Mumbai: Not the safest city, but tops the most honest list

Ok, so Mumbai may not be the safest city in the country anymore, but according to a recent Reader’s Digest Survey, it has a strong strain of honesty. Reporters for the magazine dropped 192 wallets in cities around the world, each with a name, a cellphone number, a family photo, coupons, business cards and the equivalent of $50 in cash. The survey was conducted by dropping 12 wallets each in 16 cities across the world, “dropping” them in parks, near shopping malls, and on sidewalks. The survey threw up interesting results. The city in the happiest country is not the most honest. The city with one of the highest populations and low on the livability rankings globally, gets top honours in honesty. [caption id=“attachment_1135443” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  No sleight of hand: Mumbaikars in a crowded local rain. The city was ranked top in honesty. Reuters[/caption] Of the 16 countries surveyed the most honest was Helsinki in Finland where 11 out of 12 wallets were returned. Following close on Helsinki heels in honesty was our very own Mumbai. The staff of the magazine were returned nine out of 12 wallets they “dropped” around the city. Rahul Rai, a 27-year-old video editor, told the Reader’s Digest, “My conscience wouldn’t let me do anything wrong. A wallet is a big thing with many important documents [in it].” Another Mumbaikar and mother of two, Vaishali Mhaskar, returned a wallet left in the post office. “I teach my children to be honest, just like my parents taught me,” she said to the magazine. The other cities topping the honesty charts were Budapest in Hungary and New York City in the US where 8 out of 12 wallets were returned;  Moscow in Russia and Amsterdam in the Neatherlands saw 7 out of 12 being returned; Berlin, Germany and Ljubljana in Slovenia had 6 out of 12 returned. While Switzerland may be the happiest city in the world according to a Better Life Index, its largest city, Zurich, is not the most honest city in the world. Of the 12 wallets that the magazine’s reporters intentionally lost, only four wallets — or one-third — were returned. The other city that was at par with it was Rio De Janerio in Brazil where 4 out of 12 wallets were also returned. Lisbon in Portugal, Madrid in Spain and Prague in the Czech Republic were the least honest with 1 out of 12, 2 out of 12 and 3 out of 12 wallets being returned respectively. Te read about and see all the cities on the list, click here.