With no leader from Bihar making it to the Team Manmohan Thursday, many in the state, where the Congress won only two Lok Sabha seats, expressed disappointment over the decreasing number of Bihar ministers in the union cabinet - from 12 in 2004 to just one in 2009.
Meira Kumar is the lone face from Bihar in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s cabinet. She was sworn in May 22 when 19 ministers took oath in the first instalment of government formation.
Fifty-nine ministers were sworn in at Thursday’s oath ceremony but there was none from Bihar.
“It was shocking for us that Bihar found no place when 59 ministers took oath. It is first time in my memory,” said Amit Kumar, 20, a college student.
There were 13 ministers from Bihar in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in 1999. Ten ministers from the state were in the Deve Gowda-led government in 1996 and the same was the case in I.K. Gujral’s government.
“Nearly after two decades, representation of Bihar in the central ministry is very poor. It is a matter of concern,” said businessman Rajesh Kumar Singh, 50.
Marketing professional Jai Prakash Yadav, 40, feared that the “wrong” decision to have only one minister from Bihar will “effect (the) centre-state relationship”.
Many in the state were expecting that at least three newly elected MPs from the state will find a place in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
People were hoping that Congress MP from Kishanganj Maulana Asrarul Haque and two independent MPs Digvijay Singh and Om Prakash Yadav would be sworn in.
Haque, a Muslim cleric, is a first time MP from Muslim-dominated Kishanganj constituency. He defeated former central minister Mohammed Taslimuddin of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
“If the BJP can have Syed Shahnawaz Hussain as a minister after he won from Kishanganj in 1999, why the Congress cannot have Haque,” said Shamsher Ali, a Congress worker in the constituency.
The Congress won only two Lok Sabha seats from Bihar - Kishanganj and Sasaram. The party contested the elections alone after the seat sharing arrangement with Lalu Prasad’s RJD failed.
Thursday 28 May 2009
Dream home for the poorest closer to reality in Bihar
Rickshaw puller Haria Bhuiyan and daily wage labourer Mangru Manjhi are elated. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has said a housing scheme for the poorest of the poor is being finalised and will be implemented soon.
The Maha Dalits think their dream of owning their own home is a bit closer to reality.
For generations, the Maha Dalits - as the poorest of the Dalit sub-castes are called - have been dreaming of their own homes.
It has remained a dream with people like Manjhi, 46, and Bhuiyan, 42, struggling to feed their families after earning Rs.100 on a good day.
Manjhi, who has a small thatched hut in a village in Jehanabad district, 50 km from here, was waiting at a roadside tea shop for the day's employer. Somebody read out the news report about the housing scheme being finalised to him and he erupted in joy.
'We were told that Hindi papers published news that Nitish Kumar is serious to provide land and houses to Maha Dalit families,' an elated Manjhi told IANS near the tea stall at Gandhi Maidan in Patna.
'A house of our own will change the mindset of our children, our future. It is big news,' Manjhi said. 'Our forefathers died dreaming of their own house, but it seems their dream will be fulfilled soon.'
Bhuiyan has been spending his nights on the pavement. 'If the news is true, it will fulfil our dreams. My father, grandfather and his father died without a proper roof over their heads,' he said, flashing a smile after learning about the 'big news'.
Manjhi and Bhuiyan are among the thousands of poor, landless and homeless Dalits in Bihar who see the government decision as a beginning of a new life for them.
A government commission set up two years ago for the welfare of certain Dalit groups, which are socially and educationally more backward than others, painted a bleak picture of their lives in its first interim report submitted a few months ago.
Dalits constitute nearly 15 percent of Bihar's 83 million people. The commission identified 18 of the 22 Dalit sub-castes, including Musahar, Bhuiyan, Dom and Nat, as the most backward. They constitute 31 percent of the Dalit population in the state.
On Wednesday, Nitish Kumar discussed with top government officials to finalise the modalities of the implementation of the special scheme launched last year to give 120 sq metres of land to the poorest families in the state. The government has also promised to provide funds to these families so that they can build their houses.
'Now the Lok Sabha elections are over, Nitish Kumar at a meeting with the members of the Maha Dalit Vikas Mission directed to speed up the implementation of the scheme,' an official in the chief minister's office said.
The mission has identified the number of families who would benefit from the schemes, according to the official. Nitish Kumar asked his officials to re-check and complete the survey by June end.
Nearly 160,000 Maha Dalit families would benefit from the housing scheme. The government has earmarked Rs.8.15 billion for the purpose. Around 9,500 acres of land is required. At present, however, the government has only 4,055 acres. The rest will be acquired soon, officials said.link
The Maha Dalits think their dream of owning their own home is a bit closer to reality.
For generations, the Maha Dalits - as the poorest of the Dalit sub-castes are called - have been dreaming of their own homes.
It has remained a dream with people like Manjhi, 46, and Bhuiyan, 42, struggling to feed their families after earning Rs.100 on a good day.
Manjhi, who has a small thatched hut in a village in Jehanabad district, 50 km from here, was waiting at a roadside tea shop for the day's employer. Somebody read out the news report about the housing scheme being finalised to him and he erupted in joy.
'We were told that Hindi papers published news that Nitish Kumar is serious to provide land and houses to Maha Dalit families,' an elated Manjhi told IANS near the tea stall at Gandhi Maidan in Patna.
'A house of our own will change the mindset of our children, our future. It is big news,' Manjhi said. 'Our forefathers died dreaming of their own house, but it seems their dream will be fulfilled soon.'
Bhuiyan has been spending his nights on the pavement. 'If the news is true, it will fulfil our dreams. My father, grandfather and his father died without a proper roof over their heads,' he said, flashing a smile after learning about the 'big news'.
Manjhi and Bhuiyan are among the thousands of poor, landless and homeless Dalits in Bihar who see the government decision as a beginning of a new life for them.
A government commission set up two years ago for the welfare of certain Dalit groups, which are socially and educationally more backward than others, painted a bleak picture of their lives in its first interim report submitted a few months ago.
Dalits constitute nearly 15 percent of Bihar's 83 million people. The commission identified 18 of the 22 Dalit sub-castes, including Musahar, Bhuiyan, Dom and Nat, as the most backward. They constitute 31 percent of the Dalit population in the state.
On Wednesday, Nitish Kumar discussed with top government officials to finalise the modalities of the implementation of the special scheme launched last year to give 120 sq metres of land to the poorest families in the state. The government has also promised to provide funds to these families so that they can build their houses.
'Now the Lok Sabha elections are over, Nitish Kumar at a meeting with the members of the Maha Dalit Vikas Mission directed to speed up the implementation of the scheme,' an official in the chief minister's office said.
The mission has identified the number of families who would benefit from the schemes, according to the official. Nitish Kumar asked his officials to re-check and complete the survey by June end.
Nearly 160,000 Maha Dalit families would benefit from the housing scheme. The government has earmarked Rs.8.15 billion for the purpose. Around 9,500 acres of land is required. At present, however, the government has only 4,055 acres. The rest will be acquired soon, officials said.link
Wednesday 27 May 2009
Darbhanga in Bihar to be brought on tourist map of the country
Bihar government has decided to promote Darbhanga district as one of the most sought-after tourist spot in the state. District Magistrate of Darbhanga, Pran Mohan Thakur yesterday said the state government had approved a proposal for upgrading the district as one of the most important tourist spots of the country. Delving into the details of the proposal, Thakur said Ahilya Sthan was an important place for tourists visiting from other parts of the country and steps would be taken to make it more attractive besides providing comfort to the visitors by improving the required infrastructural facilities.
“Kusheshwar Temple complex and Harahi Pokhar Sankat Mochan Mandir are the other two spots which will be developed into tourist places for visitors, Thakur told adding, quality roads, better accommodation, facilities and un-interrupted power supply will be ensured in the area.link
“Kusheshwar Temple complex and Harahi Pokhar Sankat Mochan Mandir are the other two spots which will be developed into tourist places for visitors, Thakur told adding, quality roads, better accommodation, facilities and un-interrupted power supply will be ensured in the area.link
Monday 25 May 2009
All of Bihar's Super 30 crack IIT entrance test
The Super 30 coaching institute here has witnessed complete success for the second consecutive year with all 30 of its students clearing the highly competitive Indian Institute of Technology-Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE), the institute announced Monday.
"Everyone is in a celebratory mood. We distributed lots of sweets," said Nagendra Ram, a Super 30 student.
The institute selects talented students from poor families and provides them with free coaching, food and accommodation so that they can focus on passing the IIT-JEE exam.
"Hard work, proper guidance and supervision are the secrets of our success," Anand Kumar, director of Super 30, told IANS.
Santosh Kumar, another Super 30 student, said the facilities and encouragement from the faculty made it possible for him to crack the tough exam.
In 2003, the first year of the institute, 18 students made it to the prestigious IITs. The number rose to 22 in 2004 and 26 in 2005. In 2007 and 2006, 28 students made it through ITT-JEE.
"We were sure of positive results as we teach them to eat, sleep, walk and talk only IIT," reiterated Anand.
He said the institute is supported by the income generated from his Ramanujam School of Mathematics, which has students who can afford to pay fees.
Super 30 was started by Anand along with Bihar's Additional Director General of Police Abhyanand. But last year Abhyanand dissociated himself from the institute.
The success story of Super 30 was telecast by the Discovery Channel in March this year.
"Super 30 is an amazing initiative and it needs to be taken to maximum people around the globe," said Christopher Mitchell, whose film for Discovery also bagged the Audience Choice Award at the sixth Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.
Two years ago, Norika Fujiwara, a former Japanese beauty queen and actress, made a documentary film on Super 30 for its innovative and successful attempt to send poor children to India's top engineering colleges.link
"Everyone is in a celebratory mood. We distributed lots of sweets," said Nagendra Ram, a Super 30 student.
The institute selects talented students from poor families and provides them with free coaching, food and accommodation so that they can focus on passing the IIT-JEE exam.
"Hard work, proper guidance and supervision are the secrets of our success," Anand Kumar, director of Super 30, told IANS.
Santosh Kumar, another Super 30 student, said the facilities and encouragement from the faculty made it possible for him to crack the tough exam.
In 2003, the first year of the institute, 18 students made it to the prestigious IITs. The number rose to 22 in 2004 and 26 in 2005. In 2007 and 2006, 28 students made it through ITT-JEE.
"We were sure of positive results as we teach them to eat, sleep, walk and talk only IIT," reiterated Anand.
He said the institute is supported by the income generated from his Ramanujam School of Mathematics, which has students who can afford to pay fees.
Super 30 was started by Anand along with Bihar's Additional Director General of Police Abhyanand. But last year Abhyanand dissociated himself from the institute.
The success story of Super 30 was telecast by the Discovery Channel in March this year.
"Super 30 is an amazing initiative and it needs to be taken to maximum people around the globe," said Christopher Mitchell, whose film for Discovery also bagged the Audience Choice Award at the sixth Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.
Two years ago, Norika Fujiwara, a former Japanese beauty queen and actress, made a documentary film on Super 30 for its innovative and successful attempt to send poor children to India's top engineering colleges.link
Naxalites gun down wanted dacoit in Bihar
Naxalites gunned down a wanted dacoit in Bihar's East Champaran district for allegedly extorting money from people posing as a Maoist, police said on Monday.
"Bihkara Prasad (35) was shot dead by Naxals at Bihsunpur village in the district yesterday. After killing him the rebels fled, leaving behind leaflets saying those trying to malign the organisation would also face the same consequence," DSP (Pakridayal sub division) M K Anand told reporters here.
Prasad was wanted in a case of dacoity, he said, adding that efforts were on to arrest the criminals.link
"Bihkara Prasad (35) was shot dead by Naxals at Bihsunpur village in the district yesterday. After killing him the rebels fled, leaving behind leaflets saying those trying to malign the organisation would also face the same consequence," DSP (Pakridayal sub division) M K Anand told reporters here.
Prasad was wanted in a case of dacoity, he said, adding that efforts were on to arrest the criminals.link
Saturday 23 May 2009
Poor representation of Bihar in the Union cabinet
The wheel has turned a full circle in almost 18 long years. After the 1991 parliamentary election only one minister from Bihar, Krishna Shahi, was inducted into the Narasimha Rao cabinet. She was minister of state for industry. In 2009 only Meira Kumar found her place. Like Shahi she also comes from the family of old Congressman. She is the daughter of former deputy Prime Minister, Jagjiwan Ram. Meira was the minister of state in the outgoing cabinet too.
While Shahi comes from Bhumihar caste Meira, who incidentally got the cabinet rank this time, is a Dalit. While in 1991 Congress won only one seat this time it got two, thus there is a scope for one more ministry in the future. However, unlike 1991-96 there is no scope of Congress later getting any minister from the Rajya Sabha quota as there is no member in the Upper House from the party nor can there be any in the near future as the party has only nine MLAs in the Bihar assembly.
So once again it is the era of poor representation of Bihar in the Union cabinet. Between June 1, 1996 when Deve Gowda took over as the Prime Minister to May 16, 2009 Bihar had a great time so far representation in the cabinet is concerned. At times there used to be 10 to 11 ministers from the state. Be it Gowda, Gujral, Vajpayee or Manmohan cabinet, ministers from Bihar always got good portfolios such as Railways, Finance, Defence, Rural Development, Civil Aviation, Steel and Fertilizer, Communication etc.
After 13 long years Bihar has lost its bargaining position. Howsoever, critical one may be of Lalu Yadav-Ram Vilas Paswan duo one can not deny that it was due to them that Bihar got some mega projects in the last few years. Be it the number of trains, zonal headquarters (at Hajipur), engine factories, steel plants or IIT and central university the two leaders did make some efforts. In November last year they shared dais with the chief minister Nitish Kumar in the function organized for the revival of the sick fertilsier plant in Barauni. However, it is also true that some of the projects started by them failed to become operational till yet.
Before them the 11-strong ministers from Bihar in the Vajpayee cabinet also made their own contributions. Nitish Kumar brought railway projects such as bridges over Ganga in Patna and Munger and Kosi at one place, workshop at Harnaut, doubling and electrification of railway tracks etc. Besides, it was due to his efforts that the NTPC plant came to Barh. It is other thing that due to political considerations work is going on at snail’s pace in these projects. Now it is feared that these projects may get delayed further.
It needs to be mentioned that before 1990 Bihar was a neglected state. Same party government in the Centre and state was being attributed to the absence of investment. The state Congress leaders did not have the guts to ask for more help even though the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, in the late 1980s announced Rs 5,700 crore package for Bihar––though it is alleged that it remained only on paper.
In the early 1990s this phenomenon continued. The state got embroiled in the Mandal-Mandir controversy. Lalu Yadav was more interested in empowering the backward castes and Dalits. However, as the chief minister he called for the better royalty on coal and other minerals from the state and removal of freight equalization policy which hit Bihar and other mineral rich states very hard. He also called for the implementation of Gadgil formula for state’s share. However, there was no one to push these demands of Bihar in the Centre.
After 1996 the situation did change a little. Be it Ram Vilas Paswan between 1996 and 1998 and Nitish Kumar and others after 1998 they all thought that if they want to counter the growing influence of Lalu Yadav they would have to adopt some different approach. Though Paswan was in the same party in which Lalu was (then Janata Dal) he wanted to develop his own separate constituency. The development works he initiated was largely meant to accommodate his own men and give them contracts. Unlike Lalu, who was then the chief minister of Bihar for over six long years, he had no other option to keep his flock together. Nitish and other ministers from Bihar also adopted the same strategy later.
Though this investment story had an abrupt start it at least helped Bihar grow. After Bokaro Steel Plant of early 1960s––it is now in Jharkhand––Bihar had never seen so much investment in such a short time. Lalit Narayan Mishra did bring some trains in the early 1970s but he was then assassinated. Strangely the catalyst for change was none else but Lalu Yadav. Thus there was gradual shift in the state politics.
Bihar lost the mineral rich portion of Jharkhand in November 2000. The state assembly resolution of Rs 1,79,000 crore special package as compensation was never accepted, yet during the Vajpayee government and then again under Manmohan Singh government, investments of more than Rs one lakh crore came to Bihar, most of them once again in railways. However, several mega power and road projects too were taken up by the Centre. Investments also came in the field of rural roads, rural electrification, communication etc.
A decade and a half later Bihar, it is feared, will be back to where it was in the early 1990s. The state Congress leaders simply do not have the courage to espouse the cause of Bihar. They do not have even the nuisance value. Now much depends on the maneuvering skill of the chief minister, Nitish Kumar. But the establishment in Delhi is too thick-skinned to feel and too deaf to listen. Let us see how it works now.link
While Shahi comes from Bhumihar caste Meira, who incidentally got the cabinet rank this time, is a Dalit. While in 1991 Congress won only one seat this time it got two, thus there is a scope for one more ministry in the future. However, unlike 1991-96 there is no scope of Congress later getting any minister from the Rajya Sabha quota as there is no member in the Upper House from the party nor can there be any in the near future as the party has only nine MLAs in the Bihar assembly.
So once again it is the era of poor representation of Bihar in the Union cabinet. Between June 1, 1996 when Deve Gowda took over as the Prime Minister to May 16, 2009 Bihar had a great time so far representation in the cabinet is concerned. At times there used to be 10 to 11 ministers from the state. Be it Gowda, Gujral, Vajpayee or Manmohan cabinet, ministers from Bihar always got good portfolios such as Railways, Finance, Defence, Rural Development, Civil Aviation, Steel and Fertilizer, Communication etc.
After 13 long years Bihar has lost its bargaining position. Howsoever, critical one may be of Lalu Yadav-Ram Vilas Paswan duo one can not deny that it was due to them that Bihar got some mega projects in the last few years. Be it the number of trains, zonal headquarters (at Hajipur), engine factories, steel plants or IIT and central university the two leaders did make some efforts. In November last year they shared dais with the chief minister Nitish Kumar in the function organized for the revival of the sick fertilsier plant in Barauni. However, it is also true that some of the projects started by them failed to become operational till yet.
Before them the 11-strong ministers from Bihar in the Vajpayee cabinet also made their own contributions. Nitish Kumar brought railway projects such as bridges over Ganga in Patna and Munger and Kosi at one place, workshop at Harnaut, doubling and electrification of railway tracks etc. Besides, it was due to his efforts that the NTPC plant came to Barh. It is other thing that due to political considerations work is going on at snail’s pace in these projects. Now it is feared that these projects may get delayed further.
It needs to be mentioned that before 1990 Bihar was a neglected state. Same party government in the Centre and state was being attributed to the absence of investment. The state Congress leaders did not have the guts to ask for more help even though the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, in the late 1980s announced Rs 5,700 crore package for Bihar––though it is alleged that it remained only on paper.
In the early 1990s this phenomenon continued. The state got embroiled in the Mandal-Mandir controversy. Lalu Yadav was more interested in empowering the backward castes and Dalits. However, as the chief minister he called for the better royalty on coal and other minerals from the state and removal of freight equalization policy which hit Bihar and other mineral rich states very hard. He also called for the implementation of Gadgil formula for state’s share. However, there was no one to push these demands of Bihar in the Centre.
After 1996 the situation did change a little. Be it Ram Vilas Paswan between 1996 and 1998 and Nitish Kumar and others after 1998 they all thought that if they want to counter the growing influence of Lalu Yadav they would have to adopt some different approach. Though Paswan was in the same party in which Lalu was (then Janata Dal) he wanted to develop his own separate constituency. The development works he initiated was largely meant to accommodate his own men and give them contracts. Unlike Lalu, who was then the chief minister of Bihar for over six long years, he had no other option to keep his flock together. Nitish and other ministers from Bihar also adopted the same strategy later.
Though this investment story had an abrupt start it at least helped Bihar grow. After Bokaro Steel Plant of early 1960s––it is now in Jharkhand––Bihar had never seen so much investment in such a short time. Lalit Narayan Mishra did bring some trains in the early 1970s but he was then assassinated. Strangely the catalyst for change was none else but Lalu Yadav. Thus there was gradual shift in the state politics.
Bihar lost the mineral rich portion of Jharkhand in November 2000. The state assembly resolution of Rs 1,79,000 crore special package as compensation was never accepted, yet during the Vajpayee government and then again under Manmohan Singh government, investments of more than Rs one lakh crore came to Bihar, most of them once again in railways. However, several mega power and road projects too were taken up by the Centre. Investments also came in the field of rural roads, rural electrification, communication etc.
A decade and a half later Bihar, it is feared, will be back to where it was in the early 1990s. The state Congress leaders simply do not have the courage to espouse the cause of Bihar. They do not have even the nuisance value. Now much depends on the maneuvering skill of the chief minister, Nitish Kumar. But the establishment in Delhi is too thick-skinned to feel and too deaf to listen. Let us see how it works now.link
Villagers bar headmaster for stealing students' lunch
After he was caught stealing rice meant for schoolchildren's lunch, the headmaster of a primary school in Bihar's Begusarai district has been banned from the school by irate villagers, police said Saturday.
Pitambar Pathak, headmaster of a government-run school in Puwari Tola village under Teghra block of the district, 126 km from state capital Patna, was caught selling rice to a local trader Monday by the villagers, police officers said.
The rice was meant for the Mid Day Meal scheme that aims to attract children to school and improve their nutrition levels too.
On being caught, Pathak admitted to his crime before the villagers and publicly apologised for it. The villagers fined him before he was allowed to leave the village.
However, Pathak Tuesday lodged a case of extortion against the villagers at the local police station. This angered the villagers and the school remained closed for the next three days.
When the school re-opened Friday, the villagers announced Pathak would not be allowed to enter the premises until strict action was initiated against him. Some villagers demanded his arrest also.
Officials of the district education department have lodged a case against Pathak.
This is not the first case when a teacher in the state was caught selling food meant for the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. In the last one year, rice and other foodgrains meant for the scheme were found in the house of teachers and several cases of irregularities were reported in the schools, in which teachers were allegedly involved.
The Mid-Day Meal Scheme is the world's largest nutritional programme, covering more than one million schools across India. Under it, students in government-run schools are given freen lunch. It was launched in July 1995 to tackle the twin problems of dropout rates in primary schools and nutrition among children from poor families.link
Pitambar Pathak, headmaster of a government-run school in Puwari Tola village under Teghra block of the district, 126 km from state capital Patna, was caught selling rice to a local trader Monday by the villagers, police officers said.
The rice was meant for the Mid Day Meal scheme that aims to attract children to school and improve their nutrition levels too.
On being caught, Pathak admitted to his crime before the villagers and publicly apologised for it. The villagers fined him before he was allowed to leave the village.
However, Pathak Tuesday lodged a case of extortion against the villagers at the local police station. This angered the villagers and the school remained closed for the next three days.
When the school re-opened Friday, the villagers announced Pathak would not be allowed to enter the premises until strict action was initiated against him. Some villagers demanded his arrest also.
Officials of the district education department have lodged a case against Pathak.
This is not the first case when a teacher in the state was caught selling food meant for the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. In the last one year, rice and other foodgrains meant for the scheme were found in the house of teachers and several cases of irregularities were reported in the schools, in which teachers were allegedly involved.
The Mid-Day Meal Scheme is the world's largest nutritional programme, covering more than one million schools across India. Under it, students in government-run schools are given freen lunch. It was launched in July 1995 to tackle the twin problems of dropout rates in primary schools and nutrition among children from poor families.link
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