{"id":122972,"date":"2022-08-04T14:52:56","date_gmt":"2022-08-04T09:22:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=122972"},"modified":"2022-08-04T14:52:56","modified_gmt":"2022-08-04T09:22:56","slug":"fact-check-did-amartya-sen-claim-that-sri-lanka-is-ahead-of-india-in-terms-of-global-indices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/fact-check-did-amartya-sen-claim-that-sri-lanka-is-ahead-of-india-in-terms-of-global-indices\/","title":{"rendered":"Fact-Check: Did Amartya Sen claim that Sri Lanka is ahead of India in terms of global indices?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the backdrop of the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka, several social media users have shared an image of Nobel laureate Dr Amartya Sen along with the following statements: “Sri Lanka is ahead of India in Happiness Index, Sri Lanka is doing far better than India in Hunger Index, Sri Lanka has done better than India in GDP Index too.” Due to the nature of the graphic, viewers can misinterpret these statements as quotes by Sen.<\/p>\n

Alt News has received multiple requests on our WhatsApp helpline (76000 11160) to verify the authenticity of this claim.<\/p>\n

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It must be noted that the timeline of the alleged statements is not clear. Several users claim that Dr Sen’s statements date back to one year (1<\/a>, 2<\/a>), while several others claim two years (1<\/a>,2<\/a>,3,<\/a>4<\/a>). Twitter user @AreyBangdu shared a graphic in question and claimed that these statements were made two years ago.<\/p>\n

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A screenshot of @AreyBangdu’s tweet has been widely shared on social media. Facebook page Kashmiri Pundit<\/a> posted the screenshot and garnered over 1000 likes and 345 shares. Another page called Pradhanmantri Meme Yojana<\/a> posted this screenshot and garnered 1500 likes and almost 300 shares.<\/p>\n

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Some tweets have also cited Dr Sen’s 2013 book ‘An <\/span>Uncertain<\/span> Glory: India and its Contradictions’ which he had co-authored with welfare economist Dr Jean Dr\u00e8ze. (Archived link<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

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@NobelPeaceOslo<\/a> @NobelPrize<\/a>
\nIn 2013, Dr.Amartya Sen said:
\nSri Lanka is ahead of India in Happiness index, doing far better in Hunger Index & has done better in GDP index too.
\n*Ref*: An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions (2013).
\nMay be considered for a 2nd Nobel Prize.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Sanjeev Goel (@sanjeevg30) July 14, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The earliest tweet claiming this information is dated July 11, 2022.<\/p>\n

\n

“Sri Lanka is ahead of India in Happiness index<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka is doing far better than India in Hunger Index<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka has done better than India in GDP index too”<\/p>\n

Economist Amartya Sen & Koushik Basu. \ud83d\ude04\ud83d\ude04 https:\/\/t.co\/nR6HVSlivp<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Bangladeshi Hindu : \u092c\u093e\u0902\u0917\u094d\u0932\u093e\u0926\u0947\u0936\u0940 \u0939\u093f\u0928\u094d\u0926\u0942 : \u09b9\u09bf\u09a8\u09cd\u09a6\u09c1 (@bdHinduUpdates) July 10, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Sri Lankan Economic Crisis<\/h4>\n

According to a BBC report<\/a>, many experts blamed the current crisis on former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his failed attempt at providing for the domestic markets. At the end of its civil war in 2009, Sri Lanka imported more and exported less, which led to an increase in import bills while the exports remained low. Consequently, Sri Lanka ran out of foreign currency. Mr Rajapaksa was also criticized for introducing tax cuts, which led to a massive decline in government revenue.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the government blames major events like the 2019 bombings and the COVID-19 pandemic for the decline in tourism trade- one of Sri Lanka’s biggest foreign earners.<\/p>\n

Rajapaksa fled the country on July 13 as his presidency was met with huge protests. Ranil Wickremesinghe<\/a> has been sworn in as acting president.<\/p>\n

Analyzing the indices mentioned in the viral claim<\/h4>\n

An index<\/a> is a sign or a measure that something else can be judged by. The viral claims involve three indices, namely – the Happiness Index, the Hunger Index, and the GDP Index.<\/p>\n

The happiness index or the World Happiness Index<\/strong> is based on The World Happiness Report<\/a> which is a publication of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Nations are ranked according to happiness which is also correlated with various life factors. According to the World Happiness Reports, India ranked higher than Sri Lanka in 2013 and 2015, while Sri Lanka took the lead in the subsequent years of 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.<\/p>\n

The official index related to hunger is the Global Hunger Index<\/strong><\/a> which tracks hunger globally, nationally and regionally. It is prepared by European NGOs of Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe. India has ranked lower than Sri Lanka over nine consecutive years from 2013 to 2021.<\/p>\n

The first two indices mentioned in the viral claims turn out to be true. Both World Happiness Index and Global Hunger Index have put Sri Lanka ahead of India for many years, including the latest reports (2021).<\/p>\n

As for the GDP Index, there are various ways of comparing the GDPs<\/a> of two countries and Alt News could not ascertain which index had been used in the claim. We reached out to welfare economist, Dr Jean Dr\u00e8ze for a clarification, wherein he said, “<\/span>This is a red herring. I don’t even know what the term GDP Index intends to refer to in these alleged statements. What matters is GDP or GDP per capita, depending on the context.” It must be noted that neither GDP nor GDP per capita is clearly mentioned in the viral claims.<\/p>\n

Fact-check<\/h4>\n

We did a Google keyword search but could not find a single credible report on Dr Sen’s alleged comparative statements on Sri Lanka and India’s rank in terms of the World Happiness Index, Global Hunger Index, or the GDP Index.<\/p>\n