The China chip on our shoulder

It's time. High time we stopped. This perpetual chip on the Indian shoulder when it comes to China is getting plain embarrassing. We just can't seem to stop ourselves from comparing our achievements with those of the Chinese. To what purpose? It's most counter-productive.

On Thursday China marked the 60th anniversary of being a Red republic with great pomp and pageantry. Indian journalists were among hundreds from around the world invited to watch the spectacle at Beijing's Tiananmen Square. From all accounts it was a great show, the centrepiece being the parade through which China showcased its military prowess. Nothing wrong with that, considering we Indians do it every single year on the occasion of Republic Day in January. What I found pitiful was how some of our news channels started comparing the arsenal missile by missile. They said things like India has no answer to this one, matches this one, surpasses that one.

Why, why, why? What's the point? I hope to god that our defence decision-makers and military commanders are already aware of all this. Why do you need to flash these comparisons in front of the public? Are you trying to work up a mammoth inferiority complex? Or mass paranoia? You've already tried your best to do both by harping on increased "Chinese incursions" along the borders just about a month ago. Thankfully the hysteria whipped up then was very short-lived.

And it's not limited to the domain of defence, is it? Whenever we try to assess urban progress, we seem to promptly compare things to Shanghai. Our economic indices and business accomplishments are always compared to those of the Chinese. Why the hell can't we stop ourselves?

The thing is that while we're ahead of the Chinese in a handful of fields, we're way behind in most others. So such comparisons simply end up depressing us as a nation, denting morale. Doesn't that defeat the purpose?

There's no denying that China has notched up phenomenal successes in the last six decades. But it is a fundamentally different nation. It is goverened in a very different way. Its achievements have come at the expense of personal liberties and human rights. Individual voices are stifled. So much that we take for granted in our lives as Indians are pipe dreams for the Chinese, even people in booming cities like Shanghai.

I'm not trying to say that we're better off, or they are. It is important to understand that our two nations have evolved in very different ways. It's only natural that the pace of advancement will not be the same. The India we know and love is a cacophonous, chaotic place full of conflicting opinions and courses of action. Yet we are advancing. There's no attempt being made here to justify tardiness in development. I'm just pointing out that this is inevitable because of the way we are as a people. Comparing ourselves to the Chinese monolith is futile.

That reminds me, I just love the new Hindustan Times ad campaign that has It Is Time as its catchphrase. It urges an end to Indian cynism, sycophancy, breaking of rules and disregard for human rights. People are made to snap back to their senses with the swat of a rolled up newspaper. One of the ads shows three guys looking at the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, Mumbai's beautiful new landmark that took over eight years to build. One of these chappies says China could do this in two years, which is when he gets swatted on the head and shuts his trap. "It is time to end cynicism", says that ad. And I agree wholeheartedly. Let's not constantly beat ourselves up and run our morale to ground. That's defeatism at its best. Let's have a little more faith in ourselves and stop looking over the shoulder constantly at what our northern neighbour is up to.