India v Pakistan: How neighbours stack up in key indicators

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s exhortation to Pakistan on Saturday to join India in a race to fight illiteracy, unemployment and poverty has prompted Mayawati to urge him to introspect on India’s similar challenges and his government’s “deplorable” record in tackling them. Modi “should see the situation in India before advising Pakistan and its people”, the Bahujan Samaj Party president told reporters in Lucknow on Sunday. By urging Pakistanis to join India in battling terror, Mayawati alleged, Modi was trying to “divert attention” from his own failure to make “concrete, long-term plans” to prevent terror attacks in India. She said the continuing “loss of lives and property in terrorist attacks” in India, such as the Uri strike, had caused widespread resentment against Modi’s administration. Mayawati had a string of labels for the NDA government: “anti-Dalit”, “anti-Muslim”, “anti-Christian”, “pro-capitalist”, “communal” and “fundamentalist”. One of her aides said Mayawati planned to target Modi to attract Muslim votes in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections, due early next year. The aide said Mayawati had decided to field about 100 Muslim candidates for a House of 403. A comparison between India and Pakistan on certain key measures of development follows. While India is well ahead on several counts, Pakistan scores higher on some indicators.

* Surviving on less than $1.25, or Rs (Indian) 83.40, per day Sources: Human Development Index 2015, World Bank, GAVI Vaccine Alliance