Film on anti-migrant violence banned

A Western Indian state has banned a movie on hardships faced by migrants in Mumbai for fears it could stoke fresh attacks on immigrants in a city often racked by violent regional rivalry.

The film, Deshdrohi (Traitor), revolves around the often violent confrontation between immigrants and Mumbai locals, who resent being overrun by job-seekers from poor northern and eastern states for whom the city holds hope of a better life.

“Some of the scenes in the film are such that they can provoke a law-and-order situation, so the police recommended 60-day ban,” said a police spokesman in Mumbai, capital of Maharashtra state and India’s financial capital. “The state has agreed with our view.”

The low-budget film is a departure from the typical Bollywood fare of racy thrillers and lavish musicals.

The Mumbai police watched a special screening after promotional ads sparked concerns that it might incite a fresh wave of violence in the city, which last month saw some of the worst anti-immigrant attacks.

Job-seekers from the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, among the poorest in the country, were attacked by supporters of the right-wing Maharashtra Navnirman Sena party, whose leader was then arrested.

Protests against the arrest flared through the state and sparked tit-for-tat attacks and protests in eastern Bihar state, where about 100 people were injured and a boy was killed.

Local Marathis make up less than half of Mumbai’s population of more than 17 million people, and rising anti-immigrant rhetoric is seen as a sign of the strain of lopsided economic development.

The producer and lead actor of Deshdrohi, Kamaal Khan, who has been criticised for seeking to cash in on the controversy, earlier complied with a directive from India’s censorship board to remove the word “Marathi” from some parts of the film’s dialogue.

Can you and India live without Bihar?

Why doesn't Raj Thackeray campaign to stop and deny supply of precious raw materials and minerals like coal, iron, steel, bauxite and uranium, among others from Bihar or its previous part Jharkhand to Maharashtra?.

IF PEOPLE like Raj Thackeray and Jaydeep think that they are prosperous and the so-called ’outsiders’ are benefiting from Maharashta’s prosperity, let me tell them that that prosperity has also come from investment and work done by outsiders. Not just Gujarati, Punjabi and South Indian industrialists have invested in Mumbai and around, but many kings of Bihar have also had many undertakings and moreover industrialists from Bihar like Tatas and Birlas have created lakhs of job opportunities in Maharashtra. People from other states go to Mumbai thus and not to the hinterland of Maharashtra. If rural Maharashtrians migrate to Mumbai to seek jobs in industrial set-ups of outsiders, people from other states also have the right to work in Mumbai.

Mumbai has been continuously receiving the Centre’s attention. So it has turned into a financial city of India.
If today Raj Thackeray and supporters of his hatred and hate-policies want that not a single person from other states should settle in Maharashtra and get a job there, they must also stop getting privileges from the Centre. Why does not Raj Thackeray campaign to stop and deny supply of precious raw materials and minerals like coal, iron, steel, bauxite, uranium, among others from Bihar or its previous part Jharkhand to Maharashtra? The so-called prosperity of Maharashtra and Mumbai will plunge or stumble if supply of coal and steel is cut off from Bihar and India will shatter if 70 per cent of electricity-generation is affected by non-availability of coal from Bihar, Jharkhand and other states which are being despised. No doubt the whole of Maharashtra and the entire country will see a dark era ahead if they do not want Biahris in this country as was sought by Bal Thackeray once. The message is not just to everyone of this country but to cowards like Raj Thackeray and Bal Thackeray.

PLIGHT OF BIHAR AND BIHARIS - by AGAST ANAND

All the pictures splashed across all the newspapers and television channels of Biharis getting bashed up ruthlessly has become a common feature and no longer evoke a shock or a feeling of disbelief. Yes, it raises a lot of questions. And all the questions coagulate
towards a single question and that is "WHY BIHAR"? (Including Jharkhand)

In the 1950s, Sir Paul Appleby visited India. He was an expert in public administration and came to India on an invitation by Pandit Nehru. He went on record to say, "Bihar is the best administered state in India and in the time to come it will become an example for
other states". Alas! Bihar lost out midway. It is high time to give it a thought and evaluate, why and where did we lose our way?

We gave the first president to India and that doomed us. Since then, we started considering ourselves as "INDIANS" and not "BIHARIS" or "JHARKHANDIS". But the "REST OF INDIA" did not think the same way. For them, we were and continue to be only Biharis, very different from the rest of Indians.

Out if the feeling of the same "INDIANNESS", we gave for free our rich mineral wealth to the rest of India so that their industries can run. It was like giving our family gold or milk-giving cow to them because we thought that they were our brothers. They took all
the minerals and despised us… hated us more and more as the time passed.

Had we sold these minerals directly to European countries or China, we would have been richer than Kuwait or any other country in the world and the rest of India would have come to Bihar seeking work. The constant and unrestricted drain of minerals is like allowing the parasites to suck our blood... to let the traitors rape our women and helplessly watch them having the last laugh. This was "Freight Equalization" Policy which cheated us of our wealth and left us high and dry.

Whenever it came to regional development, some states held the country on ransom. They threatened and blackmailed India of secession and in turn made the centre bow down before them and fulfill their demands. They therefore, got the maximum benefits.
Perhaps, they have always been lucky to have powerful regional leaders which unfortunately, Bihar has always lacked. Punjab dangled the same threat in the 50s and the dam which was to be built on river "Kosi" went to them as "Bhakra Nangal" project. Biharis again sacrificed for the sake of India… for their Punjabi brothers. But this sacrifice was not honored. The terrorists killed innocent, defenseless and hapless Biharis in 80s who had gone to Punjab to make out a living for themselves.

The land of North Bihar is so fertile that we would have become the "Rice Bowl" of the world. The "Green Revolution" which should have happened in Bihar happened in Haryana and Punjab.

Has any state valued our sacrifices?

We kept dying of HUNGER, POVERTY, FAMINE and FLOODS but still voted on caste lines. For us, the most important issue was being a Rajput, Bhumihar, Yadav, Muslim, etc. But remember, the world always thought of us as "DISPICABLE BIHARIS" who need to be wiped out of the map of India.

Out of caste considerations, we kept on giving leaders like Laloos, Rabris, Pappus, and Shahabbuddins and ensured that we disappear from the radar of development.

The rest of India was too happy to see all this because out of our destitution, we provided them very cheap labor which could run their mills, build their homes, work in their fields, look after their cattles, carry them on cycle rickshaws or rickshaws pulled by human
beings, and still tolerate their ill-treatment which they have always meted out to Biharis. It started with "BIHARI" becoming an ABUSE and this kind of treatment meted out to Biharis gradually started giving rest of India a "PERVERSE PLEASURE"

Suddenly now, this despicable Bihari who was best fit to be at his feet has started giving "COMPETITION" to the rest of India. Years of struggle has hardened a Bihari and made him very competitive. This has unnerved everybody. The violence which we now see against the Biharis is a "NERVOUS REPRESENTATION" of the rest of India because
somewhere in their heart of hearts they know that they cannot
compete.

We always gave preference to "CASTE" while electing our leaders who have always lacked "VISION". They have empowered themselves rather than empowering the people of ill-fated Bihar. We have always lacked a good regional leader of stature who could defend the needs of Bihar. Had the then politicians put their foot down on the issues
like Kosi River or freight equalization policy, Biharis would have never migrated to other parts of the country to seek jobs. We now need leaders who can not only restore our wealth but also our "PRIDE".

It is important for every Bihari to realize that unless and until we build our own home (Bihar), we will never have our pride anywhere outside.

Dear Biharis, it has been enough now. We have suffered a lot… we have been exploited a lot… we have tolerated all forms of atrocities in the past sixty years. Our pride is at stake. Now, the time has come to stand up and intensify our struggle to regain the respect and dignity which we deserve in India. Let us start making our efforts very much in the positive direction to build a new Bihar.

Let us create a people's movement to bring about a change... Let us act now for the resurgence of Bihar.

AGAST ANAND
agastanand@yahoo.co.in

An open letter to Karan Thapar-By Thakur Vikash Sinha

Mr. Thapar

I was going through the transcript of the interview of Shobaa De taken by you.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/devils-advocate-shobhaa-de-on-mumbai-vs-
bombay/76806-3.html?from=search



In the interview, you ask Ms De "Mumbai ............is now more and more like Patna ?"

Who has given you the right to denigrate a city like this? Have you been to Patna recently? Have you looked at its crime statistics? Have you had any reports of regional hate?

Do try to recall. Did Patna have a communal riot in decades? This decade? In the nineties? In the eighties? Seventies? Let me tell you, Patna has never had a communal riot. Regional feelings? Patna has a fairly large Bengali population which competes fiercely for the few jobs that are available. In fact, during the early British period, they had a virtual monopoly on the government jobs. But have you ever heard of a hate campaign against them? Marwaris control a large part of the trade in the city. Punjabis are in large number. The second holiest place of the Sikhs is at Patna: the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singhji. South Indians are a thriving community here, numbering about 30,000. Anglo Indians are another thriving community at Patna and nearby Danapur. Two seats in the Bihar assembly is reserved for the Anglo Indian community. The author William Dalrymple has himself written to me that his family has strong Bhagalpur connections. But for a few minor incidents of Sikh owned shops looted in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi's murder (mind you, no murders of Sikhs at Patna at that time), can you give a single incident of hate crime or campaign based on ethnicity? The closest you will come to a riotous situation in Patna is during the 1942 Quit India movement and the JP movement of 1970's: both for a national cause.

Then how on earth does it occur to you to put Patna as the worst example of provincialism? Is it media hype about Bihar and Biharis? Is it because the elite of India like you have been trained to always denigrate something to make you feel good? Is it plain ignorance? Or
is it that since Bihar is poor, hence elites feel that they can get away by criticizing Bihar without a fear of reprisal or offending any section of your audience which has very few Biharis in any case?

(It is another matter that the response of Shobaa De ( I could almost feel her nose contracting in horror) is an even worse example of 'elitist' thinking, but then this letter is about you and the media, not other categories of elites)

For god's sake, this type of typecasting has led to a very explosive situation in the country. You people never tire of criticizing a Raj Thackeray. Let me share a shocking statistic with you. Out of the new migrants in Mumbai, the percent of Biharis is between 2.3 and 3.5%.
Yes I am talking of new migrants, not the percent of Biharis in the total population, which has to be lower since the number has increased from just 0.2% in the sixties to a 'High" 3.5%. This is based on studies conducted by two Mumbai based organizations: TISS and IPSS. (I would be happy to forward the publicly available extract of the study and the link if you find this statistic too difficult to digest). Now surely, you would also agree, this percent cannot be called excessive by any stretch of imagination if there is any truth in Mumbai being the commercial capital of India rather than just the administrative capital of Maharashtra?

Then pray what makes Raj Thackeray demonize Bihar and Biharis? If you think a little about it, you will perhaps agree with my theory that this is so because of the "image" of Bihar, created by powerful mediamen like you. Let me add, your colleague, another Raj from Maharashtra, Rajdeep Sardesai, wrote an article on the ills of Maharashtra last year where he had no compunction in using 'biharisation' as synonymous to criminalization. Not just in the body of his article but in the headline itself. In fact, the whole article was based on Rajdeep's view that Bihar is a living hell on earth. Is it any surprise then that men like Raj Thackeray, desperate to carve a political space for himself, think first of Bihar when they are looking for a villain?

I am well aware of the bias of the Indian English press towards Bihar. I don't expect it to remember the sacrifice of Bihar and Biharis for the nation: the Champaran movement or the 1942 quit India movement or the agitation against dictatorship in mid seventies. I don't expect the media to highlight the extreme injustice done to Bihar due to freight equalization or inequitable distribution of development funds in each of the five years plans since independence. But this continued bias is now striking at the very root of India. This anti Bihari feeling is now creating a feeling of alienation in every town and village of Bihar. Politicians of Bihar, though accused of playing politics by the media, are trying their best to douse this flame which they had no role to create. If you folks believe in the idea of India, you have to play a role here.

Repeated biased coverage of Bihar in the Indian English press should have convinced me by now that it is futile to expect any semblance of evenness in the coverage. But what to do, I am a Bihari. I cant give up on my Indian-ness. And giving up on hope is just not in my gene whether the centre gives me an ill treatment or the nature tests my tenacity every year through floods, you would not hear a Bihari committing suicide. Hence I still approach you with hope, that things can change and will change.

Thanks

--
Thakur Vikas Sinha

Protest against Goa`s CMs remarks that Biharis are beggars

By Sarvesh

Many trains come from North India but Goa chief minister choose train from Bihar for the cause of increased beggers. Its ridiculous to hear such baseless and nonesense statement from a chief minister. This statement is unjustified, baseless, senseless without prsenting the facts and figure. Mr. CM should have given the number of beggers from Bihar and then he should have refered train from Patna. Bihar is an agriculture base state and beggers do not migrate from Bihar. Those migrate are labourers who work hard and earn. Mr. CM please note Biharis stopped working on ohters mercy. Look at the labourer crisis in Punjab and Maharastra because hard working labourers from Bihar carry proud as well. If their proud get hurt they don't work. Bihar government should ask for an apology from C.M Of Goa.

-Sarvesh

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Trains_from_Patna_bring_beggars/articleshow/3381301.cms
Commencement of trains from Patna will increase beggars: Naik

By TV Sinha

Sarvesh has raised a very vital issue. The home minister of Goa has
made a very objectionable statement. What is more, he has refused to
apologise for his highly provocative statement

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Goa/I_never_said_Biharis_ar
e_beggars_says_Naik/articleshow/3386446.cms#write

Funnily, he admits that he talked of the train from Patna to Goa
when intervening on the debate in Goa assembly on beggars, but
refuses to admit he called Biharis as beggars. We know that
politicians take the people for a ride, but does this obnoxious
character take us all for complete idiots?

It is also really sad that this minister belongs to a national
party - the Indian national congress.

I think we should all make an appeal to the national leadership of
the congress party: the PM, Mrs Sonia Ganghi, Rahul Gandhi to rein
in their ill mannered minister.

Thanks

TV. SINHA

BRING BACK BIHAR - MOMENT OF AWAKENING, THE FILM IS READY TO BE RELEASED THIS MONTH.

THIS FILM WILL SHAKE YOU UP.

THE FILM DEALS WITH VIOLENCE RELATED TO MIGRATION OF LABOURS FROM UP AND BIHAR TO PROBLEMS AND PROMISES OF BIHAR.

IT IS A POSITIVE FILM AND WILL SHOW THE REAL VIBRANT BIHAR WITH ITS GOLDEN PAST. IT WILL MAKE YOU THINK ATLEAST ONCE FOR YOUR BIHAR.

Attack on Migrants-Attack on India’s Pluralistic Fabric ( an article by Rakesh Srivatstava)

Pluralism is the dominant principle of the Indian society. Plurality, heterogeneity, or even conflict in values is regarded as characteristics of the Indian system. That is the reason why the Indian civilization is distinguished from other civilizations of the world given its continuity, heterogeneity, and accommodating ethos.

Since time immemorial, the Indian civilization has played host to streams of migrant groups and communities from across the world. The migrant groups and communities enriched the Indian society with their respective traditions and behaviour patterns that they had brought from their native lands.

In the course of time, they lost contact with their places of origin, underwent an extensive process of indigenization, and helped build the nation that we know as India today.But several critical factors have threatened the very fabric of this unique pluralistic society from time to time. Communalism, casteism, religious extremism, and what not! In the recent years, regionalism has been raising its head again and is eating into the core of the pluralistic heart of the Indian union.

When the politicians start feeling insecure about their acceptance amongst people, they raise the emotional issue of locals vs outsiders. Delhi CM Sheela Dixit once suggested that North Indians particularly those coming from Bihar and UP were burden on the national capital. The Assam militants resorted to the killing of Bihari migrant labourers. And now Raj Thackeray’s ranting against the ‘uttar bhartiya’ in Mumbai.

All these acts of political desperation can only be termed as politics at its most emotional, irrational, inarticulate, and incomprehensible.

Raj Thackeray’s assertion that “migrants come and ruin local culture” is absolutely ridiculous. It is certain that, if asked, Raj Thackeray would not be able to define ‘local culture’. I would suggest Raj read the eminent sociologist M N Srinivas to learn that the local culture at a given place reflects local, regional and all-India patterns. While a lot in Pune’s culture will be the same as that of Nagpur, there will still be certain things that will be different. Similarly, while Mumbai has an admirable culture that is different from that of Delhi, there are lots of common traits too between the two as both are within India. Culture, by its very definition, is the amalgamation of various behaviour patterns that people bring in from their native lands.

A person in Delhi will tell you that his native place is Bihar, a person in Patna will say that his native place is Chapra, and a person in Chapra will say that his native place is Amnaur.

The above example will help one understand that any vibrant society is in a constant state of migration – migration from a village to a town, migration from one town to another, migration from one state to another, and migration from one country to another. The cultural amalgamation resulting from this migration process leads to better people-to-people understanding. This is something that needs to be fostered, since in recent years, identity politics is trying to endanger the accommodating society that India has been for ages.

It is widely believed that migration is a burden on the local society. This is a myth. On the contrary, migration is a two-way enrichment process. International studies of immigrants clearly show their significant contribution to host economies. While the migrants improve their lives with the opportunities available in the host society, they also contribute to its growth. They also generate thousands of jobs through their spending within the host land.

Punjab is amongst the most developed states of India today. Could Punjab have achieved the status of ‘food granary’ of India without the contribution of migrant Bihari labourers? The contribution of Parsis to India's welfare and its economic and social development is extraordinary. Tata and Godrej are household names in India. Can anyone imagine Mumbai as the business capital of India without the contribution of Gujaratis who have made Mumbai their home?

Let us look further across the Atlantic. America is known as the land of immigrants. The USA is the most developed country of the world because it is a heterogeneous society of immigrants. If you analyse why America became more powerful than the countries where its people came from, you will realize that it is due to its assimilation of the immigrants into a liberal democratic American society. While the American society correctly asks what the immigrants have to offer to them, it also ensures that the immigrants are able to live in peace and enjoy all services offered to America’s citizens. This assimilation and care for each other results in a liberal culture in the society. The synergy generated by the people from different background and different strengths has built America what it is today.

Raj Thackeray should understand this. He should know that a majority of the migrants coming to Mumbai are engaged in production-related jobs. As per a recent Times of India report, migrants, apart from working in industries, are involved in providing 48 types of services in the city — ranging from selling milk, vegetables and provisions to driving vehicles, working as security guards and so on. While these are mostly low-paying jobs, their contribution to maintaining the standard of life in this affluent city cannot be discounted.

The non-migrant population on the other hand, dominate white-collared professional, technical, executive and managerial jobs, including clerical and sales jobs, in various service-based industries.

But those who have nothing new to offer to their people, have taken recourse to identity politics without realizing that it will ultimately harm their own society. If militants in Assam are killing Bihari migrants, it’s not adding to the reputation of the state. Rather, it is creating an uncertain atmosphere in the state where law of the land does not rule roost. And this results in industrialists not looking towards Assam as a good place to invest that would have generated jobs for lakhs of Assamese. So, ultimately, it’s the Assamese people who are suffering. The sooner the Assam ‘nationalists’ understand this, better for them.

These regional chauvinists should know that by indulging in violence, they may get media coverage for few days, months, or at the most years, but their kind of extremist politics will not survive long. One thing is certain, it will never bring them to power. We have history as the witness. Even the flag bearer of the extreme right politics in France, Le Pen of Front National has changed track. Now he does not direct his ire against the immigrants, he does it against the politicians who support the immigration. Le Pen’s message is not directly anti-immigrant. Certainly he sees what he calls the flood of immigrants as the immediate reason for France’s decline, but for him it is not the immigrants’ fault: they can’t help wanting to come to a great country. It is the fault of the politicians who have let them in.

In India too, the problem is the same. The development is not uniform across the country. The myopic urban development policy of the central govt. has created this mess. Some areas have developed a lot whereas others have remained under darkness.
Hence, people from backward regions like UP and Bihar throng developed cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore in search of opportunities. Given an option, these immigrants would rather return to their home state if they are developed as centres of employment and high economic growth. After all, no one, not even poor labourers, want to live in poor living conditions of the slums in these cities that rob them of their dignity.

Migration can be reduced if jobs are created nearer home. It’s nobody’s case that Raj Thackeray’s fulminations are mere incarnation of our worst racist selves. We cannot deny that there is fire behind the smoke. Maharshtra is not Punjab where poor Bihari labourers are invited to do jobs that the Punjabis do not want to do themselves. So, we see no protest by any political party in Punjab against the Bihari labourers. On the other hand, there is widespread unemployment in Maharashtra.

Raj Thackeray has identified that there are lakhs of unemployed Marathis in the state who feel let down by the politicians. The media too does not give voice to the resentment of these people suffering from a feeling of victimization. Sensing this as an opportunity, Raj Thackeray is trying to be the principal electoral voice of these Maharashtrians who feel that they are suffering due to the north-Indian immigrants. Most of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s new recruits come from these sections of society.

However, Raj Thackeray is treading a path that is not going to succeed. His exclusivist politics may fetch him limelight and he may become a household name in India, but only for sometime. The Mumbai of the twenty-first century is not the Mumbai of seventies when the original Thackeray first played the politics of mumbaikars vs outsiders and achieved success. The socio-economic profile of Mumbai has changed in forty years. Recent surveys show that the majority of modern educated Maharashtrians do not approve the exclusivist and intolerant agenda of Raj Thackeray. Raj may have acquired some fan following after his recent rantings, but it will always be limited to that. It will remain and create nuisance from time to time but it will not grow.

If Raj does not want to fade away in history as someone whose goons once bashed up north-Indian taxi drivers in Mumbai, he should formulate an inclusive political strategy for the development of Maharashtra, and that means development of all those who live in Maharashtra – Marathis, Gujaratis, South Indians, Parsis, Biharis and UPites. It would do him a lot good if he reads the recent writings in Le Pen’s diary. Then, as Le Pen did, he would also realize that innocent citizens should not suffer due to the follies of the state. If he is a true nationalist that he claims to be, he should immediately ask his violent activists to stop venting their ire against immigrants. He should channelise the anger of these unemployed youth into pressurizing the govt. to have a proper urban development policy for Mumbai and stop regularizing illegal slum colonies.

However, this is also an opportunity for the nation to ask itself certain questions. Why are migrants in different parts of the country suffering at the hands of marginal politicians and militants. Why does not the state deal strongly with the perpetrators of violence against the vulnerable immigrants? Can we allow political compulsions to overtake the respect for law and national integrity? Can we afford to keep our focus of development on the few cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore? Or should we target the new areas of growth and opportunity – the tier two towns? Shouldn’t the country have a proper urban development policy which should include a development-friendly national immigration policy?

Mumbai, Delhi, Patna and Bastar are all parts of the body and soul of India that is Bharat. While Mumbai and Delhi grow, Patna and Bastar cannot be left far behind. The Centre along with the govts. of the under-developed states must up its ante and work together to create more job opportunities in the states, sooner rather than later. But at the same time, migration and migrants should not be seen as problems to be dealt with. They should rather be looked upon as challenges and opportunities. The state govts. must understand migration as part of the range of poor people’s livelihood options.

Migrants are people trying to improve their lives and must be treated accordingly. This country can be built into a great nation only with the synergy generated by different people possessing different strengths. We must not allow fringe elements like Raj Thackeray to attack Non-Maharashtrians in Mumbai. The nation can no more afford a ‘Non Non-Maharashtrian manifesto’ or ‘Non Non-Assamese manifesto’ the way it witnessed a ‘Non-Brahmin manifesto’ in 1916 in Tamilnadu.

Will perform Chhath puja in front of Raj's house: Lalu

Wading into the Raj Thackeray-triggered spat over north Indian migrants in Maharashtra, railway minister Lalu Prasad on Thursday said he would perform the next Chhath Puja in front of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief's home in Mumbai.

"I am not afraid of anyone. I will show the might of the people from Bihar and UP by performing Chhath Puja in front of Raj Thackeray's house. If he has courage to face the secular forces in the country, he is free to try and face the consequences," Lalu said.

Expressing sympathy with families of those who have been attacked by MNS supporters at Mumbai, Pune and Nashik, the railway minister said that before his arrival here he had detailed discussions with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, home minister Shivraj Patil and other central leaders on the issue.

"Everyone is against the deeds of the Raj Thackeray's party leaders and the central government is keeping a close watch," the minister said.

Kahan jayein Bihari? - by Rajeet Sinha Zee News

In my first visit, that I remember, outside my state Bihar, I was welcomed and pampered. After all, I was visiting Kolkata as one of the prize winners, representing my state in Eastern India Science Camp. I was in Class 8 then and approaching teenage. On that trip, my father also took me to people from my village, who were engaged in grocery business in Howrah and Kolkata. I liked the fact that they were living in ‘Kolkata’, but felt very uncomfortable about their living conditions.

Years later when I landed in Pune to study communication and asked the conductor to guide me to the University, my fellow passenger in the city bus asked where I was from. When I replied that I was from Bihar, he said “Oh, Lalu’s state” and smiled. He wasn’t being contemptuous, yet something had made him smile.

As the only Bihari student in my batch I felt the need to put forth the case of my state in Pune, and presented a paper about ‘Bihar: Media Image vs. Reality’ .While doing this paper, a contributor commented, "Bihar is painted more black than it actually is.” Another retorted, "Bihar is already so black than it cannot be painted more black than it is." Both were Biharis, successful and settled outside Bihar.

After completing my education in Pune, I started working in Mumbai, and now live and work in the national capital. The disturbing news about attack on North Indians in Maharashtra, makes me think rather than worry me. Biharis have become persona-non-grata. Why are we Biharis or North Indians subjected to this treatment? Why?

Biharis are top bureaucrats, technocrats, academicians; yet they are also the ones killed in Assam, thrashed in Mumbai and questioned in Delhi! Where should the Bihari go? Kahan Jayein Bihari?

Why is it that even after 60 years of Independence, intra-national migration continues? Why do we not have industries and businesses that can accommodate people locally? Why do Biharis have to move out? Why do Biharis have to go so far from their homes in search of livelihood? Why are there no jobs in Bihar for Biharis, of the type that are in Mumbai or Delhi?

The crux of the problem

India is growing, but not developing. It is growing in regional pockets and not as a nation. The leaders and planners, who have been mandated to this job, have failed miserably. The current state of affairs reflects their individual, collective and continued failures of many years.

Someone is failing. Either the elected leaders or the people, who have elected them. Someone is definitely failing in his or her duties. They are either failing in upholding the Constitution or in protecting the rights enshrined in it. The political parties, the leaders and the administration that are mum on the issue are also guilty of aiding and abetting this divide. They too are failing in their duty of upholding the Constitution of India.

When I was interviewing Dr. Ashok Kumar – the British MP of Indian origin – in London sometime back, he said he could not sit back and do nothing after hearing about the plight of Hindus in Kazakhastan. He raised the issue in the British Parliament and the then Prime Minister Tony Blair promised help.

Now, even so many days after violence erupted in Maharashtra, Indian leaders are still sitting back. They are sitting back and waiting for their vote banks to grow. No matter at what or whose cost. After all it is not the leaders, who face the wrath on the streets. It is the ordinary citizen, helpless and hapless!

Skewed priorities

Indian leaders air their concerns when UK amends its immigration provisions. They also raise their voices about Mittal Steel`s interests. They talk about the plight of Indians in Malaysia and of their safety in Kenya. They boast about Indira Nooyi and Bobby Jindal, they toast Sunita Williams and Vikram Pandit. But labourers of Bihar are no Indira Nooyi or Vikram Pandit. They are born to be humiliated and destined to be killed. Their humiliation is not even worth a reaction, forget any action.

People who threaten to stop trains coming from North India to Maharashtra, forget that people from everywhere have contributed to Mumbai`s development. You welcome investment from outside, accept technology and minerals from outside, but will not allow people from outside? Several states of India owe their industrial success to the mineral resources of Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa.

Bihar`s exploitation has been systematic and sustained. If the Indian sub-continent was plundered during the British Raj, Bihar’s (and Orissa’s for that matter) exploitation has continued even after that. Mumbai is Bollywood because of Hindi films. And it is not something created overnight in Mumbai. What would Mumbai be minus Bollywood, nationally and internationally, either in art and culture or economy?

The Doodhwalas, and Taxiwalas of Mumbai, or Amitabh Bachchan – whether they are from Bihar or UP – have equal rights. They have all made Mumbai what it is. They ought to have a share in its opportunities equally. They must have an equal right to earn their living in Mumbai. Better still would be if opportunities are created locally in Bihar and UP too, so that migration can be a matter of choice and not compulsion.

Migration of the poor is not always a happy event. They pay a great price emotionally and socially. But when the choice between moving and staying is a choice between life and death, they have to move. The Bihari and UPites are the girmitia (indentured labourer) of today.

The CM of Delhi talks about the increasing pressure on Delhi`s infrastructure because of ‘outsiders’, the Lt Gov of Delhi maligns North Indians as lawbreakers. The slang `Bihari` as a word of contempt is not unheard of in Delhi. Maharashtra has problems of its own. Not everything is fine there. Farmers are still ending their lives, while their Chief Minister gives them sermons on working hard like the farmers of Gujarat.

Six years back in Itanagar, I met this room servant from rural Assam in my hotel. He told me that he would be able to see his mother only after a year because he was not allowed to go out of the hotel building. His employer had threatened him that he would be sent back to Assam by the police. But these are untold stories; of people whose voices are not loud enough to be heard in the corridors of power.

The problem goes deeper. All over the world people have been migrating in search of greener pastures since time immemorial. We have to think, create and provide for the need of all citizens, the migrants as well as the locals. Neither can be left to die while the other enjoys all the benefits.

The solution

But the issue of Bihar’s development is of essence. It should be given a serious thought, beyond political buck-passing, beyond the Lalus and votebank hungry political parties. Why do we not have in Bihar, once home to the Nalanda University, educational institutions that can rival those of Delhi or Maharastra? Why does the fertile land of the Ganges belt fail in holding back its sons, so that they have to sweat it out as labourers in the farms of Punjab?. We have grown up reading `Vashudhaiv Kutumbkam`. Can we make Bihar home for Biharis also?

Dont Blame Bihar-India’s progressive state has worst crime rate

It may be one of the most literate states, but Kerala has the highest crime rate in the country and one of its districts, which is the flashpoint of CPI-M-RSS clashes, tops the list in riot cases.

According to the latest statistics on crime in India, Kerala has the highest crime rate of 20.19 per one lakh population regarding offences committed against public as against the national average of 5.82.

The state also registered a total of 6,365 riot cases in 2006, which is third in the ladder behind Bihar (8,259) and Maharashtra (7,453).

Regarding arson, Kerala with 435 cases is behind Maharashtra (1,188) Andhra Pradesh (1,012) Madhya Pradesh (815) and Bihar (785).

But Kannur in the state's north had 737 riot cases in 2006 and this is the highest number registered by any police district in the country.

The district, a bastion of the Marxists for long, had been witnessing frequent clashes between the activists of CPI-M and BJP-RSS with both sides claiming to have lost at least 150 cadres each.

A number of political clashes were charged under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code relating to rioting and this is the reason behind this kind of figures, a Kerala government official said.

The majority of the present state leadership of the CPI-M, including state party Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, hails from Kannur. State Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan also hails from Kannur.

Prominent Marxist leaders like A K Gopalan, who was the first Opposition Leader in Lok Sabha, kick started their political career in this district.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, cases of rioting and arson are the major components under the category of crimes against public order and it constitutes 3.5 per cent of the total crimes registered under Indian Penal Code.

Incidence of crimes under this head has increased by 0.7 per cent from 64,686 in 2005 to 65,121 in the next year. Bihar, Maharashtra, Kerala and Karnataka account for about 47 per cent of cases of rioting and arson in the country.

In the national Capital, 87 cases of rioting and 33 cases of arson were registered in 2006.

Tokyo meet to showcase Bihar glory

he glory of ancient Bihar will be showcased during a three-day meet on Indian tourism conference at Tokyo, commencing from September 12. For the first time, Bihar government has brought out a glossy colour book on Buddhist circuit in Japanese to attract them to visit Bihar.

Japan's contribution to Bihar has been immense in recent years. Besides the construction of two Vishwa Shanti Stupas at Rajgir and Vaishali, Japan has already offered a grant to the tune of Rs 5,600 crore for infrastructure development of Buddhist circuit in Bihar. Japan has also shown keen interest in setting up the proposed international university at Nalanda. Two-member Bihar delegation, led by tourism minister Nand Kishore Yadav, will be leaving for Tokyo on Monday. The meet on Indian tourism is being jointly organised by the Union ministry of tourism, Ficci, Japan Chamber of Commerce and tour and travel associations of Japan.

Before leaving for Tokyo, state tourism secretary Anjani K Singh told TOI: "for the first time, we are carrying 100 copies of a book on Buddhist circuit to Tokyo for its free distribution during our interactive session with various Japanese groups. This time, we do not have to face any language barrier." The photographs of Lord Buddha, Vaishali and Vishwa Shanti Stupas are printed on the cover page of the book.

Singh said : "We have also made a 15-minute documentary on Buddha Mahotsva in Japanese language. This 15-minute film would depict the the annual Buddha festivals in Bodh Gaya to attract more Japanese tourists." Singh will also make an half-an hour video presentation at the conference in which he will talk about the major tourist and ancient sites of Bihar with Japanese sub-titles. "We have also decided to gift Madhubani paintings to some important Japanese dignitaries during our meet," he said.

"We will have separate meetings with tour and travel operators in which we will talk about the changes taking place in Bihar to attract Buddhist pilgrims," Singh said. Interestingly, Japan has already offered a grant to the tune of Rs 5,600 crore for infrastructure development of Buddhist circuit in Bihar. These include landscaping, solid waste management and improvement of existing drains and electrification. The Rs 5,600-crore grant has been offered by the Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) which will also fund construction of four-lane roads as part of the infrastructure development in the state's Buddhist circuit. A total 481.20-km stretch of roads will be covered under the project.

On previous occasion, JBIC had also extended financial assistance in developing basic facilities like drinking water, electricity and sewerage system at Nalanda, Vaishali, Rajgir, Kesariya, Areraj and Mangalgarh. The first Vishwa Shanti Stupa was erected on the top of the Ratnagiri hill at Rajgir (1965-69) with financial assistance from Fuji Guruji. The second stupa in Bihar is located in Vaishali.

IIT-JEE a cakewalk for Bihar boys

Watch the video..Keep it up guys amd keep making Bihar Proud.

Sign this Petition to Protest

Here we are in 2007 , embarking in this New Year with great hope and conviction to take our country to new heights. We are talking about world being flat and information being power, we are talking about tele density and broadband penetration but alas we still come across horrific incidents where people are being killed for just being Bihari.By destiny they were born as Bihari and that become the cause of their gruesome killing.

The recent gruesome of killing of Biharis in Assam by ULFA militants is yet another incident which shows the kind of bias which exits in our Country against Bihar and Biharis.So how do we react to this as a Bihari and citizens of this country?

How do we express our anguish and pain when our fellow country men are being killed for being Bihari ? Following the great tradition of this great country we humbly submit our petition to all , please spare a moment for the cause of the bereaved soul and lodge your protest against this incident in strongest possible word. Let’s hope and pray that incidents like these are never repeated and also express our solidarity with the family members of the bereaved ones.

I have started this petition drive to ensure that we raise our voice against this act of cowardice. I'll request you all to send this link to all your friends and relatives and request them to sign this petition, let's try and ensure that each Bihari put his protest against this heinous act.


http://www.petitiononline.com/1bihar/petition.html