‘Why can’t India learn a thing or two’: Founder says nations with worse histories are ahead

They admire clean cities abroad, send their kids to foreign schools, but refuse to fix the mess at home.

Priyesh Sharma, founder of a travel firm, took to X with a post that struck a nerve across timelines. Reacting to a comment that Indians are waking up after travelling abroad, Sharma wrote, “Every single party or bureaucrat has failed us. It doesn’t really matter which one.”

He confessed that he once believed in the idea of Indian exceptionalism. “I also had that chest-boasting idea of India. That we are the greatest, the smartest, recovering from colonialism, and the world owes us credit.” But travel, he said, humbled him. “Many countries with worse histories are doing far better.”

As Sharma journeyed through different countries, he began picking up small but meaningful changes — and implementing them in his own life. “I learned, adapted and started applying these things daily. Thanking people, not honking, keeping the city clean, being thoughtful, being independent. It helped me grow.”

The anger in his post builds as he turns to India’s leadership. “Our politicians also travel. They meet foreign dignitaries. They admire foreign infrastructure just like we do. That’s why all their kids are living or studying abroad.” Yet, he says, they return unmoved. “They don’t feel ashamed when foreign dignitaries visit. They don’t feel any urgency to improve.”

He pointed to the suffocating air and decaying cities. “It’s not just Delhi. Bhopal has 182 AQI right now. The whole country is engulfed in pollution.”

What makes it worse, Sharma said, is the total lack of accountability. “These leaders don’t feel like there’s anything to learn or adapt. Their blood doesn’t boil when they see how much better an average person abroad lives.”

“No one is perfect, but learning should never stop. If we taught the world zero and surgery, why can’t we learn a thing or two now?”