"Look at Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand. One country is clearly far in the lead, not just economically but by almost any standard. I attribute this to the fact that Thailand was never colonized, and never suffered under a Communist government."

When was Burma under a Communist government? I thought they were became independent at the same time as India and Pakistan, and then there was a coup and there's been a military dictatorship ever since. Doesn't Burma really need comparison with India and Pakistan in that case?