To begin with, I request the leaders sweating it out in Bihar’s electoral fray, please don’t bother to look for poll math here, as it’s a collage of massive changes and its enduring pain and the resultant cry.
First, let’s return to the last decade of the 20th century. Two colleagues and I were on our way to Dhanbad from Patna. In the dim sunlight of peak winter, we witnessed a disturbing scene near the road. In that bitter cold, facing a slush-filled pond, a woman wearing only a sari was poised to bathe. But her embarrassment held her back. She didn’t have another sari to wear after bathing and people in vehicles passing by leered at her. I was trying to understand her vacillation in a dignified way. What followed made us more uneasy. She haltingly sat on her haunches and rinsed her mouth with the same water. Since then, a lot of water has flowed in Ganga and Kosi rivers. Jharkhand has separated from Bihar. Dhanbad is now in Jharkhand and the condition of Bihar’s women has undergone a sea change.
Government data reveals that the twin intervention by the state government and the society has helped the women take a giant leap. In 2000, women’s literacy rate in Bihar was 33%, which is now 73.91%. The state’s 35% quota for women has resulted in a big improvement in male-female ratio at the workplace. Today, its police force has 37% women participation. The number of women teachers is 261,000. Women are wielding both pen and pistol.
Bihar also has active 106,000 self-help groups for employment. Through these, 14.5 million women are carving their individual stories of financial success. These women have availed ₹15,000 crore of bank loans. Their record in repaying loans is far better than that of men at over 99%. This is why we are now spared of those unfortunate scenes of the 1980s and 1990s.
Women in Bihar have come a long way and I’m confident that in the silver jubilee year of the century, they will vote for a better Bihar. Education and financial independence have created high awareness among women. In 2015 and in 2020, 60% women came out to vote, turning their gender into a formidable vote bank, and every political party is out to woo them. But it’s just a benign side of the story. Despite all the empowerment, their sons, husbands or other family members are condemned to migrate internally or internationally. The helplessness that hangs makes a mockery of all development data.
There isn’t a single big manufacturing unit in Bihar. Farm size is shrinking. Drought and floods are forcing a large number of farmers away from their traditional vocation. A whopping 2 crore 90 lakh people, or nearly a quarter of the state population, is condemned to migrate in search of work. Like in other parts of India, the state can’t boast of many on-going big projects. Small industries are in shambles; 80% of India’s jobs come from manufacturing and infrastructure. It’s no surprise that employment is a hot topic in the election. Each party has its spin but there no real solution of the pernicious problem.
How the problem is affecting the Bihari youth was gauged by Hindustan correspondents by talking to youth who returned to their villages for Chhath puja. Let me mention just two incidents. Their lament is a reflection of the pain of the entire Bihari youth.
Gangaram from Madhepura works in a chocolate factory in Bengaluru. We asked him why he moved out? “There’s nothing in Bihar in terms of employment; not a single factory. So we are forced to go out to earn a living and support the family… Why would we leave our home if we get work here?” He just poured his heart out. “The moment we are old enough to earn, we leave the state. Our bonds with our family and society start weakening. We get to be back once every couple of years… When we leave, our deepest angst is for how long we would be away from our loved ones? We also don’t get any respect in other states.”
We ask what do people want from the new government. Sanjay Chandravanshi, who works in Mumbai, replies, “Whoever comes to power should focus in creating job opportunities. If Bihar sets up factories, then millions like me will not have to go out. We may not get work at home, but at least we’ll be in the state.”
Will the leaders, who rant about Roti Aur Rojgaar (bread and employment), undertake a constructive approach once they win? Or the Bihari youth will once again be subjected to disappointment? Instead of empty rhetoric, Bihar and Biharis are waiting with bated breaths for solid solutions. A long time ago, a young woman asked me in Patna, “Kya ab Bihar ki bari hai? (Is it Bihar’s time to shine now)”; her question still awaits an unambiguous answer.
Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. Views are personal.
Bihar elections,jharkand,women voters,literacy,jobs,male female ratio,teachers,police,vote bank,manufacture,infrastructure
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