It's rude-imentary, Delhi

If the rude dudes of Beijing can learn polite behaviour ahead of the 2008 Olympics, there is no reason why Lucknawi tehzeeb cannot filter down to boorish and undisciplined Delhites

Sanjay Kapoor

It was a rude cultural shock for me when I left Lucknow — the seat of high culture and etiquette — to come to work in Delhi. Mortally scared of riding in auto rickshaws for fear that they would take me on a merry-go-round to increase the fare, I dared not question them because they'd immediately pick a fight. I also found it difficult to get help from people on the road when saddled with difficult auto drivers. Why blame the poor auto rickshaw drivers alone — being rude comes easy to many in Delhi!

Later, I committed the cardinal folly of offering my seat in a crowded car to a senior journalist. Instead of thanking me and giving me space next to him so that I could journey in the same car to report from a political rally, he shoved me out and told me to take another vehicle.

Old-timers, who have been to the Chinese capital of Beijing, or even Hong Kong, will remember the natives of these cities too as being less than polite. Like Delhiwallahs, they clamour to get in first into a bus or the metro and are willing to push others out in the process. They also have a reputation for being unhelpful when it comes to giving directions to those lost in the bustling metropolises.

This native rudeness was a major cause for worry for the organisers of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They realised that all the fancy sporting infrastructure that was being created in Beijing and other Chinese cities would come a cropper if the people did not behave politely with foreign visitors. The organisers were also worried that the Chinese would not show up for events where their own country was not participating. So, they got down to teaching manners and etiquette to the people of Beijing by creating a Capital Civilization office. The responsibility of this office, set up under the Beijing municipal government, was to build a 'helpful Beijingers' image of the local people. Pamphlets were distributed in the city about good manners and a particular day in the week was declared as 'queuing day'.

On 11 February, 2006, more than 10,000 volunteers fanned out on the streets of Beijing to teach more than a million people how to queue up for buses and other public transport. Over many months of this 'queuing campaign', Beijingers got used to standing in line to board buses. The other polite behaviours that were encouraged were giving directions to visitors, participating in sports events, cheering on athletes at sports matches, and campaigning against public spitting.

Two years of sustained effort have brought about visible improvement. A report put out by the Olympics Studies Centre of Renmin University, based on observing the recent behaviour of 200,000 people, reveals that Beijingers have become more civilized and are now ready to host the world's biggest sporting event.

There are important lessons to be learnt from the Chinese as India, too, gets down to hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2010. Delhi's populace is quite like what Beijing's used to be before its municipal government cracked the whip — boorish, undisciplined and unhelpful. If the Commonwealth Games are to be a success, the Delhi government should follow the Beijing blueprint and unleash volunteers on Delhi's citizens to teach them how to behave. Delhites too need to learn how to stand in queues for buses and the metro, help strangers and ensure that the city remains free of spitting and littering. In the absence of such efforts, the Delhi Commonwealth Games, instead of bringing about an enduring change in people's behaviour, will just end up being an opportunity for builders and junket-happy bureaucrats to make money from a 15-day extravaganza.