You can only really judge a player at the end of his career.
For any Indian player to reach the top level, he has much more competition than many other nations (1bn people which Cricket is the national sport). In England, 70m people where cricket is the 3rd most popular sport after football and rugby. On that basis, it would have been easier for Root than Pujara.
Where I think it has been more difficult for Root is the fact the guy has been catapulted into the England setup before he has really played much First Class cricket, with three years less maturity than Pujara (Let's not forget how difficult late teens/early 20s is - especially when so much expectation is heaped on you).
For England, all eyes were on Root. For Pujara, many were still looking at Tendulkar and Dravid plus the influx of new names from the IPL, the spotlight was off him.
I look forward to seeing Pujara coming to England and playing the moving ball, as much as Root has been tested by the short ball in Australia.
Either way, its an interesting debate