All that is Bihar

Well, when I talk about Bihar, what is the first thing that strikes your mind? Rowdiness, corruption, bad roads and a lot of other things for which no other state would feel proud to be known for. Hello! I am not saying we do. It’s a sad side of the story of this state which has one of the most glorious histories amongst the states of India. But apart from this face of Bihar, it has a lot to offer to the people who visit this place. Divided by the national river The Ganges into two halves, the state is full of sites which have cultural and historical values. The state capital Patna formerly known as Patliputra was the epicenter of the Mauryan Empire and particularly Asoka, the Great. Kumrhar Park in the city premises has the forts and the famous Asoka pillars which were erected in the Mauryan period. Cross the Ganges, North Bihar has a connection with the Mughal period. Sher Shah Suri, the ruler who shoed away the Mughals from the Delhi throne is buried in Sasaram in North Bihar. Come Gaya, it has two big shrines of Buddhism and Hindusim.Vishnupad temple, bearing the footprints of Lord Vishnu hold a special value in Hindu ideology. People come down from different parts of the country to perform last rites of their ancestors for their salvation in the holy gathering called Pitripaksha Mela. Some 17 kilometers west of Gaya lies Bodhgaya, the seat of enlightenment of Lord Buddha. Bodhgaya, a world heritage is one of the major Buddhist shrines. The temple complex also known as Mahabodhi Mahavihara has the Pipal tree under which Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment after contemplation of 12 months . There are a handful of other temples in the surrounding and with the chanting of psalms, the whole ambience takes you to another world where you find yourself engulfed with divine serenity. Other places like Rajgir and the famous Nalanda still has the remains of the famous and world first university, The Nalanda University. Art and cuisine of this state is also a piece of attraction, Madhubani paintings and Litti-Choka, both a pleasure of for your senses. Come on guys…we have a lot to offer. Come out of your shell, come down to Bihar. We aren’t a useless state. Breathe in a bit of Bihar. You ll love it.                                                                     

Rebuilding Bihar

The post-independence governance of Bihar is considered worse than pre independence even when it produced administrator like Dr Rajendra Prasad and Karpoori Thakur.Bihar did develop from 60’s to 90’s, but the rate was very pitiable when considered on the national scale of development.Taking up the Bihar’s state in the recent past. 

The first time I had the experience of the unruliness prevailing in the state is when I was told by Momma to get back home before sun sets in when I went to play with my friends in park nearby. The reason being the lack of trust on the administration for maintaining the law and order. Bihar in that time was referred as the classic case of bad administration but rather it was the case on total absence of administration. When I gained political alertness, the ruling government the husband–wife duo of LaluPrasad Yadav & Rabri Devi had been in power for last twelve years and their rule was infamous for rampant corruption and communal riots. The famous one being the Fodder scam and Bhagalpurriots. The condition of law and order was pathetic. Organized crime like murder, abduction and extortion developed as an industry. Moreover the police’s inactivity added to the woes of the residents of the state. The use of muscle power in elections was a common thing. All of this contributed to the infamous image of Bihar which still prevails. And it is this during  period in which Bihar saw mass migration of its residents to other states. But in the state assembly elections of 2005, the Election Commission of India appointed K.J Rao as the election supervisor of the state.For me, he was the bringer of the changes there.Visting the polling booths on a scooter, deploying additional Para military forces in sensitive areas, he solely insured a free and fair elections. A Hung assembly denoted that the people of the state were eager to get rid of the ruling government. President’s rule followed by fresh electionsbrought a coalition government to power led by Nitish Kumar. 

The major challenges before this government was to clip the wings of the criminals of the state, curb corruption and resume the development work which were stagnant for a very long time. It did take time, but things began changing. The changes were primarily of two kind; one which can felt like the fear of criminals terminated and rule of law was established and the other which can be seen like coming up of new flyovers, roads and bridges. After kicking off infrastructural development plans, the government shifted its attention on corruption. Overhauling the vigilance department, setting up special courts for speedy trials of detained corrupt official, government took up various initiatives to curb corruption. After a first tenure, in 2010, this coalition was voted back to power with a thumping majority as there was no such anti-incumbency factor for the opposition to cash over. 

The reason why I feel Bihar is changing is because from 2006 till present date 74,000 court cases have disposed , the no.of international and national tourists visiting the place have seen a sharp rise. The state was the first to provide 33% reservation to woman in local governments, to distribute cycles to school going girls in the state, to open primary school in the seized house of an executive who was booked for disappropriate assets. The manufacturing rate of Bihar has increased to 15% in 2011, it is setting up two big power plants which are due to get operational by 2018.The literacy rate of women in the state has soared up from 33% to 53%. Legislation like Right to Service Act & Lokayukta Act has been enacted.The migration of people in the last 5-6 years have remarkably gone down. The count of recent achievements may go on and on. When Bihar was struggling to get back on its feet, it was pulled down by a devastating Kosi flood in North Bihar in 2008. But still a lot has to be done to revivify the glorious Bihar which once used to be a home of intellects. 

An auto rickshaw driver in Delhi, a daily wage worker in Mumbai(and not an insurgent) and a shopkeeper in Gujarat is still waiting for this something to be furnished so that he can come back to his native state Bihar and earn his livelihood.I am pretty much sure that in the coming time, Bihar would change and change for good as the road to development of India goes through Bihar.

Doubt us for having the brains for doing this ?? If you do…let me remind you we are the one who gave India its first jackpot prize winner of Kaun Banega  Crorepati(Sushil Kumar, winner of KBC season 5 is from Bihar).Got it !!

To Begin With...

                                   BIHAR: A SEA OF CHANGE

Do we have roads in Bihar? Is there any law and order system prevailing in there? Do we have schools back home? It may sound amusing to people, but for us, rather we ‘Biharis’, it’s a question you need to answer with a smile even when you know that it was unnecessary.

Even after 65 years of “INDEPENDENCE”, we doubt a state for having the basic infrastructural facilities. Why is it so? Bihar, a state of Eastern India has been struggling to make its presence felt for a good reason. When we try finding an answer to this, we surely end up at dirty politics, saturated with caste and religional vote bank tactics. 

This is Rahul ,pursuing journalism , I am from Bihar(Gaya). Coming here, I even came to know that South Indian parents pray that their ward should not get a roommate from Bihar. Anyway, the reasons why I chose this topic for my very first blog post are two. Firstly, I wanted people to know that Bihar is changing for example, it had the best GDP rate in India for 2011. Secondly, that the conception people have about Bihar is NOT changing unlike the earlier, which is really a sad story. A fixated politician from west India still calls Biharis insurgents to his native state.

Through these blogs, I would share my very little knowledge about the state which was once a famous center for education and now has the least literacy rate in the country. I would try telling you all about the efforts put in by this wrecked state to stand up and run the race of development in the recent past.

This Is A Story Of A Not So Incredible State Of Our Incredible India !!

To Be Continued……… :)