Chief Minis-ter Nitish Kumar has made Bihari pride a key issue in his election campaign. He deliberately misinterpret Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remark about his DNA not being compatible with that of democracy. He has a delusion, that Nitish is Bihar and Bihar is Nitish, like what Dev Kant Barooah had said, Indira is India and India is Indira. His mentors, Ram Manohar Lohia and Jayaprakash Narayan, had opposed the Congress and so had his leader Karpoori Thakur. Mr Kumar’s one time friend-turned-political enemy, Lalu Prasad Yadav, has now become friend again. The Congress, which was an anathema to his mentors and him, is now his ally.
After I quit the Army in 1983 and returned to Patna I found that Bihar was mired in backwardness and the administration, which at one time was rated as the best among all states by the US expert Appleby, had now become a basket case. I wanted to promote Bihari pride so that people get motivated to make Bihar aware of its great past. I obtained the signature of one lakh citizens of Patna and submitted a memorandum to the Government of India through Patna municipal cor-poration and the state government. The municipal corporation enthusiastically supported the proposal and asked me to write the history of Pataliputra from ancient to modern times. I wrote one promptly and the corporation published it in both English and Hindi.
This was distributed to schools in the city. The Bihar Cabinet unanimously and enthusiastically recommended the proposal to rename Patna as Pataliputra in 1986. Some Muslim and leftist historians objected saying that it would promote Hindu fundamentalism. They ignored the fact that along with restoring the ancient and glorious name of the city, a “Civilisation Gate” was also proposed by me to underscore the city’s secular history quoting from Ashoka’s edicts and from the Tarikh-e-Sher Shahi. It would be a massive structure built in Mauryan architecture.
Names of outstanding personalities in different fields, irrespective of caste or creed, who influenced national or international history would be suitably inscribed with brief details of their contribution. The gate would have a walkway and a narrow water channel in the middle with lotus and small fountains. Ashoka trees would be on the flanks with the Ganga flowing adjacent to it. Steps from the gate would lead to the river. There would also be an open amphitheatre for “sound and light show”. The proposed gate, in size and grandeur, would surpass the India Gate in New Delhi, Gateway of India in Mumbai and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Knowledge and learning travelled worldwide from the river port of Pataliputra. This city was the capital of India for seven centuries and was a leading city of the world. Greek ambassadors and eminent Chinese pilgrims have written about its unique beauty. No other city in the world has a better claim to get its old name restored than Patna.
Mr Kumar was a very successful Chief Minister of the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar. From a very low base level, Bihar’s gross domestic product rose at the highest rate in the country. There was all round improvement in administration. Biharis felt proud at this success. I was also one among them. I met Mr Kumar to show him the design for the “Civilisation Gate”. He readily accepted my proposal and allotted a prime location on the bank of the Ganga for this project.
Unfortunately, four years have elapsed and work on the gate has not yet started. I also requested the Union minister for water resources Uma Bharti to have a channel of the Ganga dredged and brought close to the site of the proposed “Civilisation Gate” last year. This major task has been completed and will be a great boon for lakhs of devotees during Chath Pooja this year.
While he was the NDA chief minister of Bihar, Mr Kumar declared that he was willing to join anyone who gave Bihar a special status. This almost sounded like “Bihar for sale”, hurting the Bihari pride of many like me. It showed that for his personal ambition, he would not hesitate in quitting the NDA and joining UPA. Like Mr Modi in Gujarat, he was being projected as a possible candidate for Prime Minister.
When the Bharatiya Janata Party decided to project Mr Modi as its prime ministerial candidate, now in his third term as Chief Minister, Mr Kumar broke his 17-year-long alliance. His handling of the security of the sacred Bodh Gaya temple, despite two specific warnings from the Centre, left much to be desired.
Fortunately, the damage to that shrine, which is most sacred for Buddhists across the world, was minimal. The terrorist attack on Mr Modi’s election rally in Patna exposed the lamentable security arrangements.
Similarly, his handling of the most unfortunate death of 44 schoolchildren due to food poisoning invited much avoidable criticism. The 2014 parliamentary election result in Bihar was disastrous for Mr Kumar and his party. He resigned taking moral responsibility, but tried to continue ruling by installing Jitan Ram Manjhi in his place, to do his bidding. This did not work. He got rid of Mr Manjhi and assumed the mantle of chief minister again.
Mr Manjhi has now become a thorn in the flesh for him. Bihar is a highly caste- oriented state. A lot is at stake at the national political level for both the NDA and the Janata Dal (United)-Rashtriya Janata Dal alliance in the forthcoming Bihar election. The NDA has the advantage of the Modi wave which continues to sway the people with his masterly oratory. Its alliance with the extremely backward of communities, like Paswans, Khushwahas and Mushars makes a strong combination. The challenge posed by the Grand Alliance is formidable and should not be underestimated.
Yadavs and Kurmis along with en block Muslim support make a powerful grouping. The Yadav youth have now become more aspirational than they were 25 years ago. Mulayam Singh Yadav’s breaking away from and the Nationalist Congress Party not joining the Grand Alliance may give the impression of the alliance crumbling, but in real terms it may not matter much. The Congress does not have much following in Bihar. No wonder that at the Gandhi Maidan election rally in Patna, the Congress supremo was reduced to No. 3 in the pecking order. The heir apparent was ignored by two party stalwarts of the alliance in Champaran. His constant vituperative personal attacks have become jarring.
He is trying to play the role of a destructive rather than constructive Opposition. His constantly repeating “Suit-Boot ki sarkar” sounds like a stuck gramophone.
Congress may not be much of an asset to the RJD-JD(U) alliance.
As things stand today, the scales seem tipped in favour of NDA. Going back to the issue of Bihari pride invoked by Nitish Kumar, highlighting Bihar’s glorious past is likely to pay dividends to the BJP. Developing the Buddhist tourist circuit with Pataliputra as a focal point, with its proposed “Civilisation Gate” or a grand observatory to highlight the contribution of Aryabhatta, the greatest mathematician and astronomer of all time, would boost Bihari pride. Aryabhatta had his observatory at Bhugol, now Khagaul, on the outskirts of Pataliputra. All this would demonstrate how laughable it is that Mr Kumar is sending thousands or lakhs of nails and hair to Delhi for a DNA test.
The writer, a retired lieutenant-general, was Vice-Chief of Army Staff and has served as governor of Assam and Jammu and Kashmir
