setup of India - the largest democracy of the world which is wedded to a secular and deeply liberal Constitution for over half a century, and the militarist political power structure of Pakistan or the command economy of China that has only recently started moving towards a democratic system and more liberal economic restructuring respectively. . D EVELOPMENTAL P ATH —A S NAPSHOT V IEW Do you know that India, Pakistan and China have many similarities in their developmental strategies? All the three nations have started towards their developmental path at the same time.
While India and Pakistan became independent nations in , People’s Republic of China was established in . In a speech at that time, Geography has made us neighbours. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies.
Those whom God has so joined together, let no man put asunder. John F. Kennedy Jawaharlal Nehru had said, “these new and revolutionary changes in China and India, even though they differ in content, symbolise the new spirit of Asia and new vitality which is finding expression in the countries in Asia.” All the three countries had started planning their development strategies in similar ways. While India announced its first Five Year Plan for - , Pakistan announced its first five year plan, now called the Medium Term Development Plan, in .
China announced its First Five Year Plan in . In , Pakistan began working on 11th Five Year Development Plan ( - ) whereas China’s twelfth five year period is - . The current planning in India is based on Twelfth Five Year Plan ( - ). India and Pakistan adopted similar strategies such as creating a large public sector and raising public expenditure on social development.
Till the 1980s, all the three countries had similar growth rates and per capita incomes. Where do they stand today in comparison to one another? Before we answer this question let us trace the historical path of developmental policies in China and Pakistan. After studying the last three units, we already know what policies India has been adopting