On 22 March 2022, when the state of Bihar is going to celebrate the 110th birth anniversary of its establishment with great zeal and enthusiasm, then in front of the eyes of about 12.88 crore Biharis, a box of many good memories, success stories and the history of the rare journey of development that they can celebrate, share, and be proud of. But, in the midst of all this, about 1288 million living Biharis and the government of Bihar will have to face the important question of millions of dollars – when will this holy land of knowledge become a land of opportunities and solutions?
Bihar Day through the Corridor of History: Context and Detail
It is known that Bihar Day is celebrated every year on 22 March as a celebration of the separation of the state from the Bengal Presidency by the British rule. On March 21, 1912, the then Bengal Presidency Governor Thomas Gibson Carmichael announced the division of Bengal into four provinces- Bengal, Orissa, Bihar and Assam. Later in 1936, Odisha was separated from Bihar, and again in the year 2000 the state of Jharkhand was created. The day was again celebrated on a large scale after Sushasan Babu Nitish Kumar took over as the Chief Minister of Bihar in 2005, and was first celebrated on a large scale in the year 2010. The celebration of Bihar Diwas is not limited only to the state of Bihar and India, but Bihari diaspora living in other countries like Australia, Canada, Europe, Mauritius, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, and Trinidad also celebrate this day with great enthusiasm. celebrate together.
In context of Bihar Diwas 2022: Relevance and prospect
This year the theme of Bihar Diwas focuses on the ambitious scheme of the Government of Bihar, “Jal Jeevan Hariyali and Nal-Jal Yojana”. This theme has been put up by the Government of Bihar to raise awareness among the people about the decreasing rate of annual rainfall, depleting water level in many districts, threat to water security and greenery across the state.
In the age of social media, where almost everyone has become expert on every subject, and as a nation, we are passing through the golden era of virtual jagad-guru. This reminds me, famous Hindi writer and satirist To quote a popular quote by Harishankar Parsai (1924–1995), “We are not mentally confused. They are feudalist with rituals, values of life are semi-capitalist and talk about socialism.
“The Bihar Files” – Talks, Intellectuals and the Big Screen
To understand Bihar, we have to understand “The Bihar Files”, which revolves around the narrative of Bihar through different dimensions. It is on the same lines as the whole of India is going through the wave of “The Kashmir Files” right now, and each has its own narrative and truth, hidden between the politics of perception and optics.
Some intellectuals gave the name of ‘Ruktapur’ to Bihar, that is, a place where the wheels of development got stuck. However, it also corresponds to the year-on-year performance of the state of Bihar in almost every national and international development index – be it the Sustainable Development Goals Index, indices related to food, clothing, housing, health infrastructure , rampant corruption present in all levels of administration, lack of accountability, ethics, integrity and accountability in administration and delivery of public services, challenges in ease of doing business, protection of common Biharis, and marginalized population Category- such as women, SC, ST, LGBT welfare. All these eventually pushed the state into the Bimaru category or the so-called Ruktapur.
The silver screen, media and ill-informed narratives of Bollywood have also created many negative perceptions about Bihar over the years. Bihar as the holy and knowledgeable land of Lord Buddha, Lord Mahavira and the mathematician Aryabhata, the cradle of Indian civilization, the birthplace of Mother Sita, the birthplace of Rajendra Babu, the first President of India – all these good and positive aspects are hidden. And it was replaced by narratives like India’s most backward state, a province with an army of unemployed youth, a state with hungry and malnourished children. The only positive aspect of modern Bihar in the eyes of most Indians is that Bihar is also home to the largest number of civil service officers, scientists and engineers.
Now what and how will Bihar become next?
On the occasion of its 110th birthday, Bihar has to move ahead in many developmental dimensions to answer many questions and address the challenges associated with governance and administrative deficits and developmental inequalities. Whether it is the aspiration of the policy “economic solution, youth ko force or youth power – progress of Bihar”, which is possible only through a mixed approach of public and private sector participation.
In this direction, the recently concluded Bihar Start Up Conclave (12 March 2022) organized by the Department of Industries, Government of Bihar along with Bihar Industries Association is a welcome step and has the potential to turn “Bihar into a Start-up Capital”. , if each of the stakeholders involved in this process makes an effort to the best of their abilities, and then follows up with consistent and appropriate follow-up at each level. When India implemented its start-up policy in 2016, Bihar was the first state in the country to start with a SID corpus of Rs 10 lakh.
In addition, focus on creation of a Special Economic Zone, keeping Overseas Indians (Biharis) on investment boards, an accountable and transparent fast track approval mechanism to bypass bureaucratic red tape is also a “brain-drain” and trigger a culture of “reverse brain-drain”. ,
Steps to focus investment in tourism sector keeping in view the unexplored and lesser known tourist destinations in the state, investment in health infrastructure (primary health care) taking lessons from the first and second waves of the global pandemic COVID-19, A complete overhaul of the education system, creation of permanent anti-dots for migration and migrant workers so that they do not have to come home repeatedly from other states of the country, strong policy like prohibition to remove other social evils, And ensuring the actual implementation of the ambitious Seven Nishchay Yojanas (2.0), etc., can make a self-reliant Bihar.
,The views expressed here are the personal of the author.)