No Grudge: Bihar Vs Nepal

Niraj Aryal, Kathmandu: Why should there be any grudge being a nationalist Nepali in comparing our motherland with India’s former lawless and economically backward State of Bihar?

In fact it is only Bihar with which Nepal shares closer cultural ties compared to rest of the Indian states, and it is this historical tlinkage that have brought the two countries closer, Nepal and India. And it is this past amity with Bihar that should be much pronounced in politics too. Let us learn from Nitish Kumar rather than discussing how Narendra Modi brought prosperity to Gujarat or for that matter how Nabin Patniak is bringing Posco- Korean Steel Company to Orissa.

The fact is that our former royals exchanged marriages all the way to former Royals of the states of Orissa and Rajasthan but the common people here shared bread-daughter ties with Bihar. With Royals gone and the general public taking over the charge of the nation, Nepal-Bihar ties become even more significant.  Because general public in Nepal rarely share bread-daughter ties with the state of Orissa.

If Lord Buddha was born in Nepal then Bihar is also known as the land of Buddha. Because facts reveal that it was in Bihar where Lord Buddha begun preaching the world the words of peace. Still, I am not among those senior journalists of the Nepali origin who behave as if they were more Indians than Indians themselves and mislead the population by saying that Buddha was born in Bihar. Sorry sir…no betrayal to our motherland!

Whenever an Indian leader visits Nepal or the other way round, references to such historical ties are being fed to the people whether we like it or not. But fact remains a fact whether we like it or not.

Perhaps it is the reason why the Indian Ministry of foreign affairs was so much encouraged to organize a conference in Patna, the state capital of Bihar, wherein crème de la crème of Nepali politics were the guests of honor and they discussed Nepal’s Future with the Indian leaders, former diplomats, security officials and some Intelligence officials. The discussion must have been quite interesting due to the presence of some Intelligence officials. Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai of the Unified Maoists’ Party also participated in the meet. But what sort of Intelligence and Security information Bhattarai shared with those officials have not been made public except that with his return home he has been demanding reduction in the size of Nepal Army and his consort Hisila Yami has already declared that the prime enemy of the Maoists’ Party was none other than the Nepal Army itself. Lessons from Patna!

Dr. Bhattarai being a Mao disciple is yet to visit China whereas he has already attended similar conferences in India many a times. Interestingly, Mohan Baidya of his own party has already been the guest of honor of the Chinese. Why Baidya was left out for the Patna meet perhaps speaks so many things unspoken? Incredible India!

And yes we were supposed to discuss Bihar’s economic growth that hovered around the mark of 11 per cent on average for the last five years. And, I have been the witness myself of the improved security situation in Bihar because my moneybag remained safe even after five hours of stay in Katihar Station only recently. Katihar used to be the place where pickpockets would even safely guard their pockets for the fear of being pick pocketed. But there is change which is very much visible, to which Bal Thackrey and his followers in the State of Maharastra might not agree.

Regarding the economic growth of Bihar there is great confusion among the Indian economist themselves.

R Nagaraj, Professor at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai writes for Business Standard Magazine, March 4, 2010 that there is clearly two amazingly differing statistics being presented by the Central Statistical Organization (CSO’s) and Bihar’s Economic Survey 2008-09 over Bihar’s economic growth. Here you go and we in Nepal have been in an excited state over the prospects of possible spillover effect of Bihar’s economic prosperity in Nepal.

Nagraj writes: “Using the Central Statistical Organisation’s (CSO’s) compilation, the average of annual growth rates of Bihar’s gross state domestic product (GSDP) between 2004-05 and 2008-09 stands at 11 per cent. However, the same, based on Bihar’s Economic Survey 2008-09 (presented before the last Budget), is just 7.3 per cent — lower than the national average of 8.5 per cent. The discrepancy between the two, both based on official data, should moderate the new-found enthusiasm for the state’s growth story, paving the way for a sober and careful scrutiny of the official statistics”.

Finally, for those Nepali enthusiasts, for example: politicians, economists and journalists who could be easily swayed by some figures presented in papers it is highly recommended to verify the data that is being referred while making comparisons. Yes we can still learn from Bihar. No grudge!

Posted on : 2010-03-10 08:13:09

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