Bihar state is synonymous with underlying factors of poverty, illiteracy, disease and deaths to top it with underdevelopment. The state, which can boast of glorious past, has now degraded into oblivion. Though it has several natural resources and rich with indigenous culture, unfortunately this state has not been able to cash upon its wealth and tread the path of development on par with the other states in India.

Geographically it is one of the big states, Next to UP, this state plays dominant role in deciding the central power by bringing the second largest number of Elected members of parliament. 54 MP's of Bihar play dominant role at the center. Probably with all the elected governments in power there have been constantly MP's from Bihar who have been holding the high posts of Ministers at the cabinet level.

This is the only state where all the candidates irrespective of they belonging to this state are welcomed with open arms and ensured they are elected to the parliament. Though technically speaking the literacy rate is very poor in this region, the political awareness is quiet high even in the remote regions. Whether good communicable roads, basics of water and shelter have reached the villages or not but the political news makes its important presence even in the remote villages of Bihar.

There is totally a negative image coloured by the media and equally the present day politicians and their bandwagon have made rumpus of the whole state. It is a saddening phenomenon that the state should receive such derogatory status and remarks and it seems there are not enough peoples to defend the state because it is stateless state. No law prevails in the state and every person is the lawmaker and breaker themselves.

Caste Still Dominates

The caste rankings rule very high in the region. For any visitor visiting the village for the first time, it is difficult to identify the person without knowing their caste surname, which is of paramount importance. Naturally the dalits and the tribes cannot be expected to be in the mainstream society which is dominated by the high castes. Even the national channels have telecast live interviews with village mohallas high caste groups who vehemently opposed the entry of the dalits into their villages even for casting their votes which is a fundamental right of any citizen. Thus the caste deprivation also plays a very crucial role for making the poor more poorer in the region.

The Large Gap Between Haves And Have Nots

The gap between the have's and havenots is quiet large. Though in the books of law the Zamindari system is abolished. They have now taken the new avatar of middlemen and contractors in the region. The close nexus between the Politicians, bureaucrats and police is also responsible for doing away with the basic civic laws in the region. It is jungle raj which rules roost in the region.

In the extremist torn regions of Palmau and Garwah, the common people are subjected to the ills of administration on one hand, the contractors on the other hand and above them the extremists who virtually rule the region with their own jan adalats , extortion and the levy of taxes which is known in the local language as percentage system.

The Gair Majaru Lands are in the absolute possession of the landlords. The landlords own even the trees of common property. Their control over the resources is absolute. With the abolition of the Zamindari system the feudal landlords have taken to extortion of the people by becoming the contractors for all the development programs in the region.

The poor landless labourer is forced to work for the life time in the landlord's land and other option is migration in search of greener pastures. The system of bonded labour also still exists in certain regions in Bihar. The barbaric practice of chaining the children to stop them from running away from the grueling work at the carpet looms is also in existence. The small debts of the family for the social occasions of marriage, birth and death end them up into debt and bondage.

Criminalised Politics

The politics are criminalised. The anti-social elements become the elected representatives through the booth capturing. Though they have criminal records of murders, in the country of democracy they are given the opportunity to represent people and in particular in Bihar, they are given plenty of amensty and enabled to represent the people. Once again caste plays a dominant role and is also deciding factor for the parties to come to power. The holistic vision of development is absent and there is only partisan and skewed development benefiting only handful.

The panchayat elections in the region have not taken place for the last two decades. Even though the 73rd amendment was made and the other states are getting ready for the second round of panchayat elections, in this state there is no time limit or deadline made for holding the panchayat elections and enabling the 3 tier administration in the region.

Corruption At Its Highest

The high level of corruption is also responsible for making the poor poorer. Virtually no development scheme can be implemented without greasing the palms of the officials. There have been certain exceptions of dynamic officials but their presence in the region is cutshort with transfers whenever they try to do something good for the people. Their tenure is short lived and any initiatives they take are plunged into darkness once again.

The givers are also equally responsible for this sorry state of affairs. In the name of the MADA, TADP lot of resources is pumped into the region. Yet the resources donot reach the people. There are still regions, which are incommunicable, and no government machinery reaches these regions.

Close analysis of the government programs for development in the region may also be responsible for increasing poverty and debt burden of the people. There have been several live incidences until the notice from the bank has been issued to the beneficiary about default of loan repayment, the beneficiary themselves are not aware that in their name loans have been issued. Using the names of the people under the BPL ( Below Poverty line) the rich have benefited and without taking any loans the poor are forced to repay a debt - what kind of cruel injustice is being meted out to the poor of Bihar ?

While in the Anganwadis, the basic aim is to look after the nutrition and health of the children below five years. They are also given allocation for the nutritious food. But the reality is something else. Under the new scheme the Anganwadi worker herself has to build the Anganwadi buildings for which funds are provided. She becomes the new contractor and invariably the family of the Anganwadi worker occupies the place. The ration, which is alloted to the Anganwadi worker at the block headquarters often, is difficult to transport in the absence of the proper transport facilities. The rations are transferred to the local vendors and the children are left high and dry without any food.

The government at their own whims and fancies shelves the long-term program of Watershed Management, which was supposed to wipe away the persistent droughts in the region. While the newspaper reports the allotted money by the center is unspent by the state - the absorption capacity is so low inspite of tremendous needs to be fulfilled, the coffers of development remain full unable to spend the money.. While at every step of development there are atleast 50 steps of backward steps, how can any development take place at all in the region.

The Right To Education Stands Vindicated

The fundamental right to education is also not fulfilled in the region. There are several schools only on paper, ghost schools, schools that have been closed for 12-13 years. Yet all the teachers are on the payscales of the state government. This has been possible because the teachers are able to balance the administration and the extremists with money power. Thus getting a government job is a prized possession wherein they don't have to work but at the same time earn money and continue their household occupations such as agriculture. The teachers also double up as moneylenders in the village wherein they fleece the people with exorbitant interests.

The typical way an Trysem program carried in the state. The institute, the trainer, the trainee and the Officer incharge collude and without starting the training certificates are issued about their successful completion of the training.

In the government schools, there are various schemes to attract the children to attend the school, by giving Rs.1 per day of attendance, rice and scholarships. The teacher's interest lies in pooling this money rather than motivating the children to attend the school. On the day of distribution the attendance of the teacher and students is full as both want to benefit out of it. Irrespective of the school running or not and the student attending the school or not, the children are automatically promoted to the next class. There have also been incidences of the same child with dual name being registered with the connivance of the teacher to enable to raise the welfare money allotted to them.

While the teacher himself/herself conducts in such deplorable manner, where is the question of laying good foundation for education and future of the child?

The common people donot rise to such very basic issues and take into their stride as their fate and donot question the non-functioning of the schools.

Health Cares In Shambles

The hospitals are defunct in the region. The majority of the primary health centers are in shambles. Even today hordes of people die due to the common illness such as malaria. The majority of the deliveries take place at home. Any complications in deliveries, there is remote chances of the women surviving. In the absence of the proper transport system, she has to be carried on the cot physically for atleast 20 kms to catch up any means of transport. The immunisation to the pregnant mothers and children also donot reach in complete form. The schedule is not adhered to as the common complaint being the non availability of the cold packs and vaccine. In the absence of proper medical attention, the people sucuumb to even minor ailments . In the absence of the proper medical fraternity in the region, the quacks form important backbone of health in the region. The people are dependent on them being unaware the high dosages of antibiotics they prescribe at their will and pleasure and the innumerable number of shots they administer with the same syringe to any number of people though outside the state there are several awareness camps and conferences on the issues of std/HIV/AIDS and its possible spread through the intravenous injections. Though it is fifty years since the family planning programs are being implemented by the central government, it seems the state of Bihar is shock proof to the programs of family planning. The average family size is atleast 6-7 comprising of two adults and 4-5 children.

State In Virtual Darkness

The state boasts of thermal power plants. But majority of the towns and villages are plunged in darkness. The towns come to life with the generators most of the time but in the villages the electrification is restricted to the block headquarters and thereafter to find an electric pole is a luxury. The hamlet right on the next door of the thermal power plant unit is darkness, one can understand that rural electrification remains a far cry in the region.

Degraded Land Zone And Migration

The land is degraded to great extent due to felling of trees - deforestation , mining activities and rampant industrialisation. Though vast area of land is available, it is not brought to use due to the degraded nature of the land. The agricultural yield is also very low and no technological inputs have been brought out to improvise the production in the region. Thus in majority of the regions there is a one crop pattern mainly rain fed cultivation takes place. The lack of agricultural operations in full fledged manner is leaving the landless labour high and dry. Only during season they have work and rest of the year they have to fend for themselves. The only option available is migration . Thus during the non-agricultural seasons one can witness exodus from the villages in search of work in the neighbouring states. Only the old and the very young are left in the villages and all the able-bodied adults and children migrate in search of employment. All the menial labour works in outside states of Bihar like Punjab, UP, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, W.Bengal only Biharis are found. Their status is worst in these states with no permanent dwellings and no recognition for their hard work. But their hard work is optimally utilised . The road works in Delhi, the farm workers in Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir, the coolies in the railway station of these states and W.Bengal, the taxi drivers and the rickshaw pullers majority of them belong to Bihar. The exodus from Bihar is mainly due to the extreme poverty and lack of appropriate work for them which is driving them out to take extreme risks and subjected to humiliations.

The stark reality being if there was adequate work for them and thousands others, then there is no need for them to traverse so far only to be subjected to the bullets of the extremists. If not for the extreme poverty, the migration on large scale will not take place in Bihar.

Technology Is Not Making Inroads

The region is rich in minerals , forest produce and natural resources. Several herbs from the region are utilised elsewhere in the country and world but there is no skill or expertise developed among the local population. Though rest of the country and world is talking about strides in technology, Bihar is still immune to absorb the technological inputs. There is clearly no political will as well to develop the state. Though on the other side of the country, the liberalisation and globalisation of economy is bringing in vast technological inputs in the country, the state of Bihar has been bullet proof to all these developments. It is unfortunate that even the small scale sector units have almost died in the state unable to bear the burden of the Rangdari tax system on one end and the extreme or total lack of power supplies to run their units. Only the global giants like the Tatas and the Ushas and the Public sector undertakings are ruling the roost in the region. Even some of the public sector undertakings in the mining sector are on the verge of closing down due to various reasons.

Wide Geographic Disparities

The geographical disparities are wide in the state between the north and the south. The entire south Bihar is predominant with the tribal population and it is also the base for all the natural resources in the region. The lopsided development ensured that the big industries would be established in the region at the cost of the uprooting of the indigenous population. They are also not absorbed in the industries in strength. It is once again mostly the outside population which benfits in employment opportunities in this sector as the locals lack the required skills and no conscious efforts are made to impart the required skills to them. It is estimated that currently 63% of the Bihars total revenue comes from South and Central Bihar . The major contributors to the state Exchequer, mines and minerals.

The rampant industrialisation has resulted in displacement of the indigenous population and no appropriate compensations have been made in this regard even though the local industries are thriving well in the region.

The language, culture, life style are poles apart in the north and south Bihar. The long struggle for separate Jharkhand state has yielded success after great deal of time . This transition and transfer of power may not be smooth with the ongoing political tussle for the power.

State And Center Indifferent To Bihar's Growth

The State and Central governments are equally responsible for this appalling situation where the state is neglected completely in allocating resources. On the other hand in the sectors where resources are allocated the state government is unable to spend as well, for which watershed programs are very valid example.

The central government has allocated resources for the Drought prone area development programs under which watershed programs form the prime focus. Due to the shortsighted approach the government has not been able to fulfill these programs as well in the region and have unilaterally cancelled the programs allotted to the NGO's in the region.
Thus the precipitating factors for the poverty in Bihar are plenty.

Media's Negative Portrayal

The bleak picture always given by the media in the region gives the impression to the common person outside the state as the entire state is criminalised and all the people are with dubious distinctions. The media has to also portray the richness of the cultural heritage, the simple lives, the coming together of people for common causes as this is the only state where any revolution has emerged, the concept of voluntarism. This state has only given birth to two very important religions of Buddism and Jainism . The former is now more practiced outside India than in India and Jainism has large followers in India.

The Contrasts

It has also been observed that bureaucracy in Bihar is much more accomodative and informal than in comparison to the other states. The accessibility to the head of the state such as Governor is easy where as in other states they are shielded from the public and getting audience for public is impossible. What the state lacks is the strong administration and collapse of civil law with domination of partisan caste politics. If these could be conquered step by step in the state and a strong governance is established and learning lessons from the developed states within India and the new surge of young chief ministers who are also competing to take their respective states on par with the electronic governance - number of things can be changed .

It should be taken as a challenge that primarily we do not give the opportunity of sharing of Bi in the Bimaru states. In all the development indicators conscious efforts should be made for overall development.

This can be possible only if there is all round change in the mindset of the commoners, politicians, bureaucrats and all the civil society groups in the state. To chain all the common mission seekers there is need to have very strong leadership at the helm of affairs whose sole job would be steer the state towards positive development.