What do you define as backwardness?
No access to electricity or internet, starvation, malnutrition, high infant mortality rate, low life expectancy, lack of medical care, broken railway system, high illiteracy rate, gang-rapes on public bus, etc. You must be blind not to see it.
Are you suggesting that the copying of the US lifestyle is a sign of 'forwardness'?
What specific US lifestyle are you talking about? The opposit of "no access to electricity or internet, starvation, malnutrition, high infant mortality rate, low life expectancy, lack of medical care, broken railway system, high illiteracy rate, gang-rapes on public bus, etc" is not US lifestyle, but forwardness lifestyle.
Or an obsession to garner wealth by hook or by crook is a sign of 'forwardness'?
Wealth is the foundation of forwardness, poverty and backwardness are twins as it is illustrated by India.
Pursuing 'forwardness' is not a shame, sticking to backwardness is.
Or an insatiable craving for creature comfort and luxuries?
Fullfilling creature comfort is human instinct, denying that, you become robot, only robot has no creature comfort to fullfil.