They Call it What’s “Dead GNH?
White Man’s Clothes”
The phrase ‘Gross National Happiness’ was first coined by the 4th King of Bhutan, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, in 1972 when he declared, “Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross Domestic Product.” The concept implies that sustainable development should take a holistic approach towards notions of progress and give equal importance to non-economic aspects of wellbeing. The GNH Index The GNH index is a holistic approach to measure the happiness and wellbeing of the Bhutanese population. It includes the nine domains which are further supported by the 33 indicators. The Index is also known as the GNH Happiness Survey which makes the analysis of the nation’s wellbeing with each person’s achievements in each indicator. In addition to analyzing the happiness and wellbeing of the people, it also guides how policies may be designed to further create enabling conditions for the weaker scoring results of the survey. 1. Psychological wellbeing Life satisfaction / Positive emotions and negative emotions / Spirituality 2. Health Mental health / Self reported health status / Healthy days / Disability 3. Education Literacy / Schooling / Knowledge / Value 4. Time use Work / Sleep 5. Cultural diversity and resilience Speak native language / Cultural participation / Artistic skills / Driglam namzha 6. Good governance Government performance / Fundamental rights / Services / Political participation 7. Community vitality Donations (Time & Money) / Community relationship / Family / Safety 8. Ecological diversity and resilience Ecological issues / Responsibility towards environment / Wildlife damage ( rural) / Urbanization issues 9. Living standards Assets / Housing / Household per capita income 7 7
