There is a method in this Bihar madness

Himanshu Shekhar

The moment one gets down at the Mokama Junction one sights the shlokas from the Gita adorning the walls. This brings to one’s mind the oft quoted lines by leaders and politicians of the area: “Nyayarth Apne Bandhuon Sey Yudh Karna Dharma Hai.” Literally: “it is dharma to fight one’s own kin if it is for the sake justice.” It is quite becoming that one should begin the exploration of Mokama, the land of the great Indian poet Ramdhari Singh ‘Dinkar’ with thoughts on the high rhetoric of the holy Gita. The place is in news again. But this time it’s only because its local MLA decided to haul and beat few journalists who went to his house in order to collect some facts in order to get the truth. Hauling and beating of a national news channel reporter by Anant Singh a JDU, MLA known as Chotey Sarkar is not just one off incident highlighting the state of affairs in Bihar. It’s a gradual methodical decline in the system designed by politicians, who thrive on muscle power in society which finds itself 20 years back on the scale of development. Chotey Sarkar Anant Singh, younger brother to former Don turned MLA, Dileep Singh ( a Bhumihar strong man), Anant Singh took the leadership after big brother’s recurring illness. 120 kms from capital Patna is a sprawling fort in 2.4 acres of land, guarded by over 350 armed man, largely comprising youth from neighbouring villages across river Ganga. Armed with AK 47 rifles and latest imported machine guns to desi Katta (local made pistols), is a army which is ready to give their supreme sacrifice at one call of their leader and god father ‘ Chotey Sarkar’. A muscle man from Bihar and once a strong man of Suraj Bhan Singh another bahubali from the same region came to political light by taking on Lalu Prasad Yadav in his fiery speeches. He called for Lalu’s political death failing which he promised his people to bring his head. Crowd disillusioned by over two decades of neglect and humiliated by the ‘Yadav’ leader clapped and rallied behind this newly crowned ‘Chotey Sarkar’. Caste- Class Struggle Mokama adjacent to Begusarai district is largely a ‘Bhumihar’ based community with farming as its prime occupation. It also has India’s first IOC refinery at Barauni, a thermal power plant, a fertilizer factory and huge fertile cultivable land which tops the wheat and rice production per hectare in India. It’s a land which saw Bihar’s first peasant movement. Rise of people like Kamdeo Singh a notorious criminal and diamond smuggler gave birth to a new trend. People whose land was seized by government took up arms forming their own parallel army. Year 1990 saw Lalu Prasad Yadav replacing Jagannath Mishra, who hailed from the Brahmin community. Transfer of power was symbolic and Lalu Prasad Yadav whose party Janta Dal backed by Mandal wave won almost all the Loksabha seat from Bihar but lost in Begusarai. Local Bhumihar leader Mrs Krishna Shahi won on Congress ticket and the battle lines were drawn. Battle lines were drawn and Lalu Prasad Yadav openly declared that region has to pay for not voting his party. What followed was gross neglect of the region by the state and murder of top brass among Bhumihar leaders, who raised their voice against Lalu Prasad Yadav. The fertilizer factory was shut down, various units of thermal factory were forced to close due to the shortage of raw coal and thus youth remained unemployed. It’s the disillusion of such youth, who took to arms and chose the way out. It is a story of a politician giving rise to a situation which in course divided society on caste lines helping their re election. It’s a story which depicts how politicians try to shift the focus from real issue of development in elections. Why Nitish should act? Post Independence people of Bihar have given a clear mandate. A two third majority for Nitish Kumar meant people gave a mandate for development. Nitish government says it is working over time to bring back Bihar on the national map. It’s a government, which truly represents all sections of society. A state, which is vying for investment friendly environment should take strict action against MLA who dare to run a parallel government. A clear message has to be put across that no one is above law. This is a majority government Nitish Kumar can take a tough stand. Nitish Kumar has an opportunity to send a clear message.