October 27, 2010
When a prominent journalist made a faux pas on Bihar being a liability on tax payers’ money and Brand Bihar ignoring it, he was made to eat his own words by the strong reaction of the well placed Bihari community across the country. Prima Facie what seemed to be the new age technology and networking sites like Facebook giving a voice to the pride of the otherwise detached class of Bihar, had something more than that. A very close follower of the diaspora of Bihar and their sensibilities, it was heartening to see the emergence of “Brand Bihar” in true letter and spirit.
Had the resurgence of Bihar as a truly power centre of India been only for the academic purposes, the diaspora of the state would not have erupted with such a strong reaction. But the voice of the Non Residents Biharis (NRB), who may not have any plans of resettling in home state, was as curt as the residents of Bihar. This is a clear indicator of the fact that the resurgence of Bihar has come of age.
The economics of “Brand Bihar” is not the only indicator of the hidden potential of the state. Of course, the GDP rate of 11% at a time when the world economy was reeling under recession and even the national economy slumped to around 6% will always remain a matter of pride for a community that has been at the receiving end of reverse racism in its own country for nearly three decades.
However, what gives me a sense of satisfaction is that the economics of “Brand Bihar” has been equally supported by the sociology of emotional pride for the state. A History Graduate in me clearly understands that the civilizations turn into Great & Role Model for future only when the economics and sociology of the land and its people are inter-linked. I have time and again raised my voice at various forum that what is missing link in harnessing the true potential of the state of Bihar is the sociology, and not economics.
The unfortunate reality thus far has been this lack of emotional chord. There are two reasons responsible for relegating the Bihari identity into dustbin. I may be rubbing some of my own brethren the wrong way here, but it is high time that we look into the deep rooted malaise, if Brand Bihar has to be positioned like never before. Let’s face the facts bluntly. The curse of caste has been the bane of Bihar, as deep rooted in polity as in society. But the rising economy & high aspiration level is certainly reducing the caste divide. A strong focus on “Bihar Pride” will further cement the gaps.
Our own acceptance of fate as second class citizens in exchange of a decent living is something that the migrant Biharis had to live with. The poor projection of the state at various human development indicators led the collective consciousness to shape up against the residents of Bihar. An average working class somehow started learning to live with this crude reality of being under the social scrutiny for no fault of theirs. The strengths of the state of Bihar was not even allowed to be discussed in public for quite some time.
The wheels of fortune turned in the last few years when the state started showing signs of development and improved ranking of state on human development indicators. A catalyst to this undercurrent has been the fact that the thinly spread vocal working class with relatively better consciousness of their rights and pride started networking. Even though such networking has mostly been on the sites like Facebook, it subconsciously gives every other Bihari that he is not alone and can’t be cornered.
The moot point here is whether this emergence of Brand Bihar has been accepted beyond Bihar. It is here that I find graceful acceptance of this social reality few and far between. I can say with my own experience in Delhi that the people, who accepted us as one among equals, only accepted the elite class in us while their subconscious mind always gave them pseudo assurance of being more than equal and added superiority complex.
While reservations against the state have always been borne out of perception, the rise of Brand Bihar has not diminished it. It has actually further intensified among a larger section who see the state as a threat to their own existence. The detaste against Brand Bihar may not be vocal like a few years back, since calling somebody a Bihari with negative connotations is fraught with danger now even in public transport of metro cities. But the silent resentment is even more dangerous because you never know who is actually a frienemy.
It is not unusual to find people in metro cribbing that their children can’t compete in premium services like the IAS and IIT, since most of the seats are occupied by the students of Bihar. While the grudge to not competing in this meritocracy has always been there, the rise of Brand Bihar has inculcated a new fear psychosis in them. It may be silent, it may be hidden…but then Vinod Dua is not the only person who thinks Bihar is a threat, can’t be competed against and hence the only option is to demoralize the state with a negative perception created around it.
I wish they could see the new power house called Brand Bihar, and get benefited by acknowledging it. Come on guys….since you can not beat us, join us. Brand Bihar invites all Indians with arms wide open. We have been doing so since ages and our academic excellence in Nalanda has been a testimony to this.
