Half a Bihar needs full attention

Now that Jharkhand is a reality, what happens to Bihar -- arguably India's most backward state? What happens in a region where the premier...

Now that Jharkhand is a reality, what happens to Bihar — arguably India’s most backward state? What happens in a region where the premier institutions have failed to deliver or are caught up in an endless cycle of strikes and strife? Take something like education. Classes are not taken, examinations are not held on time and it takes more than five years, on an average, for a student to graduate.

Unemployment has led to the decline of law and order and has gone to strengthen gali and mohalla level lumpenisation. The formation of Jharkhand has further weakened the economy of Bihar, a state which is already suffering from the malaise of the state treasury being bankrupted by vested interests. Jharkhand was a major source of revenue for Bihar. For years, there was a large scale migration of people — both educated and uneducated — to south Bihar (now Jharkhand) and Calcutta for precisely this reason. In fact, from the 1980s onwards, people of north and central Bihar have been migrating in large numbers to places outside the state — to Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Mumbai and other places in search of greener pastures. These migrations symbolise the failure of successive state governments in providing development and protecting livelihoods.

Numerous experts have come up with varied models of development that Bihar should adopt in the wake of its division. Among the suggestions made is that the government immediately pass a strict order to police officers to maintain law and order at all costs and hold the officer fully responsible for any crime in his/her area, after giving them full autonomy of course.

Story continues below this ad

Educational institutions should be asked to hold examinations and publish results on time. The interference of politicians should be strictly curtailed and efforts made to develop proper infrastructure in the state, from roads and electricity to telecommunication networks.

Indeed, Bihar could benefit a great deal from the IT revolution. Gramnet Yojana, of linking the villages through the Internet, can be of immense help in the promotion of health, education, agriculture and cottage industries in the villages. The work done by the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation at Pondicherry should be replicated in Bihar after making the right modifications to suit local conditions, of course.

The Panchayati raj elections, scheduled to take place in the state this January, raises some hope that people will at last be given some control over their lives. But there is a sad and worrying aspect to this –the implementation of 30 per cent reservations for women will not be possible this time.

Bihar need the active attention of the nation if it has to survive the consequences of the recent partition. The instituting of a high-powered, multi-level, body of experts from various fields and social strata to look into the situation of the state could be a sensible first step. This is very important to curb caste wars and naxal violence, which are not merely a manifestation of land grabbing and forceful occupation, but of rampant unemployment and lack of law and order in the state. One of the biggest tragedies of the state is that half the youth in the villages wastes more than half their time in wasteful activity.

Story continues below this ad

It is sometimes difficult to remember Bihar’s history as a land of great empires, rich cultural experiences, extremely fertile lands and intelligent and hard working people. The state doesn’t deserve the fate that has visited it. Honest hard work and a commitment to change is what the state needs.