New Delhi, Dec. 25 -- As a climate refugee from toxic Delhi temporarily in Goa, I cannot help wondering: if cities like Tokyo, London, Beijing and others that had high levels of pollution were able to clean up their air, what prevents Delhi from doing the same?

In his voluminous tome, The Asian Drama, Gunnar Myrdal introduced the concept of the 'soft state.' He was really writing about South Asia, especially India, with barely any mention of the 'miracle economies' of East Asia.

He characterized the Indian state as a 'soft state,' implying a government with limited capacity, unable to unwind a gridlock of competing interests that sucked up and dissipated scarce resources. This pre-empted the high growth necessary for reducing widespread...