An Indian man, named Rahul Mahajan, sparked a debate on civic sense after sharing a video of a littered street in Amsterdam. In a post on Instagram, Mahajan shows a road filled with garbage, contradicting the reputation of the capital of the Netherlands, a city known for its clean and beautiful streets.
Mahajan's voiceover in Hindi, translated to English, states, "This street in Amsterdam Central is filled with garbage, yet people still claim that India lacks civic sense." He shared the clip with a caption that reads, "Foreigners often say that Indians lack civic sense, but look at their own civic sense".
Watch the video here:
Also Read | All About Norovirus, A "Winter Vomiting Disease" That's Spreading Rapidly In US
Notably, as per the annual Quality of Living Ranking by Mercer in 2024, Amsterdam was named the 6th-best city in the world for quality of life, which was a huge improvement from 14th place in the 2023 edition of the ranking.
Meanwhile, the video by Mahajan gained significant traction, garnering mixed reactions from Instagram users. Some defend India's civic sense, and others acknowledge the litter problem in Amsterdam. But a majority of users said that he should not compare the Netherlands with India, as both nations.
Social media reaction
One user commented, "It's still cleaner than most roads in India," while another said, "Yes, I completely agree with you bro".
"Bhai yaar usse hume kya lena ye excuses mat do!!! india ko saaaf karo," said one user.
"Just showing 0.000001% issue doesn't make any sense. If u feel unhygienic come back buddy," another user said.
"In amsterdam central area, it's a bit messy. But they still have good, clean roads in other areas. Can't only decide by one area! I have been living in Amsterdam and i know how the cleanliness is done here. People coming as tourists often only visit Amsterdam Central and think that is the only place to see in Netherlands," one user wrote.
