(Image source from: World Happiness Report)

In a report recently released on happiest country, India has been ranked at 117 in a list of 158 countries. While Switzerland topped the rank of the ‘World Happiness Report’, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the two neighboring countries headed far away from India. They are positioned at 108 and 109 respectively. It is interesting to note despite India being economically strong than these two countries and with less occurrence of disturbance (as compared to Pakistan), it lacks happiness.

The report was created taking into account six parameters: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity and freedom from corruption. India failed to gain a good rank due to lacking social support.

Worldwide polling was done on “If you were in trouble, do you have relatives or friends you can count on to help you whenever you need them, or not?” and the pat answer of most of the Indian was a distinct ‘No’.

With this, a new feature that defines the modern India is perhaps the sense of ‘being alone’.

“If I ask you, do you have someone you can talk to when you’re feeling like crap, you’ll say yes. “But when you’re actually feeling like crap, do you actually call that person? Do you call anybody? I don’t.” said one of the Indian who wants to be unidentified.

In 2011, a WHO report had stated that Indian had the highest rate of major depressions in the world. In 2013, the report showed 10% of the Indian population suffered from either kind of mental disorder.

- Smrutirekha