A Stereotype called Bihar

During my childhood and teenage years, I grew under the impression of an under-confident, abused and mocked Bihar. Such a perception of birthplace would disappoint and demotivate any person. The same has happened with an entire generation in Bihar. We had been repeatedly told that we were always an innately poor, crime-ridden, uneducated, ill-cultured and a backward class society. Were we indeed a butt of jokes and mockery ? Did Bihar and Biharis fail or it was rather the failure of a political leadership and administration ? And if it was the latter, then how did the stereotype apply to all of us ? Let's try to find that out ! Before I proceed, a small note to the readers - the article is not about boasting of my Bihari identity or trying to portray a superficial superiority but it is to address the stereotype of being backward culturally an entire generation in Bihar had to go through.

Bihar was one of the oldest civilizations across the globe because of its fertile land. And in those times, Bihar was indeed an advanced society in terms of knowledge, welfare and culture. Sushruta, who is famously called the Father Of  Surgery and along with Charaka, who laid the foundation of Ayurveda was born and based in Bihar in 6th century BC. Mahavira, who laid the principles of Jainism and preached the religion all around was born in Vaishali, Bihar. He popularized the ideas of non-violence, spiritual liberation, multi-sided reality ( Anekantavada) from the land of Bihar which are in practice by many till date. Gautam Buddha, another religious leader who founded the Buddhism religion got his enlightenment and spiritual awakening by meditating under the MahaBodhi tree in Bodhgaya, Bihar. Later, he traveled vastly across the state to teach people about the principles of Buddhism spending a lot of time in the then capital city of Bihar, Rajgir.  Hence, it was the land of Bihar that witnessed the beginning of another religion that talks about inner peace and spirituality around 6th-5th century BC. Most of us know about the legend of Chankaya and Chandragupta Maurya but often we tend to undermine the significance of these two in the context of our identity. Chanakya was the first person who envisaged an Akhand Bharat  it was the valor of Chandragupta Maurya that realised this ambition. That time ( around 4th century BC), there were Janapadas and Mahajanapadas spread across the entire subcontinent which were mainly decentralized pockets of kingdoms but it was Chanakya and his disciple who unified all of them to give a shape to the Indian subcontinent. Chandragupta's kingdom spread all over India and comprised of the entire modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan. And the capital of this large kingdom was Patliputra (Patna). Ashoka, who was Chandragupta Maurya's grandson only strengthened this mighty Indian kingdom and later on, after his spiritual awakening in the Battle of Kalinga, spread the message of brotherhood and fraternity all over the continent through his messengers of 'Dhamma' and his rock edicts all across the country. Thus, it is safe to say that Bihar was the land of rulers who built the notion of India for the first time and tried to instill the values of fraternity in the people from north to south and east to west. No wonder, Ashoka is symbolized in the centre of our national flag and as the Official Emblem of the country. 

Later on, the Gupta dynasty, with their capital in Patliputra, ruled over the majority of country till around 5th-6th century AD and that period was reportedly one of the most prosperous for the people and there was a lot of social, economic and cultural developments in the society. 

The Nalanda University, which was destroyed by the Delhi Sultanate ruler, was one of the world's most ancient educational institution with a very advanced education system.

Fast forward to the independence struggle against the colonial rule, Bihar was home to numerous freedom fighters including our first President Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Khudiram Bose, Kunwar Singh etc. It is quite popular that Bihar was the place of start for Gandhiji's Satyagraha movement. 

Another mass movement for restoration of democracy during the emergency was led by J.P Narayan from the land of Bihar and the impact was as such first non-Congress government was formed after the independence. 

Hence, from 6th century BC to as late as 1980, Bihar housed a very rich and proud history and cultural heritage. 

It can't be denied that there was a period when Bihar was dominated by Mafias, criminals and corrupt politicians. It was this period when greed prevailed over everything. And unfortunately, this phase coincided with the period of economic and technological revolution across the country. The country was opened to the western influence which profoundly impacted the popular culture, lifestyle and created new avenues and opportunities of growth. But it was Bihar's misfortune that we were not prepared politically to get our share of the pie. Rather, a major portion of the state - Jharkhand was carved out which was a major loss to the industry base of the state. All the mineral-rich regions went to Jharkhand and we lost a major potential asset. Rest of the country went ahead and we lagged behind and since then, we have been trying to fight out the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and lack of public awareness. 

But how fair is it to stereotype the identity of a state having such a rich history for a 15-year period of bad governance ?

Today, Biharis migrate to the other states in search of work only because Bihar lacks economic opportunities. But we expected better from the country and not just a series of jokes stereotyped on our poverty, illiteracy and backward lifestyle. We expected the country to recognize the heritage of Bihar and provide a shoulder to lean on during difficult times.

It is much better today. The stereotype has reduced to a good extent and the state is also looking at a promising future. We are one of the fastest growing states of the country. Our average growth rate in last decade was over 10 %, much more than the national average. Even when the country was going through an economic slowdown, GDP growth rate of Bihar was consistently greater than 10% for the last 3 years. In terms of infrastructure, there is a much better road connectivity across the state and electricity has also reached the remotest village in Bihar. Sectors like Agriculture, Fishery etc. which are the backbone of rural economy have been given a lot of emphasis and the results are indeed there. The standard of living has become better for the rural families and there has been a massive reduction in the multilateral poverty as per the research by an Oxford based economist. The popular development schemes like Mid-day meal, Cycle & dress allowance for the girls have also borne results in the form of an increased primary & female enrollment in Government schools. We are not there yet and there's still a lot to be done. There is a great potential of industrialization and urbanization within the state which would reduce the migration of poor labourers to the other states. The development spending must now be focused more on improving the education and health facilities in the state. More emphasis should be given on breaking the image of a backward society and inviting capital investment to the state to create more economic opportunities. 

It is true that off late, we haven't had a popular ambassador of the state who would further break this stereotype of cultural backwardness. We haven't produced national leaders who would remind themselves and the entire country of the flourishing Bihari history and culture that gave to us many spiritual, intellectual and cultural leaders. This change will happen from within, when more and more people will be taught that the history of Bihar is not limited to the period of 1990-2005 and it is so much beyond that which gave birth to the idea of a unified India. Only then, the people of Bihar would take pride in their identity, and will be respected more across the country and the entire nation would then embrace the potential Bihar holds for this decade !