Have you ever wondered why Biharis keep no surnames, or rather two names like Shekhar Suman, Alok Ranjan or Samar Anand? The holy grail of strange human nomenclatures from the cultural land of Buddha, Mahavira, Nalanda and Ashoka has numerous sad, brutal and ugly stories hidden within it. If we scratch the lates history of this great part of gangetic plains which boasted its diversity, it will display a very gloomy picture on the lens of social and economic development. The celebrated diversities would actually appear as socio-economic disparities among different social groups. After 1947, when other states were trying to establish industries and organizations, Bihar was busy between ladders of castes and religions. Indian National Congress dominated the war of Independence and therefore they were chosen to rule the state. The Congress Party of 50s was dominated by the upper castes - brahmans, rajputs, bhumihars and kayastha. Middle class, lower class, OBCs and SCs were not only ignored, but they were hated like an undesired weed grown in a farmland. Measures like abolition of Zamindari system couldnt do enough for the social upliftment of the neglected group, and therefore 1967 saw Mahamaya Prasad Sinha as the first non-Congress CM. Between Congress and non-Congress parties, between Upper caste and Middle caste till, and between hierarchy and freedom, the political and social conditions remained turbulent till 1977. Emergency was lifted in 1977 and after the elections, Congress was wiped out in the elections and the Janata Party. Karpoori Thakur became the CM of Bihar. There was an appreciable dissolution in the representation of forward castes in Bihar Legislative Assembly. This phase of political and social conditions in Bihar was able to uplift the middle classes and the OBCs, but lower classes and backward caste people were still fighting very hard to earn bread and respect (roti aur dhoti) in the society. In 1990s, Lalu Prasad Yadav emerged as the messiah of this marginalized section of the society. Economic condition of Bihar and related development remained at standstill, but Lalu was able to give a sense of pride and dignity to lower and middle classes. By 1990, Congress and the upper caste structure witnessed a complete reversal of conditions that existed in 50s and 60s. Lower class people started dominating the upper classes and their interactions became vulgar and derogatory. The conditions became so noxious that Bhumihar Brahmin landlords had to mold militia like Ranvir Sena to terminate Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes people by violent means and their organized killings. Amidst several political crises, the upper class and the lower class conducted massacres and bloodbaths to mark their identity. Nitish Kumar was elected because Lalu was not able to control crimes conducted within Bihar. Development was surely a criteria, but it was a secondary criteria; people in Bihar voted him for security and removal of cast biases. 4 years back, I was travelling in Bihar by a bus. An elderly stranger sitting next to asked me my name. I told him that my name is Rahul Raj. His second question was Aap Kayasth hain ya Brahman hain? Aur kisi jaat ki aukaat nahi ki bina reservation ke padhai likhai kar paaye. I lied to him that I am a Dalit. He never talked to me again, and I was really happy about that. To cut the story short, What came first Egg or the Chicken is never going to give us solutions. People avoided surnames to stay away from their caste identity. People avoided surnames because more than knowing their name, others were interested in knowing their roots. Lalu and Nitish were able to rule Bihar because no other parties were able to promise dignity to marginalized segments. Congress was not able to rule the nation because the public is insane, but because even after corruptions and scandals, they offered more hope to the lower strata of the pyramid. Hatred, neglection and delineation can never be permanent solutions, these can just temporarily hide the truth from you. By the time most of you will finish reading it, I know I would be branded as a Congress agent, an anti BJP guy, a anti Hindu secular idiot, blah blah blah. Importantly, when I read or write columns where public is abused for their political choices, I comprehended hollowness in their and my basic social understandings.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Jan 2014 11:32:43 +0000
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