‘No one’s itching to return…’: Wealth advisor asks if India is progressing, why aren’t Indians moving back?

Millions of Indians have built successful lives abroad, yet few express a desire to return. The sentiment is not just anecdotal — Himanshu Pandya, a wealth advisor, sees this pattern repeatedly.

“Despite the patriotic sentiment of movies like Swades, I have yet to meet an Indian settled abroad itching to return. My clients, friends, and classmates in Dubai, Vietnam, Singapore, or Canada rarely, if ever, consider moving back,” he wrote on LinkedIn. The reasons, he suggests, go beyond financial success—they stem from deeper concerns about security, stability, and quality of life.

His perspective aligns with broader trends in the World Happiness Report 2024, released on March 20, which highlights the link between financial security and life satisfaction. The happiest nations are not necessarily the richest, but they do have one thing in common: a government that systematically removes four fundamental anxieties, which Pandya identifies as—

• Old age security
• Children’s education
• Employment stability
• Healthcare access

Nordic countries, despite their high taxes and long winters, consistently top the Happiness Index. Their citizens willingly pay over 50% in taxes because it guarantees them a safety net, not just survival. India, meanwhile, ranks 118th—below even war-torn Israel and Ukraine.

Economic growth is often seen as the benchmark for progress, but Viksit Bharat (Developed India) means little without Prasanna Bharat (Happy India). As Pandya argues, “Development without happiness is hollow. Perhaps the real metric of progress should be: How well does the state protect its people from these four anxieties?”

India and China, despite their economic rise, both sit below the global trendline in GDP vs. happiness. Mexico and Brazil, with lower GDPs, score higher in happiness—suggesting that growth alone is not enough. Social security, trust in governance, and personal freedoms matter just as much, if not more.