I don’t think Pakistanis are wrong to compare India with China rather than with Pakistan. In fact, we Indians are sometimes foolish to use Pakistan as our benchmark. Setting the bar that low may make you feel good, but it tells you very little about where India actually stands.
Take railways, for example. There is simply no meaningful comparison between Indian Railways and Pakistan’s severely underdeveloped rail system. Pakistan does not have anything remotely comparable to the scale, network, capacity, modernization, or technological ambition of Indian Railways. Calling both systems “railways” does not make them comparable in any meaningful sense.
So when a Pakistani asks you about India’s progress relative to China, answer honestly and make your points—but don’t drag Pakistan into every discussion. If India wants to become a major global power, the relevant question is not whether we are ahead of Pakistan; it is how quickly we are closing the gap with countries such as China and other advanced economies.