The dream of mental ‘vikas’!
New India, Viksit Bharat, and Mission 2047 are some of the famous terms in this election. The present government has committed itself to making India a developed nation till 2047. Being high at all major indexes of the world is undoubtedly a matter of pride. What should India look like? How will this developed India differ according to individuals? How are we going to make this place a better place to live? This blog shall deal with the fundamentals of Viksit Bharat.
The dream
Indian society is made up of composite cultures. A variety of castes, classes, genders, and languages do exist here. Thus, it must be a sure fact that the idea of ‘Viksit Bharat’ will not be the same for everyone. It will have a variety of interpretations. When this government first promised ‘ acche din’ it was a slogan to bind these dreams together.
However, this fact later became apparent that the meaning of ‘ acche din’ will be different for all individuals. The dream here was to make an economy that has a major contribution to world GDP. We had a dream to make an equitable society where the disparity of income distribution can be removed. The dream was to make farming a profitable business in this country. A well-developed nourishing education, availability of quality health, a good connectivity and infrastructure.
The dream was to have development from the village level for a rise of power from grass root level. The digitalization of the country and the efficient use of AI are matters of discussion now. Every Individual has different meanings for development. Where a wealthy and satisfied life are the things which are common for all. How far have we moved ahead towards these goals? Insofar psychology and mental health are respected in this vision? How satisfied are those nations who have attained these goals? We need a brief scrutiny here.
Mental health: How viable to dream
However, the missing component here in this dream is the care for meant health of individuals. 8.3 % of the total US population has symptoms of depression. The USA is known for its influence, power and wealth.
Till the individualistic society, there is unable to deal with their minds. 46 million people (about twice the population of New York), a report suggests, are suffering from depression. It means one out of every seven people is a patient with mental illness. This is rapidly inflating, especially after the COVID-19 burst.
However, while speaking about the development of the nation, we barely accept that the mind also has its health like any other part of the body. Finland has a total GDP of 28,289.63 crores in 2022 and per capita is 50 916.28 US dollars in 2022. India has a total GDP of 3.42 lakh crores US dollars and per capita is 2410.89 US dollars.
However, Finland is the happiest country in the world happiness index. The low crime levels, free education and health care are some of the aspects that make it a happy country. We are not comparing both countries here as the population also differs thus comparison is not statistically correct. However, the thing that is apparent here is that there is a low correlation between the overall economy and the happiness of the country.
The need
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Earth has enough for everyone’s need but not for anyone’s greed” and this makes us think about what should be the priority of this nation. Economic growth is undoubtedly important in its way however we will not succeed until we make this development holistic. Until we don’t include mental health as an important aspect of policy formation, we will make this country a bunch of wealthy and depressed people. It is high time that we brought mental health into the limelight. The entire productivity of individuals too depends on the level of mental health one holds.
A dream of a happy country
Thus, we can say that what we need is a happy country. We are required to normalize mental illness same as physical illness if we want a nation free of crime. Criminals are not born but brought up to commit a crime. If we succeed in having a healthy environment even for the poorest person in the nation, we can reduce the crime rate. Law and punishment are not at all any remedy to reduce crime. It is just a sword to maintain social balance. Crime requires psychological solutions.
To see a happy nation is the foremost goal that we must dream of. Collectivistic culture is a boon for us that can be used to reform society. It is high time that we employ psychologists wherever they are required. This corporate culture also needs reforms in its working conditions.
Thus, in a nutshell, I see developed nations as more sympathetic nations. A nation that is happy and mentally healthy. A society that knows its limits has novel energy to work. Where youth need not protest for their jobs. Where students need not go to court to get justice in their examination. A place where the role of psychologists is respected. 2047 is a dream of a nation where we possess equal responsibility.
References
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