Amit's Blog

Debunking the Myth of Sino-Indian Economic Parity and the Statistical Rebirth of the Third Front The conventional baseline of comparative international economics insists that in 1980, India and China stood as economic twins. Trapped in agrarian stagnation, both nations reported nominal per capita GDP figures hovering near a desperate $200 to $300. This article dismantles that narrative as a profound statistical illusion born of flawed currency conversions, ideological bookkeeping, and the strategic concealment of China’s military-industrial complex. By reconstructing the physical economy—counting raw steel, coal, electricity, and basic human capital indicators—we reveal that China’s aggregate economy was nearly double the size of India’s before Deng Xiaoping ever initiated market reforms. A massive portion of this hidden wealth resided in the “Third Front” (Sanxian), a gargantuan, paranoid construction campaign that carved heavy industrial nodes into the mountainous interior of pro...

India’s Invisible Rails: The Enduring Path Dependence of Empire   British rule did not merely govern India for 190 years—it rewired its economic, political, and institutional DNA through a cascade of self-reinforcing choices. From QWERTY-like lock-ins in railway gauges to Westminster scaffolding in Parliament, colonial decisions created increasing returns that amplified small historical accidents into century-long trajectories. Paul David’s 1985 insight that “history matters” finds vivid proof: India’s 54,000 km broad-gauge network, English-medium IITs, and IAS bureaucracy are all third-degree path-dependent artifacts. Post-1947, Nehru’s socialism and 1991 liberalization operated within these rails, not outside them. The result? A services superpower ($250 bn IT exports) riding colonial English, but a manufacturing dwarf (14 % GDP) trapped by extractive ports and fragmented farms. Politically, FPTP coalitions and judicial PILs thrive on British foundations, delivering stabil...