A Reddit post by an NRI student who returned to India for undergraduate studies has ignited a storm of discussion around civic sense, infrastructure, and cultural expectations. Raised in the United States, the student offered a brutally honest reflection on spending a year in India, calling the experience “interesting” but disheartening in many ways.

He expressed frustration with the lack of basic civic sense, stating, “I’ve seen more respectful behavior from homeless people in the US than many Indians here.” He also criticized the fast-paced lifestyle, attributing it to population pressure and a dismal job market. “No one stops to enjoy life — it’s just endless studying and struggling,” he wrote.

Calling the country’s infrastructure “pathetic,” the student pointed out that despite economic growth, public services and even facilities in educational institutions remain substandard. Corruption, according to him, is deeply ingrained: “People openly justify it and advise me to go along. Morals seem out of place here.”

While he concluded by encouraging Indians to take collective action for change, his sharp tone triggered backlash.

Many Redditors accused him of making unfair comparisons. “You can’t compare a developed country to a developing one — it’s like apples and oranges,” one user commented. Others agreed partially but noted that similar-income countries manage better civic discipline.

The post has stirred a wider conversation on India’s internal challenges and the sensitivity needed when critiquing them from a privileged lens.