Anything bad can be said about any
State. MP has its bandits, Punjab
has its Khalistani elements, UP has
its mulayam spot. Every kurta has
its proverbial hole.
The point is, if you want to, you
can scoff at anything under the sun!
If people scoff at your connections
to Bihar, then you should take it as
if they are scoffing at you and not
at Bihar! If they respected you,
they would not do so.
In lieu of their rudeness, you can
ask them how they would feel if
someone from another country would
ask them, "Are you from a Country
where Roop Kanwar was burnt alive ?
Are you from a country where brides
were used as stove fuel in the
Capital City? Are you from a country
where millions of rupees are blown
up in the name of religious
festivities while people starve on
the streets?
It is true that Lalu has rubbed
excrement on the fate of Bihar, so
why should you have to take a smirk
for this?
Years ago a Bihari girl came to my
university in the U.S. When asked
which part of India she was from
(and this is the first thing most
Indians ask of each other), she
looked uncomfortable and answered
that she was from the Northeast.
When asked if she was from Assam,
she'd even look more uncomfortable
and answer, "No, a little west of
there."
The point is, we don't have to be
like that. We are what we are. Apart
from being good people ourselves and
impressing the need to be good on
other people from Bihar, we do not
have any other obligation to correct
the wrong that the ruffians are
doing to Bihar. If someone gives me
a spiel about "acting collectively"
and "starting a revolution", I would
ask him to save his breath. I have
seen these harebrained suggestions
since the time "The Indian Nation"
and "Aryavart" used to be printed on
yellow raglike paper using typeset
flat presses, thirty years ago. Many
Kishore Kunals, Randhir Varmas and
Satyendra Dubeys have come and gone,
but nothing has changed. Bihar has
festered for centuries. Don't dream
of fixing it in a decade. Our
problem is a problem of image. This
image (of which Laloo is a mascot)
has become our face and has become a
self-fulfilling prophecy for us. It
has brought us the fate that such an
image can bring to anyone - that of
misfortune and ridicule. - Rakesh
Chaubey - Oct. 11, 2005
If
one wants to improve the condition
of Bihar, one has to go there and
work. No idea is needed. Take the
example of Gandhi. He went to
Champaran to help the peasants. -
Satya Prasad - Oct. 11, 2005
I think for current situation of
Bihar there are many historical
reasons which can be talked about
but I have come to a very nice
conclusion and see if it helps you.
If somebody is hell bent on abusing
you irrespective of whether you are
from Bihar or Japan, he will find
reasons and anything which makes you
vulnerable will come handy. If I
have to humiliate a Japanese then I
will find this or that excuse to
humiliate him, but first requirement
is that I should have the desire to
humiliate a Japanese (Fortunately I
don’t have but if I had one you
would have said I have a criminal
mind). Similarly if I have to
flatter someone then I will find
some or other ground to do so. If
you have to show disrespect to
fellow human beings then trust me
here or there you will find the ways
and means to do so but you will have
to have the mentality of showing
disrespect to your fellow human
beings. “Kacchua ko marna hai to
palat ke maro.” However, you have to
remember that not all the times
these things are serious. For
example, there is this always love
and hate relationship between French
and English, Yanks and English,
Tamil and Telugu and so on. It is up
to someone, as to how much he is
offended by all this.
Do you believe that Bihar is Lalu
Yadav, if no, then trust me nobody
actually believes in this and if
somebody is taking advantage of
this, he is doing this just by his
nature or he is raring to have a go
with you. Bihar is too mighty to be
reduced to one individual.
Development and industrialization
are quite relative things, yes, Lalu
Yadav ignored it and definitely
people have started asking him tough
questions about his betrayal but
make no mistake, if someone is
determined to abuse you, he will
find your weak points, if not your
state then how about your caste or
color or your looks.
And just to conclude on happy note,
one of the Bihari friends' wife is
from Bombay and according to her, it
seems she fell in love with my
friend because she heard him talking
to someone in Bihari and she liked
the language so much that she
started considering his case. -
Raghu Yadav, London - Oct. 11, 2005
I have had similar experience on
several occasions. My job requires
constant customer interaction and
every time I come across Indians the
question is there “Where are you
from in India?” Not once have I
hesitated to say Bihar. Laloo Prasad
land!
My response has been “actually he
came much later. I am from Jai
Prakash Narayan’s and Rajendra
Babu’s Bihar. Are you familiar with
them? No offense taken. - Rupam
Prasad - Oct. 11, 2005
Thank you guys for your comments. My
article was about the first
impressions when you introduce
yourselves. Just because I am from
Bihar, I had to prove little bit
extra of myself to earn the respect
of peers and colleagues everywhere,
particularly in India. In US, things
have been little bit different.
Indians here are comparatively more
educated about most of the things
and so it was "almost" a level
playing field for everyone. Rakesh
put it very well when he said that
the problem is about the image and I
think we have to live with that. I
also agree with Satya that actions
speak louder than words and since I
was student in IIT Bombay, I have
been trying to contribute in some
NGOs whatever I could in a small
way. In IIT, I was involved with CRY
where my experience was soul
satisfying. But after coming here, I
tried to involve myself with an NGO
(I wont name because I want to avoid
useless arguments) whose focus was
Bihar. I happily contributed since I
joined work for more than a year and
last month I happened to visit Patna
on a vacation. Even though it was a
short vacation, I made it a point to
visit the NGO office in Patna, just
to see the "great work" which they
were supposedly doing and informing
me about almost on daily basis. Lo
and behold, the manager was very
reluctant to talk in detail and kind
of avoided me. Long story short, I
felt as if like most other things
that happen in Bihar, corruption was
eating away it too. I was
disappointed to the bottom of my
heart. I mean how can you do
something even if you want to do,
when there are such fake NGOs
looting money which are supposed to
be for such good purposes. Also
Satya, not everybody can try to do a
Gandhi by leaving everything just
like that when you have got your own
compulsions to feed your family.
Gandhi was a great man but I am just
one of the normal persons. Do you
mean to say that since I cannot do a
Gandhi, shall I stop doing whatever
I am sparing my two cents to make a
small difference if possible. Shall
I just shut up? - Ravindra Kumar
- Oct. 11, 2005
Bihar was badly governed earlier too
but the real degeneration has come
in the last almost two decades of
Laloo-Rabri raj. 20 years back the
word "Bihari" was not an abuse. The
reasons can be broadly listed as
follows:
-
The other states were not very
developed either and the stark
contrast of today did not exist.
-
Bihar was not at the bottom of
the list in terms of
development. There were states
of north-east which were lower
than Bihar.
-
The society of Bihar was not so
criminalised.
-
Politics was not the abode of
criminals then. At least they
did not hold political positions
of influence then.
-
Laloo, who was the product of
the JP movement and had raised
his voice so frequently against
corruption in the agitation
days, had now shown the world
how daringly and shamelessly
scams could be planned and
executed. Bihar in RJD rule
became a scam ridden state.
-
The world had not seen the
political maneuverings that
brought Rabri Devi to power
while the hubby went to jail.
-
Bihar had better "mascots" then.
The world did not have the
pleasure of watching the pranks
of Laloo or hear the speeches of
Rabri Devi.
-
The situation of Bihar was not
so bad and so many migrant
labourers had not migrated to
other states creating a negative
image of the state.
I have not drawn out a comprehensive
list. Readers can go on adding to
this list. While all other states
are rising higher and higher Bihar
continues to descend in an endless
nosedive. Naturally the contrast is
becoming greater by every passing
day.
What clearly comes out from the list
above is that RJD, under the
leadership of Laloo and Rabri, has
to take the blame for the
humiliation Bihar and Biharis are
subjected to. The question is whose
cross are we shouldering? Why should
we shoulder someone else's cross?
The people who brought shame to
Bihar and the literate, enlightened
few who supported them for their own
selfish interests have to take
responsibility and worry about the
entries being made under their name
in God's books. They are directly
responsible for the death of so many
either due to starvation or at the
hands of criminals. They will have
to reap the consequences before they
leave. There is no need for others
to feel guilty or small.
We Biharis are the best brains in
the world, let us proceed with life
using it for the good of mankind.
The only point is that we have to be
guided by our conscience. If we are
at peace with our own conscience we
can live peacefully and happily. We
are answerable only to God and it is
His voice which comes from within.
Keep this attitude and the people
who scoff at you for being a Bihari
will be left behind with an
inferiority complex, looking as if
they have swallowed a bumble bee.
One last suggestion to Ravindraji: a
lass, even with Cleopatra's beauty,
who is so indecent is far too
inferior for a person of your brains
and eloquence. I wish you all the
luck in finding the right partner
who is your intellectual match. -
Rajesh Chaubey - Oct. 11, 2005
There is a difference in attitudes
of people from different states.
In my lifetime of 23 years I have
been to West Bengal, Delhi, Haryana,
Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and
Kerala.
I will say that people of Karnataka
and Kerala are very mild and during
my span of stay over there, I don’t
remember anyone ridiculing me for
being a Bihari. They treat us as
their own. Only there is a language
difference, but the people are very
mild and good natured.
I was quite terrified while my visit
to Tamil Nadu, as I had heard about
their bad behaviour with North
Indians, but found them quite
helpful as well.
They are in general reserved in
nature, but I still remember the
incident when I forgot the address
of a place, and even though no one
understood what I asked, they tried
their best to help me.
People in Gujarat and West Bengal
are a bit sentimental and they
believe that Bihar is a dangerous
place. But if you talk to them for
some time they also talk with you as
you are one of their own.
Whole scenario changes when one
visits Delhi or Haryana. Biharis are
considered criminal over here. They
easily recognize us by our accent
and then their harsh behaviour
starts. They feel that we are in
some way inferior to them, and they
have a false superiority complex in
them. The visits to Delhi and
Haryana were indeed painful, and I
believe I won’t love to go back to
those places again.
The moral of the story is that the
discrimination of Biharis mostly
occurs in the north-western parts of
the country. - Avijeet Singh -
Oct. 11, 2005
This so called anti-Bihari feeling
is a motivated propaganda of BJP
supporters from Bihar, who have so
far proven intellectually bankrupt
in providing alternative to Lalu
Yadav. No body is having any feeling
against Biharis, even Atal not
Bihari, when visited Bihar said that
he is a Bihari. Don’t read too much
into this. It is BJP propaganda.
Read Rajesh Chaubey’s comment and
you will know why I am saying so.
See how actively he is adding fuel
to this, for many it may be
considered anti-India activity.
Don’t forget it was during BJP rule
when Biharis were butchered and
beaten. - Vipin Singh - Oct. 12,
2005
Vipin Singh Ji, thanks for your well
thought out comment. I thought I had
no political affiliations, however,
as per you, if calling a spade a
spade is BJP propaganda, then I
discover I am a BJP man. Ok. Let us
jog our brains a little. Here are a
few questions for you...
-
Please name the least developed
state of India.
-
Why are so many Biharis writing
of shame and humiliation they
are subjected to for being
Biharis?
-
Why are they writing about
others treating them badly on
finding out they are Biharis?
-
Would there be shame and
humiliation had Bihar developed
like the other fast developing
states of India?
-
Who has been ruling the state
for the past almost 20 years?
-
Has the situation improved or
worsened in this period?
-
Do
the people in power owe any
responsibility for Bihar's
misfortunes? Bihar is a part of
India. What is anti-Bihar is
anti-India too.
As everyone realizes, things have
not exactly been rosy for this
unfortunate state.
Vipin Singh Ji, PD is not a forum
for political maneuverings. Either
ways, I do not think it can
influence the opinion of the rural
masses that really count. At least
here we can speak the truth. I have
nothing to do with any political
party. Being a Bihari, I am just
another well wisher of the state. I
am not asking anyone to vote for
this party or that. All political
parties have their short-comings. I
would not risk advocating any party
to anyone. However, I would like it
if a development oriented party
comes to power and pulls Bihar out
of the quagmire. Which party that is
going to be remains the people's
choice. The people of Bihar have
reaped what they had sowed in the
past and will continue to do so in
future. People have to write their
destiny. If we pump up a lot of
adrenalin it is not going to change
anything. Our opinions are not going
to turn the tide and you know that.
So we can relax and share our views
honestly. - Rajesh Chaubey - Oct.
12, 2005
It is nice to see some
action-provoking 'Readers Write'
mail as a result of Mr. Ravindra
Kumar's write up.
Many thanks to Mr. Ravindra Kumar
and also to PatnaDaily.Com.
I would like to convey some of my
immediate thoughts after reading the
article. If I may, let me introduce
my self. As my name indicates I am
not a 'Bihari Bihari' ( I never
mentioned this before because I do
not believe in these 'narrow but
perceived useful by some'
classifications).
I was born in the Nalanda region of
Bihar and studied in Patna got
married to a Sikh lady (who is more
of a Maharashtrian than a Punjabi)
and we live in the UK. So I treat
myself as a typical Indian
{Multicultural, multi racial,
multi-religious (with special
attachment to my birth place)} on
one level and as a member of the 'Vasudhaive
Kutumbakam' on a global level.
I believe in the saying POWER BRINGS
RESPONSIBILITY' and hence
consciously feel 'guilty' of not
doing enough for the place I
originally belong to.
When one begins blaming it mostly
begins with the other person. I do
not believe it is just Bihar which
pushed Bihar backwards in the last
20 years. It is the whole Indian
politics we know which party has
been supporting the current
political power base in Bihar for
almost two decades. Also it is our
most revered caste system which has
a lot to do with the state we are in
in Bihar, was made not by the
under-privileged but by the
misinterpretation and misuse of the
Karm-based Varnashram system. We can
not deny the existence of power
sharing divisions in society in any
part of the world but what surprises
me is the continuation of an age old
ineffective system in once one of
the most educated states in India.
From Nalanda University to Patna
University Bihar has been the seat
of knowledge. How come then an old
power sharing system like caste
system survived?
I agree, Lalu ji is responsible for
the deterioration of law and order,
education and health systems in
Bihar. But what are we the other
Biharis doing in Bihar? As Ravindra
said it was Bihar that produced
Buddha Mahavir, Ashok, Chanakya,
Rajendra Prasad, JP, and I add
Karpoori Thakur and many others
also.
As I understand, writing in a
newspaper or a 'viewspaper' is
expression of feelings and ideas and
it usually results in opinion
formation and collective action. May
I suggest, though, we have done this
for almost 7 or 8 years through
PatnaDaily.Com. And now there seems
like a 'threshold-breaking' wish of
the reader-writers to begin some
practical action for change.
Like Ravindra Kumar, I have also
sent some money to one of my known
persons. He was initially not
willing to do it as he said doing
'charity' ( I hate this word but use
it as I cant find any better word
Perhaps Seva may be a better word).
He said charity means cheating and
people call you 'chor'. This is the
state of people who want to do
something good. He also told me
there would be a 'Rangdaar' coming
to take the money he had if people
knew the money was coming from NRIs.
I had to convince him by saying that
we cant wait until things get better
or if we had more money or Bihar is
too bad for doing any nice work. We
decided not to publicise the work we
were doing, Tangible goals were set
and one year down the line we have
not been able to do much in real
terms. One of the main reason was he
got engaged in a jog that demands
his time from 9 am to 9 pm. We are
trying to find alternatives.
I feel frustrated. Think of the
phrase learn from our mistakes. And
I decided to do something else.
Big helping organisations like
Hungersite.com, Oxfam, Christian
Aid, Make Poverty History to name a
few have business managers qualified
from top business schools. These
companies spend up to 17-22 percent
in the administration costs. Can we
then have some people who could be
paid for the work they put in for
our work of helping out from
complete altruistic domain? Our
suffering in Bihar is real, it needs
more than altruism. We have robust
intellectual resources that makes
our feelings helplessness even
worst.
I have talked to our professional
friends here and we are trying to
get out of the mould of free 'Eye
Camps' which needs major resources.
Small works like distributing
leaflets about common diseases their
prevention and primary management,
citizenship related leaflets
mentioning not only rights and
duties but also 'power and
responsibility' issues, mini school
fostering projects i.e. giving some
books, pencils copies to the schools
(there are chances of those things
going back to the shops but one has
to do something). Leaflets about
'successful projects' happening in
India, stories of athletes, boys and
girls, of India and abroad who
thrived in very poor surroundings,
distributing footballs, cricket
bats, (if we have insufficient money
we may hand it out by picking names
of children from a school from a
hat) etcetera. Also, as I am writing
now we may also get some volunteer
children to think about doing some
work for their less privileged
school mates.
I am sure readers would have many
more ideas. Problem is how does one
start them and maintains the
momentum?
May I suggest to our readers to
perhaps have a 'Virtual Team' of
like minded people to take this work
forward?
Deepawali and Eid Greetings to all
our readers.
I can be contacted atthis email address.
- Ajay Kapoor - Oct.12, 2005
Rajesh ji, I wouldn't waste my time
trying to argue with Mr. Vipin
Singh. He knows he is way off-base
but being a typical leftist
brainwashed protégé of a certain
party who scoffs at the word
'development' every time it is
mentioned, he will continue to
defend his leader in the name of
caste or religion. His party has
long been trying to suppress the
free voice of press by hiding behind
the shield of backwards and Muslims
and that's what he is trying to do
here at PatnaDaily.Com by attempting
to label you as anti-national.
People of Bihar know who is the real
anti-national whether Mr. Singh
admits it or not. Hasn't he ever
heard of a certain leader from Siwan
who has been hand in glove with
Pakistani terrorists and who is a
certified absconder now? Apparently
not. - Anil Kumar - Oct.12, 2005
Interesting comments!
I am a Bihari from Patna and I don’t
remember lying to someone as to who
I am and where I from am. That is
the lowest thing a person can do. My
wife is Italian and I have been in
American for the past 10 years. My
father in law (an ex-diplomat) has
traveled to India long before I met
my wife and really likes the place.
Varanasi being his favorite city. He
never made it to Bihar but with the
kind of knowledge and education he
has, I can bet he knows the
situation very well there. My wife
knows a lot about Bihar too and she
enjoyed her visit to Patna last
year. I have never felt threatened
because I am from Bihar. Yes, I have
met people (all Indians) who frown
upon the fact that I am from Bihar.
I try to educate them that there are
criminal elements present in the
govt. there and that it does not
represent what Bihar is or what
Biharis are about.
Our duty as Biharis is not to hide
behind other identities but rather
clarify our position as to who we
are and who we aspire to be. I have
friends working in Canada, Muscat,
Turkey and many places and they are
all from Patna. I am proud to be a
Patna'ite and I will mention it
every time I have the opportunity.
If people have created a formula
that Lalu Prasad = Bihar then we
should also remind them that Mulayam
= U.P. and many other illiterate
chief ministers and civil servants
who are running the country. This
sort of thing happens everywhere.
Does George Bush = USA = Bill Gates.
Obviously not. If this is how people
will start thinking then:
German = Nazis = Germans, Italy =
Fascists = Italians, Japan =
Aggressors = Japanese, Sikhs =
Murders of Indira Gandhi and on and
on. This is called marginal
thinking.
People need to be much open minded
to grasp the Bihari identity. It is
not the fault of Biharis when they
are looked down upon but rather the
people who put them down because
they have a very limited point of
view and idea of what Bihar is. Yes,
Bihar is in deep trouble but I don’t
know if finger pointing, blame game
and insulting fellow countrymen will
help anyone. However, Indians are
typical of putting down people from
other states and cities. Being
Bihari has become a curse, an abuse
these days but what we need is a
strong and honest leader, and I
believe in my heart that our best
days are still ahead of us. For the
time being, we need to be strong
psychologically to overcome the
Bihari abuse all over the country. -
Aamir, New York - Oct. 13, 2005
Reading this massive list of
comments on such well written
article I could not resist my
temptation of adding one to the
list. First things first, I live in
UK for past 3 years now and I have
never once felt uncomfortable in
introducing me as a Bihari. However,
I must admit that the reaction is
typical. Some say - "Oh! from the
most corrupt state", "Lalu's land",
"law-less state", "bottom of the pit
state". I tried initially defending
it but when I lost on explaining one
good feature of Bihar I gave up.
Patna is my home, my grandparents
home, how can I not like it?
What's the point? Like many of the
commentators above I studied in
Bihar and left. What progress did I
bring to Bihar? Nothing. I am glad
that people have accepted the fact
and they are not ashamed of being
"Bihari". But have any of you ever
thought what can be done for Bihar?
I did not want to start my lecture
here. I just feel a bit frustrated
with the situation and helplessness
from my part. I have tried and my
parents (grandparents) have as well.
My granddad runs two girls schools
in a remote village in Bihar. My Dad
works for a Charity hospital (all
days of the week).
On my part, I have donated books,
money and clothes to a lot of
schools in Bihar. I also once
planned a educational project on
Bihar with a NGO from London. One of
the contributors to the fund asked
me why would I choose Bihar and not
Delhi, Mumbai or Bangalore. I said
it really needs help from us. The
outcome, he was not willing to take
risk with the lawless state and the
project was cancelled. No, I haven't
given up. I am still trying.
My suggestions to everyone is that
next when you go to Bihar, please
think what you can do to help. I
know it is corrupt and no one would
like to put their effort when
nothing positive happens. I also
would not like to indulge into the
political blame game of this party
or that. Let me clarify before
people bombard PATNA DAILY with
mails: I DO NOT belong to any party.
But someone has to turn this table
around. Everyone know how much Lalu
+ Rabri has given to that state for
past 10 years. I do not know if any
party can bring us out from this or
not. At least, when you go for
voting don't repeat the same
mistake. - Lastly, do something. -
CD, London- Oct. 14, 2005
While I understand the sentiments of
Mr. CD of London and appreciate his
concerns, I don't think he realizes
to what extent our state has been
damaged by our leaders in the last
15-20 years.
Everyone wants to help his or her
state, particularly those who are
away from Bihar. CD is not alone. He
asks, "Have any of you ever thought
what can be done for Bihar? The
answer is YES! Most of us have done
something or at least tried to do
something for Bihar and in the end
gave up for a number of reasons that
are too complex to list here.
I have been reading such comments in
PatnaDaily.Com since the Readers
Write section was introduced a few
years ago by the good people of
PatnaDaily. These discussions have
cropped up several times and many
people have said that they tried to
do something (tying up with the NGOs
to help poor people in Bihar,
donating books, setting up schools,
helping one child at a time, etc.)
but then, in the end, had to quit
for one reason or another. Mr. CD is
not the only one who is trying, or
has tried, to make Bihar a better
place despite the nefarious ploys of
our leaders to keep Bihar backward
and uneducated so they could rule
them without being challenged or
questioned.
The harsh reality is that though
young men like CD have unbound
enthusiasm just like some of us did
15-20 years ago, this euphoric sense
of 'we must do something for our
state' doesn't last for too long. I
have seen it happening over and over
again. Once we were also burning
with desire to help our state in any
which way possible but soon we
realized that it takes two to tango.
We all know what Kennedy said about
"Ask not what the country can do for
you..." but this idealist mentality
doesn't quite work in today's Bihar.
The fact is, today's Bihar is not
'60s America when Mr. Kennedy made
that historical statement. With a
system like what we have in our once
great state, it is just a matter of
time before CD will also realize
what he is up against.
You can try all you can and have a
wishful thinking about your state
like the rest of us but as long as
criminals rule the state, you and I
cannot do anything for our
motherland. Sad? Yes. True? Also
yes.
Sorry if I sound too negative but
that is today's Bihar. Put a
government in state, and I don't
care what party is it, that truly
cares about Bihar and its overall
development and you will see
thousands of NRIs will be the first
ones to open up their wallets and
invest in our state. With a criminal
and corrupt government in place,
expecting that a handful of charity
work will do magic for the state, I
think it's simply too utopian.
I can see people saying, "That's a
wrong attitude; you can't give up on
Bihar like this," etc. etc. but we
can't run away from harsh realities.
We all have families to support,
jobs to do, and no one wants to end
up like Satyendra Dubey.
To answer the question of this
debate "What went wrong with
Bihar?", one can blame the pre-Lalu
government all they want but the
fact is, it was Mr. Laloo Yadav who
occupied power for almost 20 years
in Bihar and under his regime
criminals were emboldened and not
the poor and backwards that he
claims to have given voice to. Laloo
Yadav made crime legitimate in the
name of social justice; he
single-handedly turned Bihar into a
fodder (no pun intended) of jokes
and ridicule putting rest of us
Biharis in an eternal state of
shame. No ifs, buts, or ands about
it. - Aninda Bose, an NRI and a
native of Patna, - Oct. 14, 2005
We all agree here that Bihar is sick
and needs medication. But we also
see a common thread among all the
people who have commented here. We
are fairly educated; I see a
professor, an IIT graduate,
professionals and myself having 2
masters degrees, from Mumbai and
USA.
The question is, being a democracy,
why do we elect people who harm the
state (I am talking across party
lines; Bihar has had the misfortune
of having useless leaders more than
2 decades)? Elections in Bihar have
seldom been totally fair but it is
still not possible to come to power
without mass support. That is where
the schism lies. We have a section
that understands economic indicators
and human development index to make
an informed decision. Sadly, there’s
another section (a large one) that
is totally oblivious to these
parameters. They are more like frogs
in a well that have no outside
perspective. So it boils down to
electing leaders based on caste
lines.
Ultimately, the reason is very basic
: Education. Most politicians sing
paeans about necessity of education
but make sure that the masses remain
ignorant because their survival is
based on the voters’ ignorance.
A very learned professor of Patna
University once told me, “I am
hopeful about Bihar because it has
reached its nadir and the only way
to go is up”. That was 6 years ago.
Sadly, he was wrong. Perhaps, that
was not the nadir. Maybe there’s a
level even lower. Civil strife,
maybe? Will the tag “Wild West of
the East” become a self fulfilling
prophecy? - Prasoon Sinha, USA -
Oct. 14, 2005
It was interesting to read the
original article and reactions of
many respondents. Ravindra Kumar was
lamenting that he couldn't get any
further with the girl because of his
dark past. Seems as if there are two
main categories of people in this
thread:
Those afraid to reveal their birth
places because of negative
associations, and those
in-your-face-Patna,
so-what-are-you-going-to-do-about-it
types. These are reactions to
external factor, parochial,
indicators of insecurities.
When did Gandhi feel compelled to
admit to his origins?
But this behavior is not typical to
us Biharis alone. All ethnic groups
feel that way. I know Marathis who
are apologetic about who they are,
and there are Bengalis, Tamilians,
Gujaratis, and hundreds of ethnic
groups all over the world
uncomfortably conscious of their
roots. Who we are is not a parameter
of where we are from, but many
factors. The further we are from
letting a place define us, the
further along we are in personal
growth and journeys. Of course, that
applies to our body types, color,
gender, and age as well. We must not
let any of these define us.
So, Ravindra Kumar, if your
encounter with the girl was less
than perfect, take heart! I am sure
someone will come along soon who
will see more than Patna in you, and
let you sweep her off her dainty
feet. - Suresh Mishra, New York -
Oct. 15, 2005
One of the main reasons for
politicians to come to power is the
criminal elements involved. I am
young born in 78 but I believe that
things were not as bad as they are
now. Most criminals or muscle men
run for political offices in Bihar
because they have the ability to
loot booths and make sure that their
victory is guaranteed. To top that,
there are lower class Muslims,
Dalits, Kumhars, and Yadavs and many
more who think that Laloo Yadav is
the new messiah who will help them
get somewhere.
I strongly believe that Laloo Prasad
has put more gundas in politics in
RJD party than Congress and CPI
combined in the past 20 years I
remember. Not only did he bring
these gundas to politics but these
people are low class and illiterate
who have no connection with common
person on the streets of Bihar. In
the meantime, most Yadavs were
dancing in the streets because their
man (Laloo) was in the CM’s chair.
Bihar indeed is a bizarre place
where people have simply declined to
wake up and take actions. We have
become corrupt and we encourage
corruption. In fact, we make excuses
(lenge nahin do denge kaise) to give
and take bribes. Whether by mistake
or on purpose, we pass on these
corrupt practices to our children
who also learn to embrace and live
in this culture. How can we ask our
leaders to do what most of Biharis
are not doing? Refuse to pay any
bribe, report incident to police,
approach news media for exposé and
make sure your kids don’t lose the
sight of hard work and justice. I
actually met an Indian woman in the
United States who was proud of her
husband’s political ties and so on.
She knew it damn well that her
husband was taking bribes and that
was the only reason that she was
living a comfortable life in India.
Her husband came to America to find
a better way of living and was
working very hard to get by on a
daily basis. This woman did not
appreciate it and she demanded he
take her back to India and come back
with her. Her husband told me
privately that I will have to do all
illegal things in India to get by on
daily basis. In America, I have an
honest chance at life but my wife
wants it the other way. The point:
we as Indians have become so corrupt
that we are willing to sacrifice
every value that we read about in
books. We are hypocrites who hold
other people to higher moral
standards but have different sets of
standards for our children and
ourselves.
The situation of Bihar is miserable
and will remain miserable until a
visionary leader is elected. That
leader must first put law and order
in the state because without it, no
one will invest a dime in Bihar and
I am talking about the Indian
companies let alone foreign
investments. Putting law and order I
believe, will be the biggest
challenge because last time I
checked no Cm will do it since they
have gunda ties themselves and
that’s how they came to power.
In this world of technology and
globalization, Rabri and Lalu are
laughing stocks of not only the
country but also the generations
that reside outside India. To
analyze the effects of
globalization, Bihar needs a good
leader with solid political and
economic education and I can assure
you that the answer is not Laloo
Prasad or anyone in my sight on the
Bihar political scene. These people
don’t even know where the world has
already reached. One does not needs
to go too far. You can travel to
Middle East or Singapore and you
will see that people are using
things that are not even available
in India. Strong leadership is badly
needed in Bihar and without it; I
highly discourage investing any
money in the state. That will be
lethal and Bihar will go under more
and more debt since the money will
never channel to the intended cause.
I am sure many of you have witnessed
this numerous times and will
partially agree with me. - Aamir,
New York (Patna) - Oct. 15, 2005 |
