Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, shared a thought-provoking video on Saturday through his official Instagram story. The minister reposted a clip of a foreign woman chastising a group of Indian boys for littering, writing simply, “Please sensitise.” His brief yet sharp comment appeared to underline the urgent need for civic sense and cleanliness awareness among citizens.
(Also read: Foreign woman films Indian man littering at Wagah Attari border: ‘Why are some people like this?’)
Check out his reaction here:
Incident captured on video
The original video was posted by a foreign traveller under the handle Ameana Finds on Instagram. It begins with a group of Indian boys asking the woman the name of her country. Misunderstanding their question, she instead shared her name with them. Moments later, one of the boys casually threw a food wrapper on the road, prompting the woman to intervene immediately.
{{/usCountry}}The original video was posted by a foreign traveller under the handle Ameana Finds on Instagram. It begins with a group of Indian boys asking the woman the name of her country. Misunderstanding their question, she instead shared her name with them. Moments later, one of the boys casually threw a food wrapper on the road, prompting the woman to intervene immediately.
{{/usCountry}}“You dropped it. You pick it up and put it in the bin,” she firmly instructed. The boy refused and dismissed her with a wave of his hand, to which she replied, “It’s not okay.” The boy, showing surprising defiance, even asked her for a dollar, which she declined. The confrontation escalated when the boys followed her, repeatedly throwing the wrapper near her in mockery.
“You’re going to live and grow up trash as long as you keep doing this,” she warned before the clip ended.
Take a look here at the clip:
Public reactions online
The video has garnered over 20 million views and sparked intense debate online. One user commented that it was “embarrassing that a visitor had to remind us about our own civic duties.” Another wrote that “this is exactly why India struggles with public cleanliness despite so many campaigns.”
Others supported the traveller’s reaction, with one remarking, “She did what most of us hesitate to do in public.” Another said, “Those kids needed that lesson, but their parents need it more.” A different viewer pointed out, “We talk about ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ yet treat our streets like dustbins.” Yet another comment read, “Her anger was justified. Imagine tourists taking home this impression of India.”