Why Are Indians Not Happy? India’s Happiness Index Takes A Backseat When Corruption’s Driving The Nation!
Why are Indians not happy, even after India's retail inflation cooled to a seven-month low, having a personal tax exemption of up to 12 lakh and much more?
As per the recent World Happiness Report 2025 published, Finland is named the happiest country in the world for the eighth year in a row. India, the fastest-growing major economy, is currently ranked 118th in the global happiness rankings, with an average life evaluation score of 4.389/10.
“Happiness isn’t just about wealth or growth – it’s about trust, connection and knowing people have your back,” said Jon Clifton, the CEO of analytics firm Gallup, with whose partnership the study was conducted. Country rankings were based on answers people give when asked to rate their own lives and researchers say that happiness goes beyond health and wealth.
Why are Indians not happy, even after India’s retail inflation cooled to a seven-month low, having a personal tax exemption of up to 12 lakh and much more?
Have you ever watched a magician perform a large trick? The flashing lights, the blaring music, and the elaborate equipment are all designed to distract you from what is actually happening. This is very similar to how our politicians today are typically addressing the boom in Indian cities hiding the gloom of Indians.
Let’s start With The Infrastructure Mirage.
“Look at our new eight-lane highway!” politicians brag at ribbon-cutting ceremonies. Then, the video goes viral, showing Mumbai’s ₹ 14000 crore Coastal Road already looking like patchwork, leaving the taxpayer feeling betrayed by corruption!
Another example emerges when we see the PM of the nation inaugurating Pragati Maidan Tunnel with great enthusiasm mentioning India’s infrastructure boom, and then the users find themselves devastated by the water logging issues in the rainfall of the same year, signalling the deep rooted Corruption!
“Look at this shining airport terminal!” they say, cameras snapping. But then the terminal collapses, and instead of finding the person accountable and solving the crisis, the politicians get involved in the famous blame-game, leaving WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA feeling cheated by corruption!
Then comes the City’s Vibe, which eventually becomes the City’s nightmare, giving a hint about the compromised Quality of life
Perhaps every citizen in India has ever dreamed of travelling to a big city to live a better life and enjoy the Big City’s Vibe. But soon, they realise that they are stuck in those same cities, where residents splash through ankle-deep water after a light rain, open potholes, trash piles up on stoops, and the air is so thick with pollution you can taste it.
Let’s take the case from the national capital Delhi, where a student comes to become an IAS officer who will manage the future law and order of the state, only to become a memory as they die because of the present compromised law and order promoting illegal basements!
Let’s take another case from Financial Capital Mumbai, where you take a rest from the rain under a huge billboard only to get trapped and die under it because it fell as it was illegally structured! These points to the thoughts about how deeply corruption is rooted in India’s Steel Frame of India!
Then comes the double engine government state Bihar, where 12 bridges collapsed in 17 days; just imagine the intensity of corruption!
This weight and quantity mania is analogous to rating a restaurant by their serving portions and not by if the food itself is edible. It’s infrastructure by weight, not by worth. Behind this infrastructure boom lies the deeply pained common man, who is never served, but just used as a vote bank.
Recall the times of G20 last year, how proudly we welcomed the foreign dignitaries, just by hiding our own people behind green curtains, only to leave them like trash. What to say about the trash, it had another igniting story hidden in the chaos of the national capital!
The situation is so bad that the Supreme Court in July last year slammed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, yes, the famous MCD that is responsible for the death of 3 UPSC aspirants mentioned above, and said there was a “sorry state of affairs” in the Delhi regarding implementation of the Solid Waste Management Rules that can lead to a public health emergency. Let us make MCD realise that “garbage collection systems will not win awards for beauty that G20 showed, but without them, the national capital can be in pathetic shape”.
So then what does real happiness really look like? Not necessarily what appears good on camera for the magazines, but making Tuesday morning better than Monday morning.
- The Invisible Essentials
Real happiness usually features systems that you don’t really notice—until they fail. Clean air that won’t chafe your peepers nor destroy your breath and makes you proud that you are living in the national capital! Efficient waste disposal that prevents litter from finding its way into the house. Stormwater systems that stop small rains from turning into big floods. Pure drinking water you can utilise in the home without having to use another filter. All these could have been achieved if funds were used for building infrastructure for AAM AADMI, rather than creating a sheesh mahal for ‘AAM AADMI’.
- Time-Saving Systems That Work for All
Real happiness recognises that time is something we can never produce more of. There are many means of transport that work (not just car roads). Properly spaced facilities that don’t necessitate crossing the entire city to acquire essential services Electronic systems for reducing waiting times in bureaucracy. Proper city planning that reduces travelling time for all, not the wealthy. All these could have been achieved if taxpayer’s funds were used to efficiently plan IT Giant Bengaluru, rather than wasting taxpayers money of 31 crore on helicopter rides and giving ‘himself and ministers’ a 100% salary hike!
- Locations that Foster Safety.
Can we ever have roads made for safety, not just fast driving?
There will be no positive impact of the shiney buildings of GIFT city if just at 100 kms, another vadodara accident occurs, killing one among us.
The sharp increase in theatre occupancy for Chhaava in Pune will not make the citizens of India happy if another ‘Pune Porsche case‘ happens!
What Is The Way Forward?
What WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA want is “A Government That Serves People, Not Politics”.
Good government is not about demonstrating oneself to other nations. It is about creating systems that quietly and efficiently improve the quality of life.
The next time politicians brag about infrastructural accomplishments and India’s Vishwa Guru Image, pay attention. Are they discussing quality or quantity? Visibility or viability? Memorials to their incumbency or enhancements to your daily existence?
