YAWNING BIHAR WAKING

In the first three decades of freedom, the ruling parties encashed their efforts to liberate the country and amassed votes  on alluring slogans.  This generated a strong dissatisfaction among the cheated public so much so that the govt. had to resort to unpleasant Emergency. The po;itical parties at large got a clear message that they would lose ground fast if  they delayed any more the economic development. As a result since early 70’s growth was perceptible in different fields including agriculture.

Then came another phase when even performing chief ministers were shown the door. In this connection one cannot forget the plight of Om Prakash Chautala in Haryana, Chandrababu Nayudu in Andhra Pradesh and Shrikrishna of Karnataka who had done a lot for their states. It forced the political circles to believe that development alone could not take one to power. In English there is a saying: ‘it is not enough just to be honest, one should also look to be so’. Then emerged a formula of DPR (development and public relations). The success of this effective twin policy can be seen in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. These states are quoted as models of development which other states are imbibing fast.

The experience of Bihar is by far breath-taking. Narendra Modi already  had a springboard and he had just to be stable to make jump. On the other hand Nitish had to proceed from a scratch – first construct the launching pad and then jump. Bihar quite wisely fixed the priority and went for performance in fields whch were easily visible to the people. His first task was to restore law and order in the society and then improve transport connectivity by spreading a wide network of roads. Nitish said that he wanted people to move any time without fear and from every district one could reach Patna in two hours. It paid the desired dividends when in the next election JDU-BJP govt. romped home with a thumping majority.

In last eight years, Bihar has recorded 12% annual growth which is the highest among major states. Similarly between 2001 and 2011, rate of literacy grew to 17% which appears to be a world record. Whether it is child mortality rate or life span of an individual, Bihar’s performance is quite laudable. He told his voters not to vote for him in the next election if by then electricity did not reach every village. He also committed to change the face of agriculture so much so that in future every thali in the country will have a Bihari recipe. Bihar is fortunate to have fertile land and sufficient underground and overground water. No one should wonder if Nitish translated his dreams into reality.

Here we do not want to hide the deficiency perceptible in the state. Between 2004 and 2011 poverty went down by 8.4% in the country whereas in Bihar it stood at 0.4%. Similarly in respect of purchasing capacity of individuals, Bihar is lagging behind. But we are sure that a well intentioned chief minister is well capable of tiding over that. Optimism is the mantra.