Many of our immediate neighbours got their independence from British rule around the same time as we did. Pakistan celebrated its Independence Day on 14 August 1947 and it used to include present-day Bangladesh, which of course, now celebrates its independence from Pakistan. Myanmar became independent on 4 January 1948, while Sri Lanka became free on 4 February 1948. So how have all these countries done since independence? India’s greatest achievement is undoubtedly political. Perhaps no country in the world has been successful in keeping such a hugely diverse population together. That we have been able to do so democratically is a great achievement. Other countries in the region succumbed to military rule and civil wars. India’s achievement lies in its plurality, in making space for different languages and religions and regions.

When we gained independence, India’s per capita GDP, according to the Angus Maddison database, was $618. (The data are in 1990 international dollars, a hypothetical unit of currency that has the same purchasing power parity that the dollar had in the US at a given point in time.) The database has the numbers for most of the other countries in the region starting from 1950. In that year, India’s per capita GDP was 1.1 times that of Bangladesh, 1.6 times Myanmar’s, 0.96 time Pakistan’s and 0.49 time, or a little less than half, Sri Lanka’s.

How have we done since then? In 2015, according to the International Monetary Fund’s estimates of per capita gross domestic product based on purchasing power parity, India’s per capita income was 1.7 times that of Bangladesh, 1.1 times Myanmar’s, 1.2 times Pakistan’s and 0.6 times Sri Lanka’s. We’ve done pretty well compared to the region. We haven’t done so well compared to many countries in East and South-east Asia, but that’s a well-worn path we needn’t go down on Independence Day.

So let’s look at the numbers. Chart 1 gives the figure of per capita GDP growth in 2015. As you can see, India’s growth is the highest. Pakistan’s growth rate is the worst in the region.

High growth rates have helped lower poverty, but India remains a desperately poor country.

Chart 2 gives the percentage of the population with an income of less than $3.10 a day. Sri Lanka is much richer, but poverty in Pakistan too is less than in India. Bangladesh is dirt poor, of course.

Perhaps the most important indicator of well-being is life expectancy. Chart 3 shows that India is a distant third by this yardstick, behind Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. We need to learn from much poorer Bangladesh how they have managed to do so well in ensuring a longer life for their people.

Chart 4 shows the mortality rate for females under 5 years of age per 1,000 live births. Note that despite being poorer, both Bangladesh and Myanmar have done a better job of protecting their girl children.

While Bangladesh has focused on health, it hasn’t done that well in education. But here too India is behind Sri Lanka and Myanmar. Chart 5 has the details.

And finally Chart 6 tells us how badly we do on gender equality, in terms of the World Bank’s Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) index. Only Pakistan is behind us on this measure. So while we have come a long way in the last 69 years, what these numbers show is that economic growth is good, but it’s not enough.

Manas Chakravarty looks at trends and issues in the financial markets. Comments are welcome at capitalaccount@livemint.com

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