"A Nation Can Only Prosper With Its People, Not Despite Them"

In a candid conversation with Rohit Chintapali on the sidelines of the second edition of Manotsava - National Mental Health Festival, author and famed philanthropist ROHINI NILEKANI reflects on India's development journey and shares why true progress depends as much on mental well-being as on economic growth. She urges founders and leaders to build a culture of respect, balance, and purposeful giving. Excerpts

- Rohit Chintapali

Every day we hear about India’s ambition to become a developed nation, with talk of multi-trillion-dollar growth targets and rapid progress across sectors. In that larger journey, where do you see mental health fitting in?

I believe that any nation can truly prosper only with its people, not despite them. It has to take its people along on that development journey, because ultimately, it’s for the people that we want to develop, not as some abstract idea.

That’s where the mental and physical health of the nation really comes into the picture. If you separate those needs from your idea of development, I think you can go down the wrong path very quickly.

If you look at countries like Finland or Sweden, some of the Scandinavian nations, they have very high per capita incomes, but their happiness quotient is also quite high. And when you travel there, you notice something interesting: while they are materially prosperous, their expression of that prosperity is quiet, not flashy. They are deeply connected to nature, to outdoor sports, to traditions. They look after their bodies and their minds. Maybe there’s something to learn from that. Our own history, culture and traditions already have those values built in. If we lose that in this race toward development, then I’d be afraid for our people.

Culturally, in India, we’re very work-oriented, most of us spend more time with our colleagues than even with our families. And when people are working such long, demanding hours, how do you personally approach maintaining mental well-being?