Today is International Day of Happiness, the one day solely dedicated to celebrating our happiness in life. Happiness is a fundamental human right yet a privilege’s only accessible to a pocketful of people. To many in a third-world nation like Pakistan, it is nothing more than a far-fetched idea.
A famous quote by Juvenal, a Roman poet states “Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt,” and that is exactly what our authorities do. They create an illusion of happiness, distracting us from our struggles and preventing us from questioning the exploitation by those meant to ensure our well-being.
What is International Happiness Day?
International Happiness Day is celebrated by United Nation’s members worldwide on March 20th. On this day, the centre of the sun is directly above the Earth’s equator, which is called an equinox. On the equinox, day and night last for almost equal time all over the Earth. Hence, the idea of equal happiness celebration.
The idea was originally proposed by the King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. He believed that a nation’s prosperity and progress are measured by the happiness of people and not just how much it produces or how much money it makes. He called it Gross National Happiness (GNH). This way it will be known whether a nation is doing good just on paper or in reality too.
However, not every government is so considerate. People in power still only care about economic indexes and not about the high suicide rates, growing inflation and deterioration of life.
Read More: International Day of Human Fraternity 2025: History, Significance and Celebrations
Who in Pakistan is Happy?
On this International Happiness Day, let’s ask ourselves, who really is happy in Pakistan?
Is it the fathers who spend day and night working for the sake of feeding their families and providing them with a good life? Or is it a bike rider who dodges life at every intersection, covers a 45-minute drive in 2 hours and yet doesn’t know when a rich spoilt kid will drive all over him?
Maybe it is the young girl, who walks on the road, gets eyed by every passerby like a candy and knows that if anything happens to her today, people will only point fingers at her character. Or it must be the medical student who works hard throughout his youth only to find out he won’t be placed in a reputable position because of his county’s qouta system.
Masking Happiness Despite Inflation
The illusion of happiness is an idea that makes us forget the decade-old inflation that burdens our shoulders more and more each day. Let us keep aside our inflation-induced anxiety and tell ourselves that we might have the lifestyle of at least a dog somewhere in Seattle, USA, whose government considers it a mandate to give it all the luxuries.
Let’s live in the chronic disillusionment to embrace positivity and tell ourselves that the value of our lives is not the same as just a stray animal. Let’s tell ourselves that we still don’t have an engrained class system to keep us all in check.
Happiness: a Complicated Idea
Regardless the misery and the tragic fate of our nation, happiness still prevails in this “nation of steel.” Happiness is a very complex concept and more complex are human beings.
Despite all the burdens, people will immediately rush to help you if you need a hand or get into a quarrel. With the high inflation rates, people still fight to sustain, send their children to school, celebrate their happy moments and share their wealth among the needy. Even in the worst of political turmoil, we cope with memes and make something humorous out of it too. Even in the worst of crises, we still show up and carry ourselves forward. All in all, even with the constraints, we still innovate, we still flourish and we still continue to be happy.
On this International Day of Happiness, let’s celebrate our resilience, our strength and our stubbornness to stay happy.
Happy International Happiness Day!
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