2024-08-27 01:18:32
Patna: No preamble, just a direct question. And a sharp question. Why is Bihar, renowned for its great culture, still suffering from poverty even after seven decades of independence? Why are the claims of development proving to be false? Why are the youth here still forced to suppress their ambitions? Why do the youth still have to seek refuge in other states for employment? And the most important question among all this is why is Bihar known as a ‘labour state’ in the entire country? Has Bihar taken up the responsibility of labour for the entire country? Meanwhile, the biggest question is who is it who has dared to attack the interests of every Bihari by giving Bihar the status of a labour state? In this report, we will try to understand these sharp questions in detail.
If power and politics have changed then why not Bihar?
The government changed, politics changed and the flag bearers of power also changed, but if something did not change, it was the misery of Bihar, the bad luck of Bihar, the plight of Bihar. Leaders came and went, some made claims and some made promises. But nothing was seen on the ground except misery. Even today the rich people there are neither ready to invest there nor do the politicians there show any enthusiasm towards developing Bihar.
When the reason behind this was sought from renowned economist Dr. Vidyarthi Vikas, he held the state as well as the Centre responsible for this. He said, ‘If you want to know why Bihar has not been able to get rid of being a labour-dominated state, then you will have to look at it at the national level, because the attitude of the Central Government towards Bihar has been discriminatory since the five-year plan till now. The priority that Bihar should have received from the Central Government, it has not received it till date. Bihar has been treated step-motherly.’
Is Delhi’s power at the root of Bihar’s backwardness?
He further explains, ‘If you see, the process of giving special status to various states started around 1968-1969, but the states that were there then and the condition of Bihar at that time were better than other states, yet the way the central government neglected Bihar, hurt the interests of the people there, stopped big projects from getting off the ground, the central government kept avoiding setting up factories and industries and there were many such reasons due to which Bihar lagged behind somewhere. I think that Bihar lagged behind somewhere because of the step-motherly treatment of the center.’
He further said, ‘If we want Bihar to get rid of the tag of being a labourer state, then I would say that we need to increase the quality of education there. Apart from this, if steps are taken to increase the quality of education in the government schools there, then undoubtedly those people can play an important role in the development of the state in future. There is a need to emphasize on professional education in Bihar, so that in future an army of skilled youth can be created, so that they can create employment for themselves and others. There is a need to promote small industries in Bihar. If we adopt all these, then only Bihar will be able to get rid of the tag of being a labourer state.’
Why does a particular state look for a cure for every illness?
On the other hand, when JDU leader NP Yadav was questioned in this regard, he said, ‘Bihar is a hardworking state. There are hardworking people in every field there, but when Bihar was divided and the new state Jharkhand was formed, Bihar faced some problems. However, at present Bihar is hardworking in many fields. If we want to bring Bihar out of the tag of a labour state, then for this we will have to get Bihar the status of a special state. If Bihar gets the status of a special state, then many types of factories and industries will be set up here.’
He further said, ‘At present, the poor people of Bihar are getting rid of poverty. The present government is continuously working in this direction. Nitish Kumar has taken many steps towards expanding education. Apart from this, new jobs have been created in the last two years.’
It is necessary to change the country’s attitude towards workers
He emphasized, ‘Not only Bihar, but many states have workers. If there are no workers, production will not be possible there. Factories will not be able to operate and no construction work will be done. However, Bihar is backward. This cannot be denied, but the only remedy for this is that it should be given the status of a special state by the central government, only then will it get rid of the tag of a workers’ state.’
At the same time, Ajit Jha, a local resident who has lived in Bihar for two decades, completely rejects the fact that Bihar is a poor state. Apart from this, he is appealing to the people to change their attitude towards labourers. He says that without labourers, the pace of development cannot be accelerated. Now there is a need to change our attitude towards labourers and stop looking down upon them.