Polling in Bihar.

One of beauties of democracy is that pretty often the voiceless section determines the one who ought to get the mandate.

This was best seen when Peoples Pulse toured Bihar to assess the situation for the 2015 Assembly elections. It is clear that the battle lines were fully drawn based on caste. The upper castes like the Brahmins, Bhumihars and Rajputs along with Banias, Kushwas, Paswans, and Mushahars have predominantly decided to back the NDA - BJP, LJP, RLSP and ex-Chief Minister Mr. Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha.

An Owaisi poster in Kishanganj.

The identitarian turn in Hindi Heartland (Uttar Pradesh and Bihar) since late 1980s led to the electoral viability of caste and community-centered political parties at the expanse of catch-all and class-based parties like Congress and Left wherein the parties like Bahujan Samajwadi Party and Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh and Janata Dal/Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar catered primarily to the interests of their respective core constituencies, namely, numerically dominant castes among OBCs and Dalits like Yadavs and Jatav-Chamars.

A caste-based rally by the RJD in Bihar.

In the popular parlance, both Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi, the leading faces of Mahagathbandhan and NDA in Bihar election, are known to pursue development centric electoral campaigns quite successfully by making identity issues subservient to developmental agenda.

Road condition between Bhagalpur and Banka.

As an NRI, I visited Bihar and travelled by the road to different places in Bihar. The worst road condition was when I travelled from Bhagalpur to Banka (distance of 46 km) by road. The road was full of big potholes and there we came across over 1200 potholes for the entire trip distance of 46 km.

IPS officer Kumar Ashish.

जब हम बचपन से स्कूल की दलीज़ पर कदम रखते हैं और फिर धीरे-धीरे पढ़ाई के साथ-साथ हमारे अन्दर सोचने और समझने की प्रवृति परवान चढ़ने लगती है, तभी से हमारे अन्दर अच्छे और बुरे को परखने का ज्ञान विकसित होने लगता है और तब हम आसपास के वातावरण से प्रभावित होना शुरू होते हैं.

IPS officer's killers released by court.

June 6th 2006, my father (Late Anil Kumar Singh, IPS R), laid down his life protecting fellow passengers on board Patna Kurla Superfast Express.

Muslims praying outside High Court Mazaar in Patna.

Religion and caste are major determinants of social and political organization in India today. In India 81 percent of the population is Hindu but India is also the home of more than 138 million Muslims which is one of the world’s largest Muslim populations. Muslims are 13.4 percent of India population.

Women entrepreneurs of India

India has seen the rise of great entrepreneurs namely Dhirbubhai Ambani, Ratan Tata - likes of which have never been seen before. The country also has established itself as a prominent IT outsourcing destination. Amongst this huge growth prospect, mostly male-dominated, the women of the nation are also slowly building their name in the world of business. To support their effort, we've gathered some of the most successful women entrepreneurs who proved that nothing is impossible, as long as you're determined to reach your goals.

Priya's Shakti - a comic book by Ram Devineni to spread awareness about sexual violence against women in India.

The incident of gruesome gang rape of 2012 in New Delhi, which rocked the whole world, has fresh memories into the minds of people all over. The incident with the victim, Nirbhaya, has raised concerns over the safety of women and at the same time threw light on the security of women on the streets.

Election in Bihar

Bihar goes to polls in October this year as its assembly term ends. All parties are gearing up themselves to win this election as it is likely to cast a shadow on the ensuing assembly elections in Punjab, West Bengal, and more importantly in Uttar Pradesh.

A legacy forgotten is history lost! I am putting forward a veritable issue that is directly linked with the glorious legacy of freedom movement in Bihar and has been neglected by the government. Considering the befitting merit of the issue, I am quite optimistic that it will catch people's attention equally and is heard and taken notice of in the corridors of power of the regime of the day in Bihar!

ISIS has released a video of a woman being stoned to death. To quote the news article: "She is seen begging for forgiveness from her father, but he refuses at first. A jihadi then persuades him to forgive her so her soul can ascend to heaven. The man leads his daughter to a hole dug in the ground, then gathers stones, which are then used by the IS members to pelt the woman with until she dies."