Is being Bihari a sin? Why do they constitute a major share in Delhi’s population? Why do they migrate to other states and Gulf countries? People of other states know Bihar for Shahabuddin and Surajbhan Singh.
HAS THE word ‘Bihari’ become a sin in rest of the country, particularly in north India? When Marathi, Gujarati, Tamilian and others don’t feel bad with such ‘tags’ why do people from Bihar living outside the state feel humiliated when they hear it?
Let me begin with a personal experience. A couple of months ago, a ten-year-old lad – my cousin – came running inside the house with fury visible on his face. He told me that one of the local boys had called him a ‘Bihari’ when he was playing with his friends on the ground. He insisted that I went to the ground with him and taught that boy a lesson. I couldn’t stop myself from laughing on his childish demand. When he found that I wasn’t interested in helping him, he asked my father to come to his rescue. But he replied, “So what if he called you Bihari, aren’t you one?”
It was a very small incident but it caught my attention and I realized the gravity of the matter, particularly in the young boy’s mind, who felt ‘Bihari’ was an insult to him. It triggered my thoughts.
Is being Bihari really a sin? Why do Bihari people constitute the major share in Delhi’s population? Why do they go to other states and Gulf countries to earn their livelihoods? People of other states know Bihar more for dons and mafia like Shahabuddin and Surajbhan Singh.
One could easily blame Laloo’s Rashtriya Janta Dal government, which ruled Bihar for more than 15 years, for the total collapse of infrastructure in the state. Educational backwardness, poverty, illiteracy are some key factors that added fuel to fire and people started migrating to other states for a better life. Bihar, where the great seats of learning Takshashila and Nalanda (first open universities in India) had once attracted students from every nook and corner of the world, has no any national level educational institution at present. The existing ones are on the verge of collapse.
The scenario has now become worst because almost all the leading institutions lacked even the basic infrastructure and faculties. The Science College of Patna University, once rated as one of the most glorious institutions of India, has allegedly become the breeding ground of criminal elements and student politics. Serious students prefer to go to Delhi, Mumbai and Banglore for higher education.
None of the corporate houses have shown any interest for establishing industrial units in Bihar because of the lack of infrastructure, corruption and deplorable law and order.
The present Nitish Kumar government has started taking some steps to put the state on the road of development but still the government has a long way to go to build confidence in people of the state and investors as well.
We might just hope for the best!
Let me begin with a personal experience. A couple of months ago, a ten-year-old lad – my cousin – came running inside the house with fury visible on his face. He told me that one of the local boys had called him a ‘Bihari’ when he was playing with his friends on the ground. He insisted that I went to the ground with him and taught that boy a lesson. I couldn’t stop myself from laughing on his childish demand. When he found that I wasn’t interested in helping him, he asked my father to come to his rescue. But he replied, “So what if he called you Bihari, aren’t you one?”
It was a very small incident but it caught my attention and I realized the gravity of the matter, particularly in the young boy’s mind, who felt ‘Bihari’ was an insult to him. It triggered my thoughts.
Is being Bihari really a sin? Why do Bihari people constitute the major share in Delhi’s population? Why do they go to other states and Gulf countries to earn their livelihoods? People of other states know Bihar more for dons and mafia like Shahabuddin and Surajbhan Singh.
One could easily blame Laloo’s Rashtriya Janta Dal government, which ruled Bihar for more than 15 years, for the total collapse of infrastructure in the state. Educational backwardness, poverty, illiteracy are some key factors that added fuel to fire and people started migrating to other states for a better life. Bihar, where the great seats of learning Takshashila and Nalanda (first open universities in India) had once attracted students from every nook and corner of the world, has no any national level educational institution at present. The existing ones are on the verge of collapse.
The scenario has now become worst because almost all the leading institutions lacked even the basic infrastructure and faculties. The Science College of Patna University, once rated as one of the most glorious institutions of India, has allegedly become the breeding ground of criminal elements and student politics. Serious students prefer to go to Delhi, Mumbai and Banglore for higher education.
None of the corporate houses have shown any interest for establishing industrial units in Bihar because of the lack of infrastructure, corruption and deplorable law and order.
The present Nitish Kumar government has started taking some steps to put the state on the road of development but still the government has a long way to go to build confidence in people of the state and investors as well.
We might just hope for the best!
1 comments:
Just blaming it on Lalu or any other political party won't help us. I think, somehow, when we were growing no one told us to feel proud about our state.I don't know, how many times i heard that "EE BIHAR HAI, YANHA EE SAB NAHI CHALEGA". Our parent/society taught us to feel proud about our cast, our village bond us emotionally, but our state failed to do so. We didn't have any slogan to chant, any leader to look upon as "Bihari Garv", no literature to make our adrenaline rush when we hear the word "Bihar"...
There is no short term solution.Rather, i don't think there is any solution. All the mind which can make it a better place, leaves as early as possible. It has become like a person without mind, surviving only on body and hence can't prosper.
Manoj
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