Dear Mr. (Nitish) Kumar,

I was brought up in Jamshedpur but have stayed abroad the last 25 years. One of my fondest memories was going to Patna in the sixties and being awed by the beautiful buildings, the wide boulevards and smart people on the streets. Patna then looked much more developed than Delhi! When I went to study in Delhi University we were surrounded by brilliant students & inspiring lecturers-all from Bihar. Politics at the centre was influenced largely by Bihari politicians. The IAS, IFS & other civil services were filled with Biharis, who had established a name for efficient administration. Going much further back in history, Bihar was the seat of learning and original thought. Pataliputra & Nalanda emphasized this aspect. With caste politics, corruption , greed and patronage to criminal elements Bihar started deteriorating gradually till it hit the pits during your predecessor's regime.

You now have the opportunity to rewrite history and restore some of Bihar's lost glory! You must look at everything objectively and pragmatically. Isms should not cloud your judgment ! Sometimes people living outside can get a clearer view about what needs to be done n a particular state in India as opposed to people living in the state and being rendered insensitive and immune over time to the existing problems. With this in mind the following suggestions are made for better governance and to attract investment.

a) Bring in honest ,tough and efficient bureaucrats, police and judiciary with sweeping powers to control crime and corruption.

b) Give them total freedom to act without fear or favour.

c) Your ministers and party politicians should be told clearly not to interfere with the administration of law and order.

d) If any of them are involved then they should be eased out from the responsibilities given to them.

e) Have a macro look at Bihar and its development. Forget about majorities, minorities, Brahmins, Bhumiars, Rajputs, SCs, STs etc. Think of developing the whole state so that benefits reach everyone. Unless micro level development takes place, pockets of excellence will not bring benefits.

f) Education, jobs, sanitation, cheap housing, health facilities, family planning should take priorities.

g) Basic infrastructure like roads, electricity, hospitals, educational facilities should be provided.

h) Tourism to historical sites should be encouraged. Cleanliness and sanitation is very for overseas tourists and investors. They get put off by filth as they are health conscious. Therefore neatness, cleanliness, traveling and living facilities in these places need to be upgraded. Smart, enthusiastic, articulate officials with knowledge of history and culture of Bihar should be employed in the Tourism industry. The first point of contact of a tourist with an official determines the desire to tour a place or not. This industry has potential to earn Bihar millions of dollars if traveling around in comfort and cleanliness is ensured.

i) Everybody considers Ganga a sacred river, yet we mistreat her by expelling filth, chemicals and carcasses into her body every minute. You will do Bihar proud if you can prevent this spillage by putting up recycling & waste treatment plants and banning industries from discharging the effluents into the river. The sanctity of the river has to be maintained as it provides life giving water and nourishments to millions of people in its journey from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. Shouldn't we look after such a precious resource?

j) Transparency in governance is essential and computerization of all the records is the first step. Wide spread computer use will lift education, empower people and bring about transparency. A trust in the Government will be built up this way. Underhand dealings will be curbed.

k) Agrarian reforms in Bihar should take in building grain silos and food processing industries. A lot of food rots or is wasted due to lack of storage. If kept in a proper place or processed immediately the shelf life is increased.

There are hundreds of other things one can think of like requesting NRIs to adopt far flung villages and finance establishment of roads, schools, housing, drinking water, health centres, sanitation facilities, electricity generators etc. This can be done with the help of local administrators and panchayats. The Government can also become a partner in the development by investing some of its developmental funds.

If your Government can bring about a sense of optimism in the repressed people of Bihar, it will set into motion a new mind set!

Good Luck! - Dilip Mahanty, Sydney, Australia - Jan. 9, 2006

Indra ji , thank you for the letter to Nitish ji. Dilip ji, I knew Patna was better before than now but the information about Patna/Delhi in the Sixties is really amazing. It is so hard to believe by seeing what Patna is today.

Bihar was destroyed by greed and fighting by Biharis and now all Biharis should do 'Prayashchit' by doing something good for Bihar.

Thanks again for your initiatives.- Kaushal Das - Jan. 11, 2006

Under the present conditions, I don’t think anyone is going to come and invest their hard-earned money. If Mr. Nitish Kumar and his ministry are really interested to show some progress in Bihar, then he must do some homework first.

Let’s control Crime, give honest police officers a free hand to catch criminals --- including ministers. Justice should be forthcoming and not take 5-10 years to deliver a decision. Appeals ought to be based solely on MERIT. Make the roads good. Illegal construction should be demolished, and there should be a minimum of political and judicial intervention in these matters. Public land is for the public --- not any special interest that deems it their right to take what is not theirs!

Provide and upgrade the physical plants and delivery systems for a constant power supply --- not only in bigger cities but, also, in rural areas. Telephone and Internet with High speed connections should be reliable and widely available. This will require repairs, upgrades and new construction. Even dial-up access requires a solid, wired network of telephony.

The Post Office should be held to a higher standard of accountability. The mail needs to go where it is intended - not become lost or misdirected, or stolen. I have sent many pieces of mail that were never delivered. Parcels have disappeared. Important documents have been delivered to another person with a similar name. My family is not new in town. There is no excuse for this kind of blatant disregard.

Banks should be open until 5 p.m.. Opening to the public at 11 a.m. and closing shop for the day at 2 p.m. is counterproductive, and frankly, backwards. Every job in a bank does not require a separate employee. Remove the army of employees who seem to only know how to take a piece of paper and run with it to get it checked out and approved, leaving customers in line, frustrated and fuming. If the problem is that banks do not trust their employees to be able to spot blatant cheats, train them better.

Police should be properly trained and held accountable for their actions. Higher standards for police would reasonably assure the people that arrests and detainments have factual foundations and are not merely abuses of power at the behest of higher-ups or politicos. Power brings responsibility, responsibility brings accountability, and accountability brings
respect and trust.

Make these changes and we will not have to beg for any investment. Money will start pouring into our state. Today, while reading Bihar Times, I saw a cartoon where Dr. Manmohan Singh is saying to Nitish, “We are making these people in queue, please tackle him.” While Mr. Sushil Modi is saying, “Please come to us. We will give you full freedom, whatever you want to do in Bihar.” I am not making any comment about Mr. Nitish or anyone in particular, just sharing a cartoon with you. No one will come unless they feel their personal safety is assured, and their investments are protected. - S. M. Khurshid Anwar, New York, USA - Jan. 11, 2006

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