In India, life is cheap. As far as our politicians are concerned, our citizens are no more than cattle who turn out to vote every five years. In America, the state values the lives of its citizens. It protects them, nurtures them and, if necessary, avenges them. That’s why America is the world’s greatest power. And that’s why, despite all the growth of the last two decades, India is still floundering on the road to great-power status. The world only respects a country when it respects the lives of its own citizens.