An unhappy index for India

Happiness is difficult to measure, as the criteria and standards of measurement vary widely among individuals, societies, age groups, social and economic categories, and other classifications. But humans are by nature measuring and aggregating animals and so would only be happy to measure and find out who is happy and who is more, or less, so. The World Happiness Index that comes out every year is therefore a very human endeavour. But Indians do not have much to be very happy about the index because it has placed them on a very low rung in relation to other countries. Out of 143 countries, India ranks 126, having dropped by one rank from last year’s 125th position. Even war-torn Palestine and Ukraine, and neighbours like Pakistan and Nepal, are apparently happier than India. That would naturally raise questions about how reliable the index is, though a UN body is involved in its preparation. 

The index shows, surprisingly, that India’s elderly population  is happier than its younger people. The accepted wisdom is that old age, lonely and without social and economic support, would make people unhappy, but Indians feel differently. Older men are generally happier than older women, and it was found that upper caste men with higher educational qualifications are happier than others in the age group. Caste, gender and class thus seem to be determinants of happiness in India. One important finding is that young people are unhappy for a variety of reasons, including the high rate of unemployment. Young women are affected more than young men. It was also found that the overall happiness level is higher in countries where equality is higher.

The index was built on six factors: healthy life expectancy, GDP per capita, social support, freedom, generosity, and perception of corruption. While Finland stands first, Afghanistan is the least happy. India’s ranking would call for some explanations, and we would be happy to dismiss the index as another conspiracy against the country. There may be problems about methodology and questions about the relative weightage of the factors in the index. How they play out in different societies may also be relevant. The size and nature of the sample may influence the results in unexpected ways in a big and diverse country like India. There is a view that the wide divergences in happiness on caste and class lines in the country may have brought down the general happiness quotient. People living in equal societies are generally happier. There may be other factors, too, at work. Some introspection in the cause of happiness won’t go waste.