Poverty, social injustice drive unhappiness in South Asia

By Aamir Latif and Ahmad Adil

KARACHI/NEW DELHI (AA) - Grinding poverty, a lack of security, socioeconomic injustice, and increasing political polarization are the driving forces behind rising unhappiness in South Asian countries, say experts.

Rana Saba, a Karachi-based sociology professor, told Anadolu Agency on the eve of the International Day of Happiness observed on Saturday, that the long-time "mediocre" economic policies of almost all regional countries, including Pakistan, have resulted in widespread poverty, unemployment, and social injustice, apart from a nearly insurmountable gap between the rich and the poor.

According to the UN World Happiness Index 2020, Pakistan is the happiest country in South Asia and 66th in the world.

Whereas India, Asia's third-largest economy, was ranked 144th, after slipping from 140th in 2019. The Maldives is placed 87th, Nepal is 92nd, and Bangladesh is listed 107th.

Pakistan plunged to 105th out of 149 countries in the ninth World Happiness Report 2021, whereas India made its way back up to 139th.

"If you randomly ask people strolling in the streets, especially in big cities, 80 out of 100 will choose to migrate to Europe or the US if they find an opportunity," argues Saba, who heads the Sociology Department of the University of Karachi.

Nonetheless, she went on to explain, a certain number of people, albeit a limited percentage, have improved their living standards in some way during the last few decades.

"In urban areas, literacy, especially higher education, and an inclination towards civil services have played a role in uplifting a segment of society ... lower and middle class ... over the past two decades," she explained.

In rural regions, though, living standards have improved mostly as a result of overseas Pakistanis, said Saba.

Around 9 million Pakistanis living across the globe, particularly in the wealthy Gulf states, Europe, and the US, remitted nearly $30 billion last year, propping up the country's depleting foreign reserves.

- COVID-19 adds to unhappiness

Adarsh Kohli, a leading psychiatrist from Chandigarh, the joint capital of the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, observed that the coronavirus pandemic has added to the unhappiness already present in South Asian societies, particularly India, amid economic meltdown and health-related suffering.

"During COVID-19, many developments took place. There was an economic downturn, people suffered, died, and a lot of them are still struggling to make ends meet," Kohli observed, speaking to Anadolu Agency.

The economy, she said, is an important parameter to gauge happiness in a country.

"When you don't have income, don't have food, how can one be happy?" she questioned.

Apart from economic woes, she contended, social isolation and a ban on meetings and gatherings due to the pandemic also added to the already dwindling contentment.

"Although there was a similar phenomenon in other neighboring countries, the difference in India is that the poor have a greater dependence on and expectation from their government. This is probably the reason their happiness was affected more than in other countries," said Jaswinder Pal Singh, an author in the western Indian state of Gujarat who also runs a nonprofit organization called the Institute of Happiness.

- 'Happiness is perceived incorrectly'

Singh believes happiness is often perceived "incorrectly" in today's societies.

"Each segment of society is unhappy today because, in general, people perceive happiness incorrectly. It's important to shift our perspective from living an outside-in life to living an inside-out existence," he posits.

"Society is nothing but a set of individuals, and if each individual in the society makes this important shift in perception, they will be happier, and hence, society will be happier."

Citing "increasing desires" as another factor contributing to the growing unhappiness, Singh said that when material options in a growing economy multiply, "people start having bigger desires and so get into the vicious cycle of more-better-best."

"In their continuous strive for more, they miss enjoying them now as there's always something to finish before they have the time to be happy," he explained, adding that "this leads to a drop in their happiness index as goals are in the future and happiness is in the now."

Iqbal Afridi, an adjunct professor of psychiatry at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, agreed with Singh's assessment, citing the "bad" effect of technology, as well as a lack of sports and recreational facilities as other causes of juvenile unhappiness and drug use.

- Religious factor

In contrast to India, Pakistan has jumped a spot in the UN index compared to 2019.

An unimpressed Saba, however, downplayed the numbers game, contending that Pakistanis, in real terms, are equally as unhappy with the current economic and security situation as people in other regional countries.

Religion may be a factor that propels Pakistanis to stay happy or express happiness, she argued.

"Pakistan is a relatively more religious country in the region. To be grateful to Allah, in any circumstances, is one of the basic teachings of Islam," she went on to explain.

"Alhamdulillah (by the grace of God), everything is fine, is the patent answer in replying to the inquiry about his or her condition," she said in a lighter tone.

Otherwise, she claimed, successive regimes have done nothing enough to "make our people happy in terms of economy, security, and justice."

Afridi, echoing Saba's viewpoint, observed that the practice of the teachings of patience and gratefulness by a sizable segment of society, notably the low-income bracket, has propelled Pakistanis to the top of South Asia's happiness index.

Otherwise, he believes, Pakistan is no different from other South Asian societies in terms of the common adversities they face.