willing to be "played" by India in this way?
Are Russia and the United States really the kind of countries that are kind of faces?
It can be seen that India's so-called "smartness" may one day break into disaster.
Compared with India's repeated jumps, China's position is much firmer.
That is, to maintain one's independence in international affairs, not to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, still less to judge the actions of other countries at will.
Because of this, China can make some "true friends" rather than simple interest ties.
It can be seen that China's foreign policy is much smarter than India's.
epilogue
In fact, returning to the original point of view, as a big country with a long history, India does have many advantages that we should learn from.
But in fact, every country has its own strengths, as well as its own disadvantages.
Learn from each other's strengths in order to keep improving.
Because of this, when dealing with other countries, "modesty" is always the greatest help.
And not like India, before it has done anything, it begins to "trample on" others and compete with other countries.
It must be known that the strength of a country is never compared with others, but with itself.
When the country can make its citizens live happier every day than the day before.
In my opinion, this country can be regarded as a real "power on the ground"!