Theories of economic growth based on Western Europe are inadequate when applied to India because the two areas are incommensurate in their geographies and their resources. Because its initial conditions were different from those in, say, Europe and North America, India could arrive at economic growth only by solving different problems—preeminent among them being reliable access to clean water. The actions taken by the state, scientists, and society since 1880 in India weakened the chains that linked water insecurity, low yield, mass mortality, and caste-biased mortality but at the inevitable cost of ecological stress. In a tropical-monsoon climate, where well-being and the environment were constantly in flux, asking deprived individuals to consume less or cooperate more was not necessarily the best response to water problems. Science and capitalism provided better solutions.

基于西欧的经济增长理论不适用于印度，因为这两个地区的地理位置和资源都不相称。由于印度的初始条件不同于欧洲和北美，因此印度只能通过解决不同的问题来实现经济增长，其中最重要的是可靠地获得清洁水。自1880年以来，印度，国家，科学家和社会采取的行动削弱了将水不安全，低产，大规模死亡率和种姓偏见的死亡率联系在一起的链条，但不可避免地要付出生态压力。在热带和季风气候下，人们的福祉和环境不断变化，要求被剥夺的个人减少消费或增加合作不一定是对水资源问题的最佳应对措施。