Aftermath of Rahul’s Bihar visit
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Sanjay mishra
----------------
Rumblings post Rahul’s Bihar visit is yet to die down. Use of educational campuses for political purpose by him stirred the student and youth wings of various non congress political parties. Protest meetings have been organized in many cities. Whatever may be the intention of protestors, there is no denying the fact that rahuls meetings had deep rooted political elements in it. And in the midst of it all, Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Kishangunj has signaled a new brand of politics to shape up in Bihar in near future. It has sent chilling waves down the spines of parties prophesying secular politics. Road map of congress revival in the state is now a bit visible.
Congress in Bihar has been in desolate condition for long. Compulsion of propagating Laloo’s designs instead of pushing through own agenda resulted in despondency creeping in party workers. A whole generation of congress leaders miserably saw enthusiasm drying up among party workers.
Revitalizing party is no mean task. On the one hand organization has to be strengthened at grass-root level; on the other hand deceived traditional voters have to be roped in.
Congress once had galaxy of top leaders in Bihar. Today there is dearth of such leaders capable of reviving the party as well as matching the might of Laloo, Nitish, and Pashwan. Right now party is banking on leaders like Shakeel Ahmad to steer through the party as a viable alternative in the political space in the state. They are reminding people of the end of Mandal and Kamandal era of politics. But the way voters felt cheated almost a decade ago when Congress supported Rabari’s government, is still haunting people.
At Kishangunj, Rahul tried to win the heart of of muslim youths, promising local musalman leaders to have say in deciding the fate of the region. The hint was clear. That is the days of hegemony of Taslimuddin over politics in this region of Bihar ought to be bypassed by them. Intense activities of congress leaders Rafiq Alam, and Md Javed, both ex ministers, smacked of efforts to realize this crucial task. It is to be noted that the musalmanas decide the fate of six Lok-sabha and 26 Vidhan-sabhaa seats in between Kosi and Mahananda. Political pundits see this design as foray into the vote-bank of RJD.
During other meetings at Patna and Darbhanga, Rahul Gandhi targeted on young minds. He had twin objective in mind. Congress needs energetic workers and also, youths do not attach prime importance to the blunder of Congress eschewed at a decade ago. In order to appease traditional voters in Mithila, Shakeel Ahmad even favored the creation of a separate state of Mithila.
In the absence of sentiment or wave, it is not easy to win trust of people at one stroke. Knowing it well, Congress leaders have eyed on a logical target of at least coming in to a bargaining position in case a fractured mandate in the forthcoming assembly elections. The twitter of Congress leaders on growth plank of Nitish, is increasing uneasiness in the rank and file of Laloo – Pashwan combine.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
growth saga.....miles to go
growth saga.....miles to go
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sanjay mishra
-------------------
If you are struggling for a penny, and starts earning rs 100, your rate of growth looks impressive. You thank god for this. If your earning is already rs 1000, and you add on rs 100 to it, the rate of growth is marginal. In both the cases rs 100 is common but the rate is different. This is what is happening in bihar. Nitish govt is bla-bla over the magic figure of 11.03 %. Bihar is changing, they say. Image of state outside has seen climatic change, they add.
Well said. But what is the feeling of the people of Bihar? Is the change perceptible ? Just make a voyage to a remote and backward village -Rasiary-. The villagers here are overwhelmed to see a road-bridge being constructed over river Kamala-Balan. They are busy counting the number of pillars of the bridge errected so far. It is their favourite pass-time. The memory of social acrimony faced by them during laloo era, is fast waning. But has the exodus of villagers to outside for earning stopped? No, certainly not. Are not their share of NAREGA money gobbled up by the nexus of village level political -dalals- and local officials ? Of course it is order of the day...they confide. In july, they will again have to bear the might of flood-furry. Rasiary is not alone. Almost similar is the story of countless villages in the state.
Cane growers have lost any hope of reopening of sugar mills. Jute producers have the same agony. They are forced to sell their produce in West Bengal. Fruit growers are no less disappointed. Industrialisation....dont talk of it? Of course four lane roads are meandaring through the state. But then you will have to give credit to Hukumdev Yadav, ex surface transport minister. Is not it the high time to dabble in the statistics related to health, education and other human development index?
Development activities have got momentum....but they exibit regional imbalance. Some regions are benefited while other areas have been left out. Can a citizen of Darbhanga city think of 24 hours of power supply ? No....not even in dreams . Mr CM ....will they ever dare to see such a dream ?
---------------------------
sanjay mishra
-------------------
If you are struggling for a penny, and starts earning rs 100, your rate of growth looks impressive. You thank god for this. If your earning is already rs 1000, and you add on rs 100 to it, the rate of growth is marginal. In both the cases rs 100 is common but the rate is different. This is what is happening in bihar. Nitish govt is bla-bla over the magic figure of 11.03 %. Bihar is changing, they say. Image of state outside has seen climatic change, they add.
Well said. But what is the feeling of the people of Bihar? Is the change perceptible ? Just make a voyage to a remote and backward village -Rasiary-. The villagers here are overwhelmed to see a road-bridge being constructed over river Kamala-Balan. They are busy counting the number of pillars of the bridge errected so far. It is their favourite pass-time. The memory of social acrimony faced by them during laloo era, is fast waning. But has the exodus of villagers to outside for earning stopped? No, certainly not. Are not their share of NAREGA money gobbled up by the nexus of village level political -dalals- and local officials ? Of course it is order of the day...they confide. In july, they will again have to bear the might of flood-furry. Rasiary is not alone. Almost similar is the story of countless villages in the state.
Cane growers have lost any hope of reopening of sugar mills. Jute producers have the same agony. They are forced to sell their produce in West Bengal. Fruit growers are no less disappointed. Industrialisation....dont talk of it? Of course four lane roads are meandaring through the state. But then you will have to give credit to Hukumdev Yadav, ex surface transport minister. Is not it the high time to dabble in the statistics related to health, education and other human development index?
Development activities have got momentum....but they exibit regional imbalance. Some regions are benefited while other areas have been left out. Can a citizen of Darbhanga city think of 24 hours of power supply ? No....not even in dreams . Mr CM ....will they ever dare to see such a dream ?
Friday, October 23, 2009
raj safe a la mithila
Raj Safe a la mithila
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Sanjay mishra
---------------------
The denizens of the sleepy cultural city of Darbhanga when woke up on 08-10-09 …it was not any other Thursday. The news of opening up of raj safe of regional state archive in the university campus, had sent splash of curiosity alaround. It was the topic of discussions at tea-shops as well as in drawing rooms. As expected, historians of the state were thrilled to know the treasure bundled in the safe. And finally, when it was opened, there were smiles and blinking eyes. Historians, raj custodians and local administrative officials were soon found rejoicing.
The findings are heartening. Rare manuscripts of the safe shed ample light on the history of bihar in the last five hundred years. Manuscripts include “ Akbarnama” written by allauddin in 1733 ad. It is in 12 volumes and inked in black. A copy of the farman of mughal court of delhi granting to rule Tirhut, Sahi farman of Aurangjeb, Shahnama by Firdaus are some notable findings. Raj family genealogy from 1200 ad has also been found.
The historians were amused to see the agreement paper of 1862. It depicts the transfer of power to britishers of the raj territory under the –court of ward- system. This was done after sudden demise of Maheswar singh. Laksmiswar singh was then a minor. In 1879, the charge of darbhanga estate was reverted to laksmiswar singh. An appreciation letter from Queen Victoria to laksmiswar has also been found.
It is generally presumed that the royal family members were supporters of britishers. But the letters in the safe tell altogether different story. The correspondence between maharaja and the founder members of congress like A O Hume, W C Bonnerji, K M Bannerji, attest to this. A letter mentions rs 10.000 yearly donation to the congress party. Similarly letter written by bidyanath jha to the freedom movement stalwart Dada Bhai Nauroji highlights the difficulties faced by the aspirants from bihar in the ics examination.
Unlocking the safe was not all so easy. The list of the manuscripts along with the key were missing. It took almost four hours. The archive was taken over by the state govt in 1977. It is housed in the raj secretariat. The state archive authorities at Patna wanted these manuscripts to be kept in patna archive. But the raj custodians and many historians of Darbhanga opposed the move. The state archive director vijay kumar consulted the principal secretary of the state girish sankar. Finally it was decided to keep the findings at darbhanga itself. Only after that, the patna team including Vijay kumar and Sakil ahmad samsi the manuscript expert of Khuda Baks library, came to darbhanga to unlock.
Sanskrit university also houses an archive. Besides these, there are two museums in the city. On regular intervals, thefts are committed in archives and museums. These theft items are smuggled to other countries. It is said that some employees associated with these institutions are in league with the racketeers. It is to be reminded that some rare manuscripts were smuggled to usa to be kept in the Sanskrit university opened there. And a vice chancellor of darbhanga Sanskrit university was alleged to help the racketeers.
There are hundreds of archaeological sites spotted in Mithila. But digging in them have not been done so far. Only a few Budhist sites have seen the light. Hundreds of ancient sculptors are scattered in the villages. But they are not taken care of. Only archaeological department can answer this rude apathy.
---------------------
Sanjay mishra
---------------------
The denizens of the sleepy cultural city of Darbhanga when woke up on 08-10-09 …it was not any other Thursday. The news of opening up of raj safe of regional state archive in the university campus, had sent splash of curiosity alaround. It was the topic of discussions at tea-shops as well as in drawing rooms. As expected, historians of the state were thrilled to know the treasure bundled in the safe. And finally, when it was opened, there were smiles and blinking eyes. Historians, raj custodians and local administrative officials were soon found rejoicing.
The findings are heartening. Rare manuscripts of the safe shed ample light on the history of bihar in the last five hundred years. Manuscripts include “ Akbarnama” written by allauddin in 1733 ad. It is in 12 volumes and inked in black. A copy of the farman of mughal court of delhi granting to rule Tirhut, Sahi farman of Aurangjeb, Shahnama by Firdaus are some notable findings. Raj family genealogy from 1200 ad has also been found.
The historians were amused to see the agreement paper of 1862. It depicts the transfer of power to britishers of the raj territory under the –court of ward- system. This was done after sudden demise of Maheswar singh. Laksmiswar singh was then a minor. In 1879, the charge of darbhanga estate was reverted to laksmiswar singh. An appreciation letter from Queen Victoria to laksmiswar has also been found.
It is generally presumed that the royal family members were supporters of britishers. But the letters in the safe tell altogether different story. The correspondence between maharaja and the founder members of congress like A O Hume, W C Bonnerji, K M Bannerji, attest to this. A letter mentions rs 10.000 yearly donation to the congress party. Similarly letter written by bidyanath jha to the freedom movement stalwart Dada Bhai Nauroji highlights the difficulties faced by the aspirants from bihar in the ics examination.
Unlocking the safe was not all so easy. The list of the manuscripts along with the key were missing. It took almost four hours. The archive was taken over by the state govt in 1977. It is housed in the raj secretariat. The state archive authorities at Patna wanted these manuscripts to be kept in patna archive. But the raj custodians and many historians of Darbhanga opposed the move. The state archive director vijay kumar consulted the principal secretary of the state girish sankar. Finally it was decided to keep the findings at darbhanga itself. Only after that, the patna team including Vijay kumar and Sakil ahmad samsi the manuscript expert of Khuda Baks library, came to darbhanga to unlock.
Sanskrit university also houses an archive. Besides these, there are two museums in the city. On regular intervals, thefts are committed in archives and museums. These theft items are smuggled to other countries. It is said that some employees associated with these institutions are in league with the racketeers. It is to be reminded that some rare manuscripts were smuggled to usa to be kept in the Sanskrit university opened there. And a vice chancellor of darbhanga Sanskrit university was alleged to help the racketeers.
There are hundreds of archaeological sites spotted in Mithila. But digging in them have not been done so far. Only a few Budhist sites have seen the light. Hundreds of ancient sculptors are scattered in the villages. But they are not taken care of. Only archaeological department can answer this rude apathy.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
upchunav ke maayne
Bypoll result in bihar is a warning signal to nitish kumar. Laloo-Paswan combine clinching 8 seats in bihar has shown the world that they are not the spent force. In the halla-ballo of victory over laloo more than four years ago, many political analysts didnot see the end of laloo era of politcs. They reminded that only clear cut policy and good governance could tame the shreudness of laloo yadav.
Nitish started in a right direction by focussing on the law and order front. He was more concerned on the -wild east- tag attached to bihar. Instead of acting in vengeance with the dons and mafias, he paved the way of speedy trials. And it showed the results. Criminal politicians are behind the bars. People are heaving a sigh of relief. Now shops remain opened even after 10pm in Patna.
Private companies, fearing the very name of bihar are now opening their regional offices in Patna. Many businessmen who left the state during the socalled -jungle raj- have returned. But everything is not rosy. The pace of incidents of kidnapping has slowed down but is not over. Engineers involved in mega road projects are still threatened for ransom.
Scores of MOUs have been signed but these projects are still non-starter. Ex-sugar-cane minister promised reopening of the closed sugarmills. New sugarmills were also promised. But it didnt make any headway due to the differences between the cm and the minister. Ultimetly the minister was shown the door. NAREGA has little impact in bihar. The mass exodus of working hands from the state is still a reality. The railway stations in bihar are the mute spectator of it.
Nitish instead is banking heavily on his -maha dalit- plank. He can consolidate on that count but ought to remember that the social engineering seen in the last general election in bihar had a strong focus. And it was to decimate laloos prowess. This time nitish can not bank on it. Congress is consolidating its base althoug slowly. But an option to voters is there. Caste grouping withering a bit can change tide against nitish.
Nitish started in a right direction by focussing on the law and order front. He was more concerned on the -wild east- tag attached to bihar. Instead of acting in vengeance with the dons and mafias, he paved the way of speedy trials. And it showed the results. Criminal politicians are behind the bars. People are heaving a sigh of relief. Now shops remain opened even after 10pm in Patna.
Private companies, fearing the very name of bihar are now opening their regional offices in Patna. Many businessmen who left the state during the socalled -jungle raj- have returned. But everything is not rosy. The pace of incidents of kidnapping has slowed down but is not over. Engineers involved in mega road projects are still threatened for ransom.
Scores of MOUs have been signed but these projects are still non-starter. Ex-sugar-cane minister promised reopening of the closed sugarmills. New sugarmills were also promised. But it didnt make any headway due to the differences between the cm and the minister. Ultimetly the minister was shown the door. NAREGA has little impact in bihar. The mass exodus of working hands from the state is still a reality. The railway stations in bihar are the mute spectator of it.
Nitish instead is banking heavily on his -maha dalit- plank. He can consolidate on that count but ought to remember that the social engineering seen in the last general election in bihar had a strong focus. And it was to decimate laloos prowess. This time nitish can not bank on it. Congress is consolidating its base althoug slowly. But an option to voters is there. Caste grouping withering a bit can change tide against nitish.
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