On the Eve Of Election ..., from Chaupals of Bihar

This story is protected under Google product Licence, first appeared on July 25th, 2015

Every kingdom thrives or survives on the happiness quotient of its subjects. This is more critical than the wealth index, the per capita income and the GDP put together. But are nations or the states of a nation with the best score across these fronts, the happiest or are smaller slices of paradise where people earn less, save less are happy and at peace? A slice of India called Bihar, once was that land of Buddha, till the albatross of development came throttling it.

As the legislators of Bihar prepare for yet another assembly session, an exercise they are compelled to go throught, the only prayer -much less hope-  is that the government will not leave us with another set of assurances and promises, which turn out to be lies, If the Honorable members of the Assembly can have a right to privileges, shouldn't the masters of democracy - the people- have the basic privilege of assurnaces made on the floor of the House, being fulfilled.

While the state's political environment is getting more poisonous by every next day, there has been a complete deviation of discussion. The political circuit is again on the line of casteism and the rippling effect could be witness from the Vidhan Sabha lawn of Patna to chaupals of Nalanda and Bihars' hinterlands.

The present state government in Bihar seems to thrive on fiction, keeping reality in suspended animation. There is so much to be discussed from across the state. From lack of irrigation facilities to disbursement of loans that are yet to be written off in all aspects, to the economy being in a shambles to all round corruption, to issues of bad sewage in cities, removal of wine shops to outside Bihar to corruption and mis-management in infrastructure bodies to corruption in the police ranks. But while outstanding issues is the baggage of every ruling party and government, the shame and dishonour of ignoring assurances given in the highest temple of democracy in a state – the Assembly – will be a permanent black spot on this government which has specialized in making untruth the leitmotif of governance.


Truth is either not spoken or controlled making Bihar look like one of those bohemian South American countries of old. We leave you with a little passage from Salman Rushdie’s tribute the great Latin American novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez on his passing away in 2014. This passage of Rushdie’s was quoted in writer S Prasannarajan’s eulogy to Marquez, in Open Magazine called “ El Realismo Gabo, Forever”- ‘ García Márquez decided that reality in South America had literally ceased to exist: this is the source of his fabulism. The damage to reality was at least as much political as cultural. In Márquez’s experience, truth has been controlled to the point at which it has ceased to be possible to find out what it is. The only truth is that you are being lied to all the time.’ Today's Goa is no different from El Gabo’s Cuba or Columbia, which is why Goa is not happy, a state of mind which could prove dangerous for the future of this government.

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