I cannot see how India, with its reprehensible caste system, would be in any way preferable to China.

Say what you will about China's autocratic leadership, but you cannot deny that it has lifted millions of people into the middle class. Granted, India has lifted many into a middle-class lifestyle, but percentage wise, far fewer than China.

As for the Fed "operating democracy outside the US govt," I can't agree with that. The US is now verifiably an oligarchy.