Indians and their civic sense have long been a topic of debate. One place where the lack of civic sense is often highlighted is the Indian Railways. Over the years, several incidents on trains across the country have raised concerns about public behaviour. Whether it is passengers stealing blankets and bed covers, leaving garbage on train floors, or, more recently, a group of men being caught on camera cutting train seats with a blade, numerous examples have surfaced that reflect the state of civic responsibility in public spaces.
Sharing one such example on social media, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, reshared a video originally posted by The Better India. The video contrasts a heavily littered train coach headed to Manali with the cleanliness maintained on trains in Mizoram. Rijiju captioned the post, “Learn from Mizoram, our North East!”
The video begins by showing a train coach strewn with blankets and bed covers dumped on the floor, alongside food wrappers and other waste scattered throughout the compartment. A voice in the background says, “10th students were here who were going to Manali.”
The video then contrasts this scene with trains in Mizoram. In the footage, passengers can be seen disposing of their waste in polybags placed near every berth inside the coach. The floors appear spotless, with no garbage visible anywhere in the compartment. “Ek hi train, ek hi desh, par soch bilkul alag (The same train, the same country, but a completely different mindset),” says the narrator. The video goes on to explain that this difference is possible because of “Tlâwmngaihna”.
Tlâwmngaihna is a moral code deeply rooted in Mizo society. It is a set of values and ethics that guides individual behaviour and community participation. According to the narrator, Tlâwmngaihna teaches people to think of others before themselves. Maintaining cleanliness is not considered the responsibility of a single person; rather, it is viewed as a collective duty shared by everyone. Sharing the video on social media, Rijiju wrote, “I agree with whoever made this video.”
Watch the video:
The video has since gone viral, with many social media users sharing their views in the comments section.
One user wrote, “Health and civic education need to be taught to children right from kindergarten in both government and private schools across India. Only then can we expect a change in the habits of future generations.”
Another user commented, “Cleanliness is a value that should naturally arise in every human being. Instead of enforcing it through laws or coercive measures, we should embrace it as a social movement and collective sentiment. Only then can it become truly sustainable.”
A third person added, “Yeah, that’s true. I live in the North East and have spent time with people there. When you visit their monuments, they explain right from the beginning why it is important to keep them clean. We Northerners really have a lot to learn from our North-Eastern brothers and sisters.”
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