Authorities in Delhi have admitted the city's residents are "rude, impatient and arrogant" and vowed to tackle anti-social behaviour before the Commonwealth Games open in the capital next year.
Authorities in Delhi have admitted the city's residents are "rude, impatient and arrogant" and vowed to tackle anti-social behaviour before the Commonwealth Games open in the capital next year.
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Lawless driving, discarded litter and spitting in public are commonplace in Delhi but a campaign - under the slogan "care, share and concern" - hopes to transform the reputation of its teeming millions.
"This is an attempt to generate a sense of pride towards the city and a feeling of ownership towards the assets in the capital," Uday Sahay, director of information and publicity of the Delhi government said.
"People tend to be nice at home but they turn rude, impatient and arrogant on the roads because they don't feel a sense of belonging to the city."
He said that the campaign would focus on road rage, rubbish, defacing of monuments and individual relationships "like the attitude of a young man towards an old man on the street or a woman".
The Commonwealth Games, featuring athletes from 71 nations and territories of the former British Empire, are seen as a major showcase for India, which has recently experienced rapid economic growth.
But the development has brought problems for cities like Delhi, with huge numbers of poor migrant workers pouring in from the countryside to look for work on construction sites or in factories.
Many live in makeshift slum settlements around the city - evidence that the boom times have benefited only a lucky few of India's 1.1 billion people.
The social behaviour campaign will hit the streets in October, a year before athletes, officials, dignitaries and spectators arrive for the two weeks of sport.
"An advertising blitzkrieg in the form of hoardings, bus shelter posters and slogans on metro panels and pillars will be unveiled," Sahay said.
Lessons in etiquette are already being imparted to the city's auto-rickshaw drivers, who have been criticised for their fast, dangerous driving and for over-charging foreigners.
"We have been told to learn to speak in English and not to smoke while driving," Rajesh Kumar said.
"We are expected to behave like well-mannered office workers. But after driving on these maddening roads the whole day long, one is bound to lose patience," he said after attending a weekly etiquette session.
"However, we will try and improve so that the we don't leave a bad impression on our guests during the Games."
The city itself is also undergoing a major overhaul before the opening ceremony, with new metro lines being dug and crumbling districts such as the famous Connaught Place being renovated.
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