Foreigner's Post On Indian Etiquette Opens Up Civic Sense Debate

A foreigner's viral Reddit post about a perceived "lack of etiquette" in Delhi has triggered a wider discussion online about civic sense in India. The post, which described frustrating encounters with queue-jumping and a lack of respect for personal space, drew both agreement and context from Indian social media users.

The post was shared by a tourist who had been in Delhi for three days. While the visitor generally enjoyed the trip, he expressed frustration about a lack of etiquette among some people encountered in public spaces, asking if it was a cultural thing. He shared frustrating experiences in India, including being cut in line and having an uncomfortable bus ride. He mentioned that people would often bypass others in queues, and when confronted, some individuals appeared shocked, acting as if queueing norms didn't apply to them.

"So been in India for 3 days now, just in Delhi. Loved it so far (minus the flu i had), but one thing ive noticed that really frusturates me is the lack of etiquette. You'll be standing in a queue and Indians will just jump straight past you even though you've been waiting five minutes. Then when you call it out, they look shocked as if they didnt realise queueing was a thing," he wrote.

See the post here:

Indian etiquette
byu/miggins1610 inindia_tourism

The tourist wondered if the behaviour he experienced was a cultural thing and asked for advice on how to handle it without being rude. 

"Just now I asked a guy politely to not recline so much on the bus as I had no space and he looked so pissed off, and now keeps turning back to glare at me and mutter in Hindi but I dont understand what hes saying. Is this a cultural thing? How do folks deal with this? Indians are so friendly, wonderful people, but honestly their manners leave so much to be desired," he added. 

The post sparked a lively discussion on Reddit, with users sharing mixed opinions. Some agreed with the traveler's observations, acknowledging that queue-cutting and poor etiquette are common issues in crowded areas, and that these experiences are a part of daily life in India. However, others felt the traveller's take was too harsh and suggested that cultural context matters. 

One user wrote, "It's major ying-yang. Most people are friendly, welcoming, will invite you to their home and feed you but the same good people are missing civic sense, empathy, respect of coexistence and personal space. Lot of them don't even know or being taught about it while growing up. This also doesn't related to education or wealth because I see every day someone peeing on the side of street and drive off with Car."

Another commented, "You will meet some nice people. But india has some of the lowest per capita empathy and once you realise that everything else will make sense- not caring for queues, not caring for other passengers comfort, openly littering everywhere. People just don't care about other people who are strangers."

A third user said, "As far as the que thing goes, just stand your ground. It happens to me too. Most of the times the cashier will tell them to wait. Otherwise it's best to ignore it. I know it's frustrating. Here everyone from all backgrounds travel in buses, so don't expect etiquette with them. Problems of too much population."

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