We often fall into a dangerous trap: thinking life is split into two neat groups—those who struggle and those who don’t. Scroll through social media and it’s easy to believe some people are just lucky, living perfect, pain-free lives. But behind every smiling photo, there might be heartbreak, illness, loneliness, or quiet battles no one sees.
We forget something important: happiness isn’t a trait you’re born with. It’s a choice. And it’s not always an easy one.
The film Life is Beautiful shows this beautifully. Even in a concentration camp, a father chooses to protect his child with joy and imagination. He turns horror into a game—not because it’s easy, but because it’s the only way to survive with hope. It reminds us: happiness isn’t about what’s happening around us. It’s about how we respond to it.
Gandhi and Happniess:
Once, a young man came to Gandhi, frustrated by the injustice of the world. “Bapu,” he asked, “how can I be at peace when there is so much suffering all around me?”
Gandhi didn’t give a lecture. Instead, he smiled and said, “Happiness is not what the world gives you—it’s what you give to the world, despite what it takes from you.”
That spirit—of inner control, of choosing one’s response—was the core of both his politics and his philosophy. He fasted when others fought. He forgave when others sought revenge. He spun his charkha not just to clothe himself, but to quiet the noise of a turbulent world. Each act was a choice: a small, defiant step toward peace.
Buddha and Happiness:
Centuries before him, the Buddha walked a similar path. Born into a palace of luxury, he had everything—comfort, power, privilege. Yet he was restless. The turning point came when he stepped outside and saw, for the first time, an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and a wandering monk. In that moment, he understood: suffering is universal.
But the Buddha didn’t stop at suffering. He offered a path beyond it. The Eightfold Path isn’t a magic cure; it’s a way of being—right thought, right speech, right action. A way to meet pain not with resistance, but with awareness. With compassion. With stillness.
Both Gandhi and the Buddha showed us that joy doesn’t come when the world is finally free of sorrow. It comes when we stop waiting for perfection and choose presence instead. When we stop clinging to control, and start embracing truth. When we meet darkness, not with despair, but with a lamp—however small, however flickering.
This isn’t easy. It’s not neat or instant. But it is powerful.
Because the truth is: there are no truly “happy” people. Only people who practice happiness. Who choose it—bravely, imperfectly—again and again, even in chaos. Who learn to breathe deeply even when the world is on fire. Who, like Gandhi, spin their grief into gentle action. Who, like the Buddha, sit quietly beneath the tree of life until the storm passes.
We all carry suffering. But we also carry the ability to choose what we do with it. And in that choice—day after day—lies our quiet, extraordinary freedom.
There are no “happy people.” Only people who choose happiness, even for a moment, even in the middle of the storm. That choice is messy, imperfect, but it’s ours. And sometimes, that makes all the difference.
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Petrol in India is cheaper than in countries like Hong Kong, Germany and the UK but costlier than in China, Brazil, Japan, the US, Russia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, a Bank of Baroda Economics Research report showed.
Rising fuel prices in India have led to considerable debate on which government, state or central, should be lowering their taxes to keep prices under control.
The rise in fuel prices is mainly due to the global price of crude oil (raw material for making petrol and diesel) going up. Further, a stronger dollar has added to the cost of crude oil.
Amongst comparable countries (per capita wise), prices in India are higher than those in Vietnam, Kenya, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela. Countries that are major oil producers have much lower prices.
In the report, the Philippines has a comparable petrol price but has a per capita income higher than India by over 50 per cent.
Countries which have a lower per capita income like Kenya, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Venezuela have much lower prices of petrol and hence are impacted less than India.
“Therefore there is still a strong case for the government to consider lowering the taxes on fuel to protect the interest of the people,” the report argued.
India is the world’s third-biggest oil consuming and importing nation. It imports 85 per cent of its oil needs and so prices retail fuel at import parity rates.
With the global surge in energy prices, the cost of producing petrol, diesel and other petroleum products also went up for oil companies in India.
They raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs 10 a litre in just over a fortnight beginning March 22 but hit a pause button soon after as the move faced criticism and the opposition parties asked the government to cut taxes instead.
India imports most of its oil from a group of countries called the ‘OPEC +’ (i.e, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Russia, etc), which produces 40% of the world’s crude oil.
As they have the power to dictate fuel supply and prices, their decision of limiting the global supply reduces supply in India, thus raising prices
The government charges about 167% tax (excise) on petrol and 129% on diesel as compared to US (20%), UK (62%), Italy and Germany (65%).
The abominable excise duty is 2/3rd of the cost, and the base price, dealer commission and freight form the rest.
Here is an approximate break-up (in Rs):
a)Base Price | 39 |
b)Freight | 0.34 |
c) Price Charged to Dealers = (a+b) | 39.34 |
d) Excise Duty | 40.17 |
e) Dealer Commission | 4.68 |
f) VAT | 25.35 |
g) Retail Selling Price | 109.54 |
Looked closely, much of the cost of petrol and diesel is due to higher tax rate by govt, specifically excise duty.
So the question is why government is not reducing the prices ?
India, being a developing country, it does require gigantic amount of funding for its infrastructure projects as well as welfare schemes.
However, we as a society is yet to be tax-compliant. Many people evade the direct tax and that’s the reason why govt’s hands are tied. Govt. needs the money to fund various programs and at the same time it is not generating enough revenue from direct taxes.
That’s the reason why, govt is bumping up its revenue through higher indirect taxes such as GST or excise duty as in the case of petrol and diesel.
Direct taxes are progressive as it taxes according to an individuals’ income however indirect tax such as excise duty or GST are regressive in the sense that the poorest of the poor and richest of the rich have to pay the same amount.
Does not matter, if you are an auto-driver or owner of a Mercedes, end of the day both pay the same price for petrol/diesel-that’s why it is regressive in nature.
But unlike direct tax where tax evasion is rampant, indirect tax can not be evaded due to their very nature and as long as huge no of Indians keep evading direct taxes, indirect tax such as excise duty will be difficult for the govt to reduce, because it may reduce the revenue and hamper may programs of the govt.