"How To Teach Civic Sense?" Harsh Goenka's Viral Vande Bharat Post Starts Debate

Vande Bharat is known for its modern coaches, onboard meals and cleaner facilities. But a video shared by Harsh Goenka has drawn attention to what happens after some passengers use those facilities. Goenka recently reposted a video on X showing a Vande Bharat train and the litter left behind by passengers.

How to teach our people civic sense 🙈 pic.twitter.com/ZEreYIlGW2

— Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) September 23, 2026

The video begins by highlighting what passengers get on the train. Snacks, newspapers and breakfast are served at the seat. Once passengers finish eating, staff collect the trays. It also shows clean and regularly maintained washrooms.

It then shifts to the condition left behind by some passengers. Wrappers can be seen in seat pockets, drink cans are left on the floor and seats, and newspapers are left untidy.

The text in the video asks, "Maybe Indians don't deserve facilities like Vande Bharat trains." Goenka shared the video and wrote, "How to teach our people civic sense?"

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Internet Calls Civic Sense India's Biggest Challenge

The post prompted several people to talk about the way public spaces and infrastructure are treated. One person wrote, "No wonder Indians are one of the lowest in terms of civic sense." They went on to point to littering, spitting on roads and urinating in public places.

Another commenter said the problem starts much earlier, arguing that children learn these habits by watching their parents. Another user person called civic sense a "generational problem", saying the mindset that cleaning public infrastructure is "someone else's job" has become deeply ingrained.

Some commenters focused on accountability and enforcement. One wrote, "There has to be some very strong law with jail and penalty for such things to stop," arguing that stricter action is needed.

Another comment questioned whether the problem was simply about literacy. "It's not the literacy, we need all 140B people to take responsibility," the user wrote, while pointing to the damage caused to public infrastructure.

There was also a comment that looked at the larger system around cleanliness. "It's our 'Chotu will do' mindset/system," it read, referring to the expectation that someone else will always be available to clean or handle everyday tasks.

Another commenter summed up the issue by asking passengers to treat the train like their own home and wrote, "Preserve the Nations Asset."