GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS INDEX: A NATION’S PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

Ms. Harguneet Kaur

Abstract
“Happiness is a positive emotional state” (Snyder & Lopex, 2007, p.128), which all humans strive for. “Happiness is the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile” (Lyubormisky, 2007, p.32).The terms happiness and subjective well-being are used synonymously. Achieving happiness is the primary goal of humans. People are intrinsically motivated by nature to achieve complete and lasting happiness. Human actions and goals are thereby constantly directed towards enhancing their current level of happiness. The term “Gross National Happiness” was forwarded by the fourth king of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, in the 1970’s (Allison, 2012). Gross National Happiness is “the degree to which citizens in a country enjoy the life they live” and can be regarded as the “average of individual happiness in the country” (Veenhoven, 2004, p.8). Bhutan realized the importance of happiness in an individual’s life and adopted Gross National Happiness as a formal pursuit towards collective happiness for the nation. The economic and social policies of government of Bhutan are centered around promotion of holistic happiness for its citizens. Gross National Happiness Index is based on the four pillars of “good governance”, “sustainable socio-economic development”, “cultural preservation” and “environmental
conservation”. It has nine domains and thirty three indicators (Gross National Happiness Centre, Bhutan). This research paper is an attempt to review the interdisciplinary work done by various researchers on the domains of Gross National Happiness Index.
Keywords: Happiness, Gross National Happiness Index and Lifestyle.