The Bengaluru-based founder and CEO of BharatAgri has shared that he and his wife have a long-running experiment to check the city’s trustworthiness. Siddharth Dialani shared details of the experiment in an X post, where he also revealed that it has been going on for five years.
The simple experiment involves the couple leaving their helmets unlocked on their two-wheeler every time they go out. According to Dialani, it’s a good way to check whether they live in a high-trust society.
Dialani, an IIT Madras graduate, also shared the results of the social experiment in his X post.
A social experiment in Bengaluru
“Me and my wife have been running a social experiment in Bangalore. Whenever we park our two wheeler in any area, we don't lock our helmets. We just keep it on the side mirror or on the seat,” he said.
“It's a low cost experiment to know if Bangalore is a high trust city or not,” the founder of BharatAgri claimed.
According to Dialani, their helmets have never been stolen in five years. “It has been 5 years and our helmets haven't been stolen yet!” he claimed in his X post.
{{/usCountry}}According to Dialani, their helmets have never been stolen in five years. “It has been 5 years and our helmets haven't been stolen yet!” he claimed in his X post.
{{/usCountry}}A discussion on Bengaluru
Several people in the comments section agreed with Dialani and said that Bengaluru is a high-trust city.
“Strangers showing 'kindness' is very common in Bengaluru unlike other Indian cities,” a person wrote.
“100%. There is no other major city in India that even remotely compares. I personally believe that because the income disparity/standard of living disparity is so low, we all lead fairly similar lives, and as such, people have very little motivation to steal,” wrote X user Aarthi Iyengar.
Siddharth Dialani disagreed with this take, noting that Bengaluru has a high income disparity. “I think the income disparity is large enough. But somehow people have self dignity to not steal,” he said.
(Also read: Indian man asks for money from stranger in US as social experiment, then this happens)
Many, however, claimed that their helmets had been stolen in the tech hub of India. Others claimed that their helmets had not been stolen because they are low-cost items.
“I suspect the results would be the same in most cities. I don't think a helmet is something people would find worth stealing,” a user claimed.