Are India’s cities really becoming unliveable? It’s a strange question that has begun to pop up a lot more in recent years, and one that always surprises me because of how irrelevant it appears to be. Who in their right mind would think of Bombay as unliveable, for example, given how the city is increasingly starting to resemble London or Paris? From the moment one steps off a train or airplane, it is obvious that this is one of the world’s most advanced places, so the idea that someone would dare suggest the opposite reeks of pessimism as well as insecurity. I would go so far as to suggest that the question is routinely being raised by one of our many enemies across the border. There is jealousy at work here.