'Benefits of demographic dividend possible only if health of people is ensured'

NEW DELHI: Social well-being is facing challenges as people move from their native places to urban centres and other places in search of work. Cut-off from their roots, they feel lonely and insecure which impacts their health adversely.

In addition, nuclear families and sub-nuclear families have become more prominent with even single parenting emerging on the scene, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said while virtually addressing the National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS) on its 63rd Foundation Day here on Friday.

The minister highlighted the significance of social well-being, which he viewed as a dimension of health besides physical and mental health.

Singh added that such developments, if left unchecked, may endanger the institution of marriage and single person households may become common.

"It may appear to be a matter of freedom of choice, but in reality it is a big social crisis pushing human beings towards loneliness which need to be avoided. Many medical studies indicate that loneliness is the root cause of physical, mental and psychological problems of a person. We need to introspect whether we are destroying our social well-being in the name of so called modernity," he said.

Singh also stressed on the need for comprehensive health, including physical, mental and spiritual domains, to fully realise the benefits of demographic dividend. He said the country's strong and youthful human resources must be nurtured properly to leverage their strength in making the country stronger and self-reliant.

Highlighting health as a key element in the development of any nation, Singh said that overall development of the country is possible only if its citizens are healthy. Healthier people will be able to work for the progress of the country in a better manner and that is why the health sector is key for the country. It is for this reason that doctors and medical practitioners are respected and revered.

Quoting Swami Vivekanand, the Defence Minister said, "Guru should be like a doctor who can understand his disciple and his nature and can impart knowledge whcih is most appropriate for him."

Singh also elaborated on the importance of the broader aspects of health which goes beyond having no illness and is linked to the vision of 'Healthy India, Strong India'.

He said, "According to the World Health Organization (WHO), good health encompasses complete physical, mental and social well-being of a person. That is, health does not just mean that you do not have any disease, health is a much wider concept. It includes healthy lifestyle, physical fitness, mental health, and social well-being."

Elaborating upon spiritual health, he said, "Today, it is necessary for a human being to be spiritually healthy. When I am talking about spirituality, I do not mean any kind of religious rituals. By spirituality, I mean that state of human mind when it starts experiencing oneness with the whole creation and connects itself with the whole world."