Whenever we tried to discuss democracy with the common Chinese man, he says, "But, we do have democracy."

"Of course, that's not true." "But my father and grandfather did not even have enough food or clothes."

Today, whatever success we see in India is privately motivated while in China when you board the train to Lhasa from Beijing you see how an undemocratic government has done wonders for the people living in its not-so-developed Western region.

The passion for building roads and rails and airports is maddening; it is as though the Chinese confidence gets a quiet boost after the completion of each monstrosity.

What America could not do to Kabul after 2001, what India is unable to do to Srinagar for six decades, China has done to Lhasa, Tibet. But is it entirely correct to link China's giant strides to its indifference to human rights? The truth lies somewhere in between.

Determination and resolve to do big things to ensure future stability and to have a firm grip on the regions have also contributed in a big way. Standing proof for this is Lhasa: boasting a state of art airport and railway station, it has an SEZ of its own and has amazing length of roads, tunnels and bridges unseen in Asia at this scale.