直到20世纪70年代，人们还普遍认为尽管两国同样面临极端贫困、经济落后和疾病的挑战，但印度的模式要好于中国，因为它的民众可以自由选择统治者。
Until the 1970s, it was widely argued that, while both countries suffered from extreme poverty, underdevelopment, and disease, India’s model was superior, because its people were free to choose their own rulers.