Soon after the survey issue appeared, Suketu Mehta, New York based columnist (or whatever he is) got his opinion aired through India Today. Obviously, born in Mumbai, he lashed out at the surveyers. Consequently, a lot of India Today readers sent in their compliants regarding the survey to the IT editor. The Reader Digest editor, Mohan Sivanand, has now come up to apologise through India Today. I just got my IT issue today and saw the apology (though it doen't look like one) on the Letters to the Editor page.
Mohan Sivanand wrote:For the survey, Reader's Digest took cultural factors into account, and so a Mumbai shopkeeper, who did not say "thank you" but responded with a kind word or smile, was given points. The second test was not about opening doors, but holding a door open for somebody just behind you in a public place - which has to do with concern for fellow citizens anywhere, and not just in the West. Nowhere in our July 2006 issue did we say that Mumbai was the rudest city. All we said was that Mumbai came last in a test of politeness. Moreover, even with a score of 32 percent, a 1.4 million-strong Mumbai may have more polite people than the whole of Toronto, which is second in the survey.