Much has been made of demanding a special status
for Bihar by the current CM Nitish Kumar, where he hints that he will align
with any party for the forthcoming elections in 2014 that gives it to his
state. But the migration of Biharis to other parts of India has reached such
scary proportions that actually the states to where Biharis migrate would need
a special status not long from now.
Bihari migrants, along with their Uttar Pradesh
counterparts, have faced a lot of hostility, among others ,in Assam , Punjab
,Maharashtra, Bengal , Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu , the most horrific
of them are the numerous incidents of massacre of Bihari labourers by ULFA or
by the Khalistani militants during Punjab insurgency. But the other instances
are for largely valid reasons, the chief among them being utter disregard (and
at times , contempt) by the migrants for the culture and language of the states
they have migrated to, the utter lack of will or desire to assimilate, the pressure
put on civic amenities due to uncontrolled migration (most acutely seen in
Mumbai and Delhi), the frequency of the migrants to fall in the ways of crime
(The bulk of Dawood gang footsoldiers were recruited from UP for one example)
and so on.
The attacks of Uttar Pradesh of Bihari migrants by
the likes of Shiv Sena and MNS are quickly dubbed by the media as “attacks on
north Indians”, conveniently forgetting that its not all north Indians who are
facing the ire. Rajasthanis and Punjabis are spread across the country as well.
Why don’t they face similar kind of anger? Because they assimilate and respect
the culture of their adopted states. That’s one fact the media conveniently
chooses to ignore (It also forgets that Biharis cannot be called as north Indians
as Bihar is in the east of the country).
Before crying foul, the self righteous bleeding
hearts and every denizen of Bihar and UP must ask and try to answer honestly
the following:-
Why are these two politically significant
states developmentally so insignificant in comparison? How long will they
continue to be referred to as bimaru (sick) or cow belt regions?
Why is it that inspite of having nearly one fourth
of the country’s population, the contribution of Uttar Pradesh or Bihar to
India’s progress has been miniscule in comparison to the magnitude of human
capital available in there?
Why is it that inspite of a combined total of
112 out of the 545 seats in Lok Sabha, both these states are abysmal in every
aspect of human development index? Take anything, right from law and order to
infrastructure and there is nothing hopeful which can be seen in them.
Why is it repeated all the time that “any citizen
has a right to work anywhere in the country” but it is never stressed that it
is the moral responsibility of those in power to create ample opportunities for
all citizens to find meaningful means of living in their own city, district or
state?
Bihar produces the most number of civil servants in
the country. No wonder it is in such a bad shape. Uttar Pradesh, which is not
very far from the number is no better. But why have these two states since
independence not produced a single leader or technocrat who can create
jobs, spur development and bring the populace out of misery?
Cant these two states produce one political figure
who is not a criminal? Why is every other politician from there nothing more
than a caste leader or a warlord like figure whose only capability lies in the
number of armed people and sycophants he has at his command? (Of course it is not
restricted to he) Why cant the people who proudly vote for them as their
“biradari waala” or “hamaara neta” once pause to think that can their idol ever
due anything fruitful for them in the long run? There is no right, left or
centre in Indian politics. There is only caste. But this problem is most
chronic in these two states.
Why cant someone in the media have the guts to say
that vote bank castist politics have calculatedly driven out the majority of
the middle class out of Bihar? How long must the college graduates and
labourers go halfway across India for even getting the most simplest of
employment and labour, respectively? Don’t they have a right to have a right of
dignified life in their native place?
Have the people and leaders of UP and Bihar sworn
that they will live a much more miserable life than rest of India? A developed
India is simply impossible without a developed UP and Bihar.How long will they
continue to be a deadweight that sinks everyone down? How long will they
continue voting shameless opportunists to power who hold the country to ransom
on the flimsiest of issues and can swing any way, depending on who pays them
the most?
Instead of getting angry at MNS , why cant the
people of UP and Bihar ever question themselves that for how long will they
have the attitude of being stuck behind and dragging the whole country down
with them for their caste based politics
and sheer inability to progress?
As for the special status, what has it done for any
state that has got them? Hand outs never help anyone, they only create a
juvenile sense of entitlement, something which, thanks to the socialist
policies has become frightfully abundant in the country.Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
have got enough spent on them over the years, and where has all this money
gone? Down the drain or into the pockets of robbers and bandits who have been
elected to represent the people, thereby leaving the majority of the area as a
squalid wasteland and forcing the denizens of UP and Bihar to migrate even to
seek meaningful menial employment elsewhere.How long will they be continued to
be labelled as Bhaiyyas and nothing else?
Mr Nitish Kumar, special status wont get you
anything but a few alms and few more decades of misery. Inspire people to
become special instead. That’s the only way out.
Is it too much to ask for?
