Progressive Bihar: Will Youth Help?

 

With elections to the Bihar state Assembly drawing near a shower of freebees, concessions and development projects are on offer to entice the people to forget the sufferings of the past and vote back the present ruling combine. These are being offered both by the government at the Centre and the state.

The political leaderships, of all parties, are working on caste combinations, as in the past, to put together a winning combination. There is a churning of political affiliations as politicians play the Ayya Ram Gaya Ram game to ensure that they find a place in the new assembly.

The humiliation, the desperation, and deprivation suffered by lakhs of workers yearning to return to their villages continues to haunt the victims, but does not seem to have made an impact of the political leadership.

 

Most of the returning workers have yet to find satisfactory economic rehabilitation. The agony and deprivation suffered by tens of thousands of jobless, shelterless, hungry, thirsty and helpless migrant workers walking the highways of the country is still fresh in minds of not only the victims but people across the state.

 

There is growing resentment against the traditional politicians and the leadership of the various political parties vying for votes. The anger is directed both against the ruling combination in the state and the BJP government at the Centre. The feeling among ruling party leadership seems to be that memory is short and the people can be won over by promises and freebies.

 

Will this happen once again? Will the people forget their past sufferings and rally behind the traditional politicians who have racked destruction and distress in the state. It is a tragedy of the state that even though it provides a high percentage of candidates to the administrative machinery of the country the state continues to be mismanaged.

Bihar sends 40 MPs to the Lok Sabha and 16 MPs to the Rajya Sabha, and has a good number in the central and state ministries. Biharis are the backbone of Indian administrative machinery. Almost every district in India has a DM or SP, who belongs to Bihar. Bihar accounts for nearly 450 out of total 5,500 IAS officers in the country.

One in 10 bureaucrats shaping the destiny of India in North or South Block is from Bihar. The highest numbers of IAS, IPS & IFS aspirants are from Bihar. Almost 25 percent of the 700 candidates, who qualified for IAS and IPS in the last ten years, belong to Bihar. IPS officers from Bihar are a particularly powerful group not just in Bihar police but in other state and Central police forces. A substantial number of IPS officers from Bihar are holding DG, ADG, IG, and DIG level posts.

Bihar Workers: Builders of Modern India

At the lower level workers from Bihar make up the labour force across the country for the construction and maintenance of what Jawaharlal Nehru had called the temples of modern India. Most Bihari workers migrate in search of livelihood and are involved in low-paying informal work in urban destinations in sectors such as construction, hospitality, textiles, manufacturing, transportation, services, and domestic work. Lacking social or income security, they are not only exploited but also ignored and disrespected by their employers but also by the political class, as they hardly translate into votes.

 Youth groups in the state blame the lack of governance, by successive administrations, for keeping the state at the bottom of the development ladder. They blame caste politics played out by political parties for the misery suffered by the people. Almost all youth groups are seeking a new narrative that does not include caste or religious connotations and goes beyond just “roti, kapada aur makan”.  They are growing increasingly resentful against hackneyed politics being played out in the state since independence.

 An additional factor that is causing resentment among the youth, particularly the educated youth, is the lack of adequate employment avenues which is forcing several lakhs of people to migrate out of the state every year in search of employment. Lack of employment, they point out, is one of the biggest drivers of migration.

According to an estimate, nearly 50 lakh people from Bihar migrate each year in search of livelihoods to all parts of India. The unemployment rate in April 2020 according to CMIE, the state's unemployment rate increased by 31.2 percentage points, rising to 46.6 percent almost twice the national average.

A large number of families in the state survive on the money sent by their family members working outside the state. It has been estimated that every migrant, on an average, sends Rs 15,000 annually to the members of his or her family. A recent study estimated that the total remittance inflow in the Bihar economy to be close to Rs 90 billion. Remittances account for more than the annual budget of Bihar.

Denied Respect Due

Despite its contributions to the political leadership of the country and its strong membership in the country’s administrative services, Bihar has lagged behind in the race for economic development. Youth leaders point out that the image of the state across the country among the people is that of a beggar state, backward and stagnant. They point out that even though labour from Bihar has contributed handsomely to the economic development of the country they are denied the respect due to them.

Over the past year, and more, angry youth in the state, are using the internet to mobilize support among the people for their fight for an economically self sufficient Bihar. One of these groups is the Bihar Chhatra Sansad. At a recent meeting the group quoted Swami Vivekananda as saying that it takes only a hundred youth to change destiny of a nation.

 “It is true that change starts with the youth. Bihari youth know how to unite and move forward on the path of solving problems. The Bihar Chhatra Sansad has decided to save Bihar from dirty politics and unskilled politicians by forming non-political organizations.”

The organizers say that the main objective of Bihar Chhatra Sansad is to advance the development of society and the state. This by highlighting the shortcomings in the politics and administrative system of Bihar It points out that it is the responsibility of Bihari youth to decide what they want to make their state and where do they want to take it?

Almost all youth organizations in the state have expressed similar demands. Their demands include an end to the caste system, more economic development, better education facilities, more jobs and more progressive and dignified living conditions. The youth strongly believe that the political leadership in the state does not have either the will or the capacity to create a self-sufficient Bihar.

 The youth claim they have the capacity to bring about change. The Bihari youth rooting for change have their job cut out for them if they are serious about bringing change. They will have to confront the existing party leaders to ensure an end to the distribution of tickets on caste lines and to criminals. Above all they need to immune themselves from the freebees and temptations being offered by the various political parties and more particularly the parties in power.

Role of Youth To Change Bihar

Bihar’s youth possess abundant energy, determination and courage. They have both the mental and physical capacity to bring about change in the lives of their people. They need to cooperate and put their energies together to bring about the much desired change required in the social and political life of the long suffering people. The need of the time is for them to channelise their energies to guide the people in the right direction.

The future of the state rests on the shoulders of the young because they represent new values, new thinking and the new ways of life. They need to work towards enabling the society to mould itself according to the needs of an inclusive society. It is their responsibility to guide the state towards to goal of making Bihar a caste free, corruption free, society where every Bihari has a chance to live with dignity and respect.

They need to create within themselves the urge to work among the masses and provide direction for the others to follow. The Youth in Bihar can become the beacon of change in the state whose people have lived in poverty and ignorance for several decades. If the youth in Bihar really care for their state and its people, especially the long suffering people, they need to  work shoulder to shoulder with working class, and all those lakhs who are forced every year to migrate to other states in search of employment.

The time to act is now. With the various political factions preparing to fight for power. The youth need to fan out across the state and educate the voters about the real value of their vote and how they need to select the right candidate for their vote. The youth has the power to take Bihar from an underdeveloped state to an economically fully developed state. They need to act now. (adapted from Yogesh Samannan in Scribd)

Realizing that they are on a weak wicket both the state and central government have unleashed a series of projects to entice the angry population. A series of development projects have been announced by the state government. The BJP government at the Centre is offering incentives to sections of the population to smoothen their opposition.

For far too long the state and its people have lived in denial. The Bihari is angered by the fact that outside the state, as inside, he does not enjoy the respect and dignity due to him. The forthcoming elections provide the youth an excellent opportunity to confront the traditional caste based politics and to work for a Bihar which is inclusive and which provides economic, political and social justice for all.

Is the youth of Bihar ready to take up this challenge?