In Pursuit of Happiness

Is it as elusive as it is made out to be?

- Sujatha Rao

You ask any random person what he wants in life, and it’s very likely that two out of one would answer that he or she wants to be happy. If we could do time travel to go into the future or past, it is most likely that this is the one statistic that might not change, no matter which era period we get into.

Recognising its importance, the United Nations came up with the idea of dedicating a day in celebration of happiness.

International Day of Happiness The first ever UN conference on

Happiness took place in 2012 and the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution decreeing that the International Day of Happiness would be observed every year on 20 March calling happiness ‘a fundamental human goal’.

However, it was Bhutan which brought ‘happiness’ onto the global arena of recognition by introducing Gross National Happiness (GNH) Index in its Constitution as early as 2008.

The ultimate goal of this movement is to spread awareness that progress is not only about increasing bottom lines and encouraging economic growth, but also about ensuring human wellbeing and happiness.

In the year 2015, UN launched 17 sustainable development goals encompassing the three key aspects that aim at well-being and happiness across the globe viz., end poverty, reduce inequality and protect our planet.

Realisation of the importance of happiness led to the UN inviting nations to partake in a happiness survey resulting in the ‘World Happiness Report’, to steer public policy.