An Indian woman’s comparison of India and Bhutan has sparked discussion online after she highlighted the neighbouring country’s clean streets, quieter roads, traffic discipline and sense of safety.
Taking to Instagram, content creator Neha Rana shared a video comparing the two countries during her visit to Bhutan. In the video, she first showed the Indian side of the border, pointing to traffic, wrong-side driving, roadside litter, unnecessary honking and men staring at her.
“Now let me enter Bhutan, and now look, this is Bhutan,” Rana said as she showed herself walking along a busy street. She said that she felt “totally safe”, adding that there was no unnecessary honking and the streets appeared clean.
Rana also highlighted traffic discipline in Bhutan. “There are no traffic lights, but everyone is in their lane,” she said, before showing pedestrians crossing the road. She added that vehicles stopped to let people cross.
The content creator said that her intention was not to “put India down” but to highlight the role of individual responsibility in maintaining public spaces. “I realise ki yahan pe jo log hain na, woh apne surroundings ki actually responsibility lete hain. Aur India mein koi sochta hi nahi hai,” she said. Rana added that Indian cities could also look different if people started taking responsibility for their surroundings.
In the caption of the post, Rana said that she had been born and raised in India and had normalised several things, including pollution, honking, chaotic roads, traffic jams and safety concerns.
“Until I visited Bhutan,” she wrote, saying the trip was her first visit to another country in 30 years. “For the first time I realised how different our everyday life can actually look,” she wrote.
Rana said that the visit made her notice the contrast, pointing to “roads without road rage”, no unnecessary honking, clean air and a safer environment. She also said she could walk alone at night without constantly thinking about her safety and did not encounter men staring at her for no reason.
“And the strange part is that none of this felt extraordinary in Bhutan. It felt like the bare minimum,” she wrote.
“It made me realise how much of this comes from the way people collectively treat the place they live in and the people around them. There is so much we can learn from Bhutan. Because I genuinely never thought the world could look this different until I actually stepped outside my own country and saw it for myself,” she concluded.
(Also Read: Man in Bhutan calls out fellow Indians for being ‘too loud’: ‘Sometimes I’m ashamed’)
How did internet react
The video drew mixed reactions online, with several users agreeing with Rana’s observations about civic sense.
one user wrote, “Just basic civic sense is all we need.”
“Every country is changing… Bhutan, Vietnam.. poor countries are progressing… but India is not… same infrastructure, same mindset… india is rich but still basics are missing,” commented another.
“I’ve only heard car honks in India, nowhere in any other countries,” wrote a third user.
“60% problems in India are civic problems,” said another.
However, some users questioned the comparison, pointing to differences in population density and geography.
One user wrote, “Strange comparison. Bhutan is like india in many terms, many parts of india with same square km have the same evrything.. please don’t compare border town, india is highly dense and that point is a active transport corridor.”
“Sabko india ke alwa sab Desh acha lagta h kyu sikkim seven sister jao waha bhi horn honking nahi hai,” commented another.
