People are born averse to taking responsibility. We tend to avoid responsibility and blame others. We forgot that society is a collection of people sharing and caring for each other. A society can be as good as its citizens. Our shallow greed after materialistic success deprived us of the pleasures and virtues of a responsible human being. We live in a society where being human is very rare for human beings. The only yardstick to our success is material gain. The World Happiness Index Report 2023 ranked India in 126 positions out of 150 countries. If materialistic success is more important, why aren’t we happy? Galloping G.D.P. data and pioneering the list of the richest people in the world, defying ground reality, Hadn’t it been good enough if, in countries like Bhutan, we would have chosen G.D.H. (gross domestic happiness) instead of G.D.P. (gross domestic product)?

Statistics show that every individual out of five suffers from some or another mental health concern. 50% of mental health conditions start developing at the tender age of 14, and by the age of 24, they reach 75%. The situation becomes worse if we include the data from the National Crime Record Bureau, which states a 24.4% hike in cybercrime despite a downfall in IPC crimes of 2.8% and SLL (Special and Local Laws) cases of 7% during the year 2022 alone. Surprisingly, there has been a rise in the crime rate among juveniles, from 6.7% to 7% in 2021. The result is indeed very shocking and a befitting reply to the argument that blames government and employment for the biggest reason for social downfall.

The reason is simple yet hard to accept: we are losing what is seen as a sensible society. We primarily lack compassion and empathy for others and adequate ethical and moral support and encouragement. We cannot blame others for our own faults.