GIPE-PUNE-OIIOI2 - DSpace@GIPE

THE RAILWAY INDUSTRY AND. ,cOMMERCE OF INDIA 199
railways is nearly three times that on the Japcmese and
more than twice and a half that on the Italian. Indian
ccmmerce is evidently a heavy item in the world's tr"de.
We have noticed that India is invariably in the sixth
place by the world~standard of railways. Only once (in
regard to passenger~kilometres) have we found her posi~
tion in third place. If, then, for the purposes of com~
parative railway statistics India were to be accorded a
position among1 the first six powers of the world,
she would perhaps be regarded as only receiving her
·due. And this would imply that industrially and com~
mercially and indeed from tbe general standpoint of
industrialization and technical developments India was
perhaps already one of the greatest powers of the world.
A statement such as this would, however, involve a
pure fallacy inasmuch as it would indicate an absence of
;orientation to the fundamental considerations of compa~
rative statistics and international comparison In
industrialism. In regard to groups of human beings,
communities, classes or nations, the absolute figures are
indeed important as conveying the sen~e ·of their com~
bined resources and power. But the groups, classes or
nations are of diverse dimensions in the number of
individuals and the territorial area inhabited. It is very
important; therefore, for the purposes of comparison be~
tween nations as regards real efficiency, wealth, happiness,
culture etc. to find out the amount of these combined
re~ources and power that each individual can command
~
for hirnsdf or that is available in each square mile of
territory. In other words, nothing can he more mislead~
ing than absolute figures in the comparative estimate of
nations as regards economic, military or cultural power.