Bihar
Posted : May 31, 2005 at 9:34 am [America/Los_Angeles]
On a more serious note, my dad has posted an entry this morning on Bihar (“Can Someone Assure a Change for Better in Bihar?”) that I think raises some interesting questions. We’re from Bihar, although I was born and raised in Bengal. Besides the occasional summer vacations at my paternal and maternal village, I can’t say I know much about Bihar. However, one does not have to be a rocket-scientist to see when things are seriously out-of-whack.
Bihar has been in pits for years. It has been the joke and ridicule of the entire country for years. Talk about “Jungle Raaj” (Law of the jungle). Talk about Caste-based politics. Talk about Haves and Have Nots. If left unchecked any further, the Politician-cum-Dons of the State will drag Bihar into the Paleolithic Age, if they’ve not done so already. Frankly, this ain’t funny no more. If you thought Darfur needed help, you might as well add Patna to that list. And I don’t think that I am hyperboling one bit.
I’ve said this before and will say it again: “In a true democracy, people get what they truly deserve”. I can only hope and pray that Indians, Bihari or otherwise, use this upcoming election in the State to help the residents of Bihar stop digging their graves. They deserve better. We just need to remind them that they do have a choice. And no, it ain’t going to be easy.
Note:
After I wrote the last line of the last paragraph above, I started thinking about it: Do the Biharis really have a choice? If I try to think of the gamut of political players and parties vying for their votes, I am not so sure if they really do. Ugh….
- Anand
Category: Chindia |
Leave a Comment