"If someone asked the world which country is the dirtiest, would you be surprised if they said India?"

To be frank, India is not good in studies. I mean, yes, we are good with marks, ranks, and results—but what will we do with good marks if we don’t have good behavior? Recently, I was scrolling through social media and came across a street interview. The question was simple: “What do you think is the dirtiest country in the world?”

Many answered—India.

At first, I felt angry. After all, it’s my country. How dare someone call it the dirtiest? But a few seconds later, my anger turned into silence. Because deep down, I knew—they are not wrong.

We don’t do anything that forces the world to stay quiet about this criticism. We spit on the roads, we litter public places, we break queues, we make noise when silence is needed, and we poke our nose into every matter except our own behavior. The most important truth is this: we don’t believe that the small things we do affect society. Our mindset is simple—someone else will clean it, someone else will take care of it.

And sometimes, in rare moments of guilt, we tell ourselves, “This is the last time. I’m not going to throw garbage on the road again.” But that’s the problem—every time becomes the last time. When will it really be the last?

Japan: A Living Example of Discipline

Now let’s turn our eyes to Japan. If you’ve ever watched Japanese reels, anime, films, or even documentaries, you’ll notice something—it all looks organized. Whether it’s their food system, their festivals, their schools, or even their response to disasters, Japan reflects discipline everywhere.

Just last month, I read about the floods in Japan. Roads were filled with water, but that water looked pure. No garbage floating around, no smell, no filth—just clean flood water. Compare that with India, where even light rain floods the streets with plastic, mud, garbage, and stench.

Why such a difference?

Because in Japan, discipline is not taught after graduation. It starts in childhood. Children there don’t touch textbooks until they are six years old. Their early years are spent learning how to share, how to respect elders, how to clean their surroundings, how to work in groups, and how to value silence.

When they finally start school, they carry a randoseru (a sturdy backpack that lasts six years), eat balanced school lunches, and even clean their classrooms and toilets every single day. There are no janitors—the students themselves are responsible. This habit builds into their adult lives, where they clean stadiums after matches or queue calmly even during natural disasters.

It’s not magic. It’s discipline.

The History Punch: Japan After World War II

Here’s what shocks me the most: Japan wasn’t always like this. After World War II, Japan was destroyed. Two atomic bombs had wiped out entire cities. Their economy was in ruins. Their people were broken.

But instead of giving up, Japan rebuilt itself—not just with technology and economy, but with values. Within a few decades, it became one of the cleanest, most disciplined, and most respected countries in the world. Now, here’s the painful irony: India also got independence around the same time. We had resources, manpower, fertile land, and endless opportunities. Yet, decades later, we’re still struggling with garbage on our roads, indiscipline in our society, and corruption in our system. Japan rose from ashes, but we are still stuck in excuses.

India’s Education System: Marks Over Manners

In India, children start school as early as 2.5 to 3 years old. Before they even learn how to tie their shoelaces, they are memorizing ABCs and 123s. By four, they are expected to write sentences. And by the time they reach middle school, some parents are already enrolling them in IIT or NEET foundation courses.

Yes, we are producing engineers, doctors, and IT professionals in bulk. But what about producing good citizens? What about producing humans who don’t spit in public, who respect others’ time, who keep their surroundings clean, who believe that their actions affect society?

This is where we are failing. Our education system teaches us how to get marks, not how to live. Japan, on the other hand, spends those early years teaching manners, teamwork, discipline, and moral values. The difference is clear: they grow up to be citizens who take responsibility, while we grow up to chase ranks.

India’s Reality Check

Let’s not sugarcoat it. India is rising economically. We are producing billion-dollar companies, leading in tech, and expanding our influence globally. But what about discipline? What about civic sense? What about the small habits that define a nation’s character?

• Our flood water carries plastic bottles and garbage.
• Our public spaces smell of spit and waste.
• Our trains and buses are overcrowded, not just because of population, but because of poor discipline in using them.
• Our people believe rules are meant to be broken.

We celebrate talent, but we ignore discipline.

The Big Question So here’s the big question: how many decades will it take for India to adopt a Japan-like mindset? When will we reach a stage where: Our flood water looks clean, People stand in queues calmly, even during disasters. Everyone says, “I’ll fix it,” instead of “someone else will”? If Japan can achieve this level of discipline after being completely destroyed in World War II, why can’t we achieve it with all our resources, growth, and opportunities? The problem is not capability. The problem is mindset.

A Call for Change

Change will not come from government policies alone. Change has to start with us—the people. If every child in India was taught that discipline is as important as marks, we would see a revolution in a single generation. If every adult believed their small actions impact society, we would not need rules to force us into discipline. India doesn’t lack talent. It doesn’t lack brains. It doesn’t lack opportunities. What it lacks is discipline. And maybe, just maybe, the day we stop saying, “This is the last time I’ll litter” and actually mean it—that day, the world will no longer call India the dirtiest country. That day, we will stand shoulder to shoulder with nations like Japan, not just in economy, but in respect.   

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