Bihar Nahin Bhulta, Apna Gaon Nahin Bhoolta

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A nine-foot bronze statue of Late Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, who originally hailed from Bihar and

was the Prime Minister of Mauritius from 1961 to 1982, was unveiled near Gandhi Maidan in Patna on February 18, 2008. On the personal wish of the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar things get done. The then Mauritian Prime Minister N.C.Ramgoolam, who happens to be his son also, was given the opportunity to inaugurate the statue. It was an emotional moment for the family and friends of Mauritius, full with gratitude towards the CM for extending such great honor way back home to a person who had to uproot from his home turf to earn a livelihood. 

Time passed, 6 years on; Every time I pass-by this statue at the southern end of the Gandhi Maidan, a multitude of thoughts sparks. My neurons feels a bit strained thinking what exactly this statue gives message to the society. Does this not an an irony that our state is grandeuring, feeling proud of the story of a migrant to whom we failed to provide even a livelihood? Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam’s success was his personal effort and the system there which helped him reach the top of the island nation of Mauritius and given this fact the Government of Bihar need not to in cash the credit. 

Anyway, the Hindi-speaking state of Bihar, UP and others are under the festive Holi fevers grip this week. Trains witness unprecedented (every year the crowds break its own past record) crowd. Every important railway stations is witnessing sea of humans. The Black marketing of railway tickets runs as every year it holds. Any simple Delhi-Patna route SL class berth in any express train being sold like hotcakes anywhere between Rs. 1600 to 2000 against the official fare of just Rs. 435 and 550 for tatkals. The capital city of Patna having two Bus Terminus at Mithapur and Bankipore (Gandhi Maidan) borne the maximum passenger load for interstate services. Even government run buses(BSTRC) runs with passengers on the roof. At this age of low-cost carriers in Indian civil aviation space the non-refundable economy class airfare from Delhi crossed 20,000 this time; against the normal fare of around just Rs. 5000. Airfare from the other important cities like Kolkatta, Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore met similar fate.

Undoubtedly, these visitors to Bihar helps a great financial boost every festive week. But who these visiting people are who borne a fatigue journey, travel insecurity and a lot of mental and physical stress? They are visitors for a week, on a visit to their left behind family, relation and home. It is their annual journey of sentiments. These are the real tourist to Bihar! 

Nope, they are not tourist. They are migrants instead. The ongoing trend appears every festive season is the crystal clear representation of the enormity of the problem of unemployment in Bihar. This angle of migration story is enough to embarrass any government running into its 9th year. And in susaasan people expects more than that. 

The government records might have a completely different version claiming swelling job opportunities in Bihar. But, in all practical senses the enormity of the problem of migration has never been the priority to tackle with by any government till date. Even most of the plans of this susaasan govt. never surfaced on the ground. And a CM, reluctant to share the responsibility of One and a half dozen ministry for about a year, Nitish Kumar seems to on cloud nine having nothing to do with ground. 

Debraj Bhattacharya, a social scholar, who puts his paper in 2013 with the governemnt of Bihar researched the migration phenomenon in Bihar with a quite trustworthy methodology. His research revealed the incidence of out-migration from rural Bihar which is probably greater than anywhere else in India. A combination of circumstances, both natural and societal, has created a situation in the state where sending a family member out to earn was the only way of staying alive. There was a remarkable increase in migration after 1990 and even more during 2000. 

After 2005, all hopes lies on the new government and a paradigm shift was expected. But the rural economy ground remained to a virtual standstill in all practical senses. While the government records, witnesses unprecedented growth and historic gain, the migration from flood, drought, closure of industries as well as law and order problems continues to force the outflow of people. Banks are very reluctant to extend loans to poor, farmers and enterpreneurship. More than 90 per cent of the households are dependent on moneylenders and other resources for small to average size loans. 

In many research beside Debraj’s it comes flat that the inadequate fulfillment of livelihood and inadequate employment opportunity is the main cause of migration. The randomly selectively chunks across the various districts of Bihar, it comes to a shocking 81 percent case where one person from the household migrates. The dominant trend is for one person per household to migrate to urban areas in search of work. It is very rare to migrate with family in poor societal groups. 

The migration symptom among Urban Biharis who are highly educated, techies and are instrumental in the running of world’s best enterprises from IBM to Microsoft, Reliance, Accenture etc. seems to be a different case as brain-drain but not actually so. This self made elite class has never been the part of concern for the earlier governments in Bihar. Ignored perpetually they settled abroad out of this poor state but still holds good value ancestral property and real estate here. From diaspora to NRBs and some world class summits a lot of experiments been done to hit the headline but the ground reality remained as it was in Laloo-Rabri era.

Amit Sinha is a bilingual writer and research Journalist. He can be contacted at facebook.amit

Gandhi Maidan In Great Trouble

This story Originally published at The PatnaDaily

It was the CM Nitish Kumar, who unveiled the world's tallest Gandhi statue almost a year ago at the historic Gandhi Maidan. The intention of spending 10 crores was as ambiguous then as it is today, given there happen to be a well maintained statue of ‘Baapu’ at the Southern end. This poor state spent a handsome 10 crores to fulfill the personal wish of a Chief Minister. But unfortunately ‘Bapu’ in his new, 40 feet (72 feet, including pedestal) bronze avatar has to experience the greatest trouble this historic Gandhi Maidan has ever witnessed. 


At present Gandhi Maidan is in the most pathetic state. The Bankipore Maidan or the Doranda Singh Maidan or as some government documents suggest Race Course or the Oval, the ‘lawn’, the ‘lung’ or the ‘breathing point’ or whatever you call it, the identity of this capital city is fighting for its survival. And to our surprise courtesy - the Bihar government and the personal wish of the CM again. 


With the recent developments a large part of this 62 acre lawn was allotted to a construction group ‘Ahluwalia Contracts’ which was commissioned to construct the convention center on the northern side of the Gandhi Maidan between Police Control Room, Patna and Gandhi Sangrahalaya. As per the plan, the agency was to construct parts of the projects in the allotted portion of the ground (which had been encircled by large steel sheets) and later move them to the actual site. More precisely, to go, it’s almost 10 percent, it’s the six acres of land. The company erected 20 foot high steel wall all around the allotted area. As per company sources, more than 1000 labourers was planned to be deployed here and about 200 rooms were being built with using cement, steel and concrete. A range of toilets was being built despite the fact that on the lease agreement no fix construction was allowed under any circumstances. 

If sources are to believe the Maidan was allotted to the firm on a nominal charge of just Rs.2 against the standard hiring rent of Rs. 20 per sq. feet per month, for any commercial activity. Despite repeated approach neither the DM office nor the Urban development department argues its rational for this handsome 10 times rebate for a 100% commercial profit making venture. People smell a rat here Mr. Kumar. 
In my earlier story at the PatnaDaily I revealed the issue of the blunders being made by the government selecting the site between Police HQ and Gandhi Sangrahalay for the construction of the huge convention center, given the space crunch and the traffic congestion in the area. Now the effect has surfaced and Gandhi Maidan became the first prey. The proposal for the mega project had earlier faced protests when students and teachers of Magadh Mahila College hit the streets against the move to block the entry to their campus. Some activist also puts questions and local media also helped the issue hit the headline. 

The Chief Minister was also conveyed, but he made a mockery of the concern, saying he used to visit the women's college to meet his ‘love’ and he knows there are many slip roads to reach the college, hence all these resistance is opposition’s drama. Nitish’s reaction to such serious concerns reminded us of Laloo era when people had to meet with similar shocking response to the serious issues. 

Insulted by the Chief Minister, common man of this city took the cudgel to save the Gandhi Maidan. Common people, eminent citizens, morning walker and social activist took up their sleeves and come together under the banner of ‘Gandhi Maidan Bachao Sangharsh Samiti’ to put pressure on the Government to cancel the allotment. Committee president Mrityunjay Tiwari and local legislatures joined the mission. Under severe pressure local media too had to take the issue up. Several Dharma, marches, posters continued for weeks and ultimately a reluctant state government had to cancel the allotment. But the large set up is still there as it was. Trucks and heavy vehicles continue to trample the lush green grasses. The authority is still assuring that the setup will be removed by the company itself, but it fails to make any deadline.

Amit Sinha is a bilingual writer and research Journalist. He can be contacted at facebook.amit