These comments were directed at MPs from Bihar. ‘Dung-beetles’. ‘The Ganges of Corruption’. ‘Rotten Brains’.
When it comes to criticizing Bihar, I am one of the Biharis who have generally been ahead of people of other states, at times. Yes, the average Bihari is rather lazy, likes to shirk his duty whenever he can, is a little silly several times, and shrewd whenever he can grab unearned money.
Does that justify the above poison pen comments?
No.
Many sensible readers of my blog may mention that this is merely a political statement, aimed at vote banking. And that, my friends, is the actual cause for concern. The fact, that statements like these can win votes elaborates the fact that the average voter in Maharashtra agree with the Thackreys!
Some weeks ago, the author of ‘City City Bang Bang’ for TOI wrote something like this – ‘Statistically speaking, more than 50% Maharashtrians do not conform to the views of Raj Thackrey. We are happy to hear that. Do we bother that nearly 40% Maharashtrians do.’
During my five year stint at Pune, Maharashtra, two separate incidents sort out as glaring examples of the same.
We were a group of nine girls in a flat, eight of us being from North India, five of those eight from Bihar. We were stopped in the midst of celebrating a birthday party by angry yells from our next door neighbours.
“These shameless north Indians,” spluttered ‘auntie’, “you have no manners. You have not been brought up well” and words to that effect.
Next day, ‘auntie’s’ daughter, who was about our age, came to us smiling. “Don’t worry. I understand. If I had been sent to a hostel like you and wouldn’t have the pressure of guardians, I’d have freaked out like you guys!”
Another incident was when we once rode wrong side up into a one-way street. The traffic police stopped us, arrested – yes, there is no softer word, arrested us and detained four of us Biharis in the traffic police station. Any word uttered in Hindi did not appeal to him. He wanted nothing short of 500 bucks. We girls had been on a shopping stint and had perhaps about twenty rupees in all between us. Things remained at a stalemate like situation. He wouldn’t budge and we couldn’t budge.
Finally, two hours later we were allowed a phone call. Which we made with alacrity, to the only Maharashtrian flatmate of ours. She came in thirty minutes. She spoke to the policeman in Marathi for about five minutes. After paying a hundred rupees as fine, for which we were given a receipt, the four of us walked free again.
I do not want to mention the number of Chemistry and Botany lectures that bounced above my head because they were given in Marathi in my college. There is no point in mentioning that when in a group of Marathi students, I always laughed late, if at all, depending on if a translation of the joke came my way. It shall be useless to mention the several travel concession and hostel admission forms I was unable to fill because of them being in Marathi only.
But there is a point in mentioning this – even today, when my CSIR fellowship comes to Patna University, it mentions the name of my Pune college and the address is still that of my hostel in Pune. I know that tomorrow if someone else from my department is called for the Shyama Prasad Mukherji fellowship, they will perhaps remember my name for I have been, till date, the only student from my department to be called for that same fellowship.
I am not the only example of such irony. There will be hundreds of people like me. People who work there, have bought houses there, have lived in there for ages and ages and given the state the best years of their lives.
For what?
For being called ‘dung beetles’ and being the possessors of ‘rotten brains.’
Interesting.
(The author of this blog has often been accused of possessing a Marathi accent while speaking Hindi, has a large number of Maharashtrian friends and is well-liked amongst the lot for knowing passable Marathi. My dear average Maharshtrian – respect your language and culture. I agree it is worth it. Be proud of it. But come on! Stop being an Australian Cricketer about it. Er, did I mean Arrogant, when I accidentally typed Australian Cricketer? By the way, my knowing Marathi is not the only reason why my friends like me.)
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27 comments:
A similar incident is Narendra Kumar Modi's recent election speeches. After the infamous Operation Kalank of Aaj Tak, this man took the dias and all but confessed to aiding and abetting in the barbaric vengeful take on Muslims during the Gujarat riots.
I ask you, this statement of so-called poster boy of Hindutva won him the post of CM again, instead of getting him a sharp rap on the knuckles (at least).
Once again the statement given was - this is just vote winning tactic. And once again I say, that is the worst part. It shows that a majority of Gujjus are communalists who want a 'braveheart' Hindu protector. Disturbing. I call it definitely disturbing.
@Deepti
The Marathis, the Assamese, the Gujratis and the Delhiites should learn from the Bengalis that how to embrace fellow Indians into their folds and ask them to call Calcutta their home away from home.
It is for this very reason that the Marwaris, the UPites, the PArsis, the Biharis, the Muslims and the Anglo Indians find a place of pride in our Bengal.We love to celebrate Chat puja and longingly wait for the Thekuas and also we like to do navratra and go for dandiya Nritya.Likewise they also love to gobble up our rasgullas and mishti Doi and celebrate Durga pujas with us.IT's such a spirit of bonhomie and there's no feeling of dissent amongst each other.
I don't understand what'll happen to the Marathi's lunch box if the dabbawalas are drove away from Mumbai.And why the hell This provincialism should pop up their head in a free country?
Anyone can reside any place in this country according to our constitution and if Sheila Dixit or Raj Thackeray make such remarks, they need to be thrown away.India can be better off with these people.Yes, we need Santosh Desai of City bang TOI to hammer some sense into these half literate,publicity craving nobodys.
This is serious and I'm glad that it is being adressed here.Hope to hear more views on this.
I live in Assam. :D
And as everyone knows, we have a SITUATION out here. Against bengalis, Biharis, Muslims, Hillman against Plain folk, near Assam, Khasi against Garo.
This basically represents a culturally depraved soceity low on self-cionfidence,
Only one response:
Shut up Spitting SHIT
:D
Well,Bal Thackerey is back:
" Ek Bihari, Sau Bimari"
How stupid is that?
No. It's not the Thackreys who are stupid. On the contrary they are being politically smart. Both of them are adversaries, and each is abusing Biharis to score one over the other in the elections. They have both of them sensed the anti-Bihari sentiments among the electorate and milking the situation. Neither of them is stupid. Power-hungry would be better suited adjective.
My blog is more directed toward the anti-Bihari feeling amongst the Maharshtra gentry. Not a couple of greedy politicos.
@June & Ramyangshu
:) :)
It should have been "How cheap is that?"
" Irrationality Rules"
"when i was in patna i was called a dehati..... when i went to delhi, i was called a bihari.....when i moved on to pune, i was called a north indian....
maybe i should move out of india then only i will be called an indian"
published in letters to the editor,toi
@ Sushmita
True. And as I mentioned, its a very disturbing scenario.
@Piyush
Couldnt have been more aptly put.
Well I don't know if I am the only Maharashtrian commenting. Nor do I read the newspapers or stay in Mumbai currently so I don't know much about the ssituation there.
True I have observed a divide among the people not that as you say Thakrey has capitalised upon. The divide I think more based on difference in culture here and people's liking for it. For here in Manipal as well, I have observed the same. The Biharis and the UP guys together have a group and generally don't mix with other guys. Some shy away from even sitting beside each other in the class rooms. Same is the case with the others hailing from different states. I think that such a divide exists at every place people of different cultures have congregated. At least thats what I have observed in the three places that I have stayed for a considerable amount of time viz. Mumbai, Manipal and Ipswich (U.K.). The only difference in Mumbai may be is that it has been turned successfully into a political issue. Thats really sad but, it cant go away unless the sort of cultural divide is lifted at least thats easier than getting rid of shrewd politicians and to do that we can play our parts but cant really control what others do.
@Mandar
I find your comment a tad funny when You say that the Biharis and the UPites makes their separate groups and do not like to mix with other guys.
My question to you is have you or the other guys ever attempted and repeatedly attempted to mix with them since they are away from their home? Don't you think that it might be their shyness or some kind of complexities which makes them withdrawn.Why do we let them be in separate groups? Why can't we forget that they belong to a separate province?
I guess it's time that before judging others we judge ourselves.Likewise the Biharis and the UP ites should also shake off their inhibitions and complexities and embrace others as fellow Indians.
@To all
We make the Politicians powerful and that is why they can wield their stick on to our face.
I can only say that the Politicians should Serve us and we shouldn't be submitting to their dictums.
@ Mandar
My experience has been different from yours. See, in today's date, lacs and lacs of Biharis are migrants. They are buying property, settling into jobs and education and marrying people from all parts of the country. Indeed, I have seen the rate of intercaste, inter-religion and even inter-racial marriage amongst Bihari families escalate heavily in the last decade!
Biharis, in this sense, cannot afford to, and so far as I have seen, do not, stay aloof. There is very little clannishness amongst Biharis and UPites because they do not have a separate language.
See, I quoted one reason to dislike the dual behaviour of the Pune Traffic Police. Such reasons flare anti-host feelings.
As June put it so rightly, its the Biharis and UPites who are away from home, insecure, minority in number. They can hardly be blamed for being aloof or actively hostile against the host culure be it Marathi or Bengali or Assamese.
Ok point accepted.and I mentioned Biharis as they happen to be a majority in Manipal. Or perhaps my impressions about them are completely a result of the language barrier between me and them. I speak Hindi with some difficulty and the language of those who hail from Bihar and UP is practically unfathomable for me.
@June
Considering the situation I am in here in Manipal, the thing you say is not applicable. As, both me and those who hail from Bihar and UP are away from home. Also, contrary to they being a minority, they are a majority here. So what you say might perhaps be applicable if roles are reversed.
Speaking of myself, yes I do mix with a few of them to a great extent as their charaters appeal to me and so, the language barrier becomes non-existant.
Waiting for your reply before you say anything further.
"I do mix with a few of them to a great extent as their charaters appeal to me"
And that my friend is rather 'rem-acu-titi-gest-ing' it [allow the Wodehouse stint :)]. We all should do exactly that, instead of taking a hatchet to someone who happens to be a Bihari, a Hindu or an Ethiopian just because some 'dignitary' happens to feel that way.
p.s. My maid's son was working as a labourer in Nashik. After the spate of violence, his employer deemed it safe to dismiss him and pack him off home on the pretext that he did not want to take a risk in such a situation where even the Police were unwilling to side with the victims. Incidentally, he decided to pack off the hapless man without his 6 months due salary. Everyone in M'rashtra is 'gaining' a great deal with this fiasco!
That's bad. You will be better informed about the situation than I am as I have not even a fleeting idea about what is going on in Mumbai or in Maharashtra. As far as my views about the situation are concerned, the Maharashtrians there are completely at fault either willfully or because they have been blinded by the likes of Bal Thakrey I do not know.
Coming to the migration of Biharis to other parts of India, they have all the right to do so as every individual has a right to right to find a place for himself that compliments his abilities best. I think the same should be done on a world-wide scale (as it would be beneficial to me ;) ) but, no matter. What is going on seems to be entirely the opposite.
I just can give u a situation.
In our college, we have a rift too.
The assamese accuse the Hindi-speaking of not learning their language, and every one is an imposter for them. Though it includes only a few people. And yes, i have found it to be true thta most hindi-speaking do not speak assamese.
Now, the Hindi-speaking ay tht that is narrow-mindednes on the local's part, where they can not rise above languages.
Just a situation, which can never be solved.
What do I do? I speak with everyone in their respective language.
remember a Suman Chattarjee song,
"One day will come when Saontal wil speak in UNO in his native tongue."
Hi,
Here is my take on that:
My earliest link with the issue dates back to the time of my joining merchant navy thru the SCI, (Shipping Corp of India,a pub sect undtking).the headoffice being just adjacent to the Mantralay(legilative assembly of Maharsta), and a high paying job, this Central PSU has been a cynosure of Maharsht politicians. 'Samana' raised questions about large selection of Biharis in the company.Company had one mr PK Srivastava as CMD. hence, a bias was alleged.
For next 1 and half years, the intake was halted, until affilation to IIT Jee was taken as solution for an impartial selection.However, M Navy being not a high intellect job, cud not attract as many IIT qualifiers as was required. Hence they reverted to SCI'c own entrance procedure again, and finaly settled on IGNOU -SCI alternating every year, selction procedure.
However, I noted that: 1) the biharies , who actually amonuted to max number of selectees in my batch itself, as also many previous bacthes, were really *not* upto mark for even this low-intellect, sub-moderate skill job.
2) The infamous Ranjit Don exam paper leak culprit would leak SCI entrance Papers also in the Calcutta zone. many bihari batchmantes confessed in private to having rec'd the paper.
3) during the course, i happen to witness the 26 July the great flood of Mumbai, and the 11th July Bomb blast. Noted the huge crowd of Mum which is 1/100th of India's Population.
4) Noted that Mumbai's population is slightly less that that of entire Australia's, the Later being 3 times the size of India.!Australia was our regular port of call, until past few years.
5) Being mariner, understand that the very cause of making of Mumbai is that it is a port city,center of import export trade, and the largest settlement of humans, in the past,has happned on sea ports only, wherever in the world. Before that, the human settlement started along the river bank, that is why Varanasi, Pataliputra(patna) such on are the 'metros' of the past. And next settlement wud be at the Airports, the 'aeropolis' like Banglore, hydbad, and Noida-delhi.
I conclude that, policy framework is essential to decongest mumbai as quality of life has really gone down. Stabbing/murder can be hired for cheap price, prostitues in large count and cheap prices,psychopaths cases on rise, value of human life very very low, and all for this huge crowd. A slight outbeak of any epidemic disease wud take huge, huge toll. govt got to get acting now.
Biharis are really very backwards, though i have human considerations towards them. Mumbai city has very high population density. UP and Bihar states have very high population density. Quality of life is low in these two entire state itself. Work culture, and Urbanisation of thoughts is severly hampered by large influx of backward people.
:) love him or hate him.. bala saheb and kin can't be ignored...
@Mannu
Backward in the hygienic sense, yes. The labor class from Bihar - they tend to live filthy. That still does not justify poison pen comments. Neither does it justify beating them up and confiscating their earned money or forcing them to be exposed to a worse life style.
If the Biharis and UPites had complained that the Maharasthrian Govt is not providing them with proper facilities, I would have considered that an unfair demand. With Mumbai mushrooming like it is, that would have been an unreasonable demand.
Yes, your point about the paper leak and exam 'ghotala' cannot be belied. But trust me, things are changing. See, to a great degree that was the result of the enormous powers of one man - Lalu and his brigade. He sort of set a trend of blatant crime in such a way that dishonesty sort of became a badge of political honor. No matter what magic he may have played with the Railways, to me he will always be the symbol of the purely diabolical. That one tainted Minister, who was the root-cause of the period of criminal MLA-raj about 2-3 years ago, once again, DOES NOT JUSTIFY THACKREY.
backward in the scientific rational also, dear, not just hygiene sense. The relative perception of behiaris and UPites is quite unscietific, "socialistic" (by which i mean poverty-affected/governed), cynical("the big lock on the rusted iron box"), and almost everything you would read about 'people in socialist state', they have it. Mumbai metropolitan, the finance capital's potent development is held captive by such outlook of people. Bihar and UP provide only cheap and unorganised labour, but in enormous count. This is still insuffient to justify their paricipation is development of the city.
Mumbai has recently been rated the 7th dirtiest city in the world.
I am fron UP, varanasi origianly, which is sometimes also hailed as the Patna of UP. u can understand what that implies.
The thackery brigade is not fully assented to; i wud want my people to realize their position and work it up.
My IAS borther questions that mumabi's development should be 'inclusive' for solving Mumabi-UP-Bihar crisis. I wonder if it's UP and Bihar which need to get themselves "included" in India's overall development process.
But anyways, things are truely changing, and over here in UP too. Mayawati is a overhauled,changed and a reincarnated woman this time!
It sounds ridiculous, but I don't think it can be sorted out.
The problem is, the word "Biharis" is being used too much.
(Even in this post)But the problem is faced equally by UPites, MPites and others too.
Moreover, same problem is faced by south indians too when they come to northindia for education or work, or reaches to maharashtra.
As we say, "Hamam me sab nange hotte hain", the problem being discussed is same allwhere.
Even in my own family, my aunt used to keep separate glasses for muslims.
Yet in Assam and Maharashtra for some reasons or others, the situation is becoming gross.
@ Mannu
No one's denying that Bihar is backward - least of all me. I agree fully with you on the count of unhygienic life style.
But - and here I repeat myself - even this does not justify hateful comments. Its idiotic to say that North Indians should leave evrything and go away from Mumbai coz their standard of living isnt too high!
@ Me
The word Bihari is used in this blog because this blog was written in response to Thackrey's article titled 'Ek Bihari Sau Beemari' or some such crap.
But even if Thackrey hadn't made that statement, my blog would have continued in the same vein. For you see, what you say is not correct.
No - the problem is one unique to Bihar. It is not a problem of all North Indians. North India consists of Delhi - the country capital; UP - the state of cities like Lucknow (this city boasts of 4 CSIR labs, KGMC hospital and the La Martiniere School), Kanpur (it has leather industries, an IIT), Allahabad, Benaras etc; West Bengal - the state has Kolkata.
In Bihar there is not one thing in today's date that has a national fame. Nationa fame ko chhodo! Ek Cafe Coffee Day ki outlet to hai nai yaha! Even if there are certain redeeming factors like Nalanda and Vaishali, they are not exactly 'known' if you understand what I mean.
South Indians, in North India may be made fun of but a Bihari is nearly always despised. Ridicule and despise are two different things.
deepti,i am sure that no one will understant the the plight of a bihari untill and unless he /she is a bihari
him/herself.....
and the fate of bihar and bihari is only in god's hand.......
so good luck...
@deepti
As for me, the part I live in I never saw any despise against biharis, the only people which suffers the most are North eastern and kashmirites. (I live in MP)
But then its not all, I have graduated from rajasthan Jaipur NIT, and there also, Bihar, UP, MP, Maharastra groups were always strong, the only group which always was sidelined was kashmirites, ladakhis, uttarakhandis or northeastern.
Now about Bihar, the land of swami Shradhanand saraswati (since birth I am listening his bravery talks and his straightforwardness and starting of rational revolution in India) The land of Rajendra Prasad, The Land of JaiPrakashNarain RamDhari Singh Dinkar Uppmanyu Chatterjee, you are saying that it has got nothing important of national prestige.
But well that is true, and one can complain politicians and programmers for it for a while, yet, no matters its Bihar or UP or kashmir or Laddakh or Uttarakhand, for any cause, if an Individual is being contradicted ridiculed or "despised" on any grounds of collectivism, then it is shameful.
@Unpretentious diva
Yes, the names you mentioned are all there in the annals of history. But that is what - history, rt? In the last 20 years or so, the things of national importance that came out of Bihar were Lalu, Rabri, paper leaks, false degrees and kidnapping and murder rackets!
@idea-ranjeet
Ya, but things are looking up. Nitish, if he remains for some more years, will spell good news for Bihar.
Am witnessing the sad realities. Never knew the family I fight for sometimes, is fighting within everytime. Thanks for this serious topic, and thanks to your contributors without whose comments, we would not learn more than what we store in the mind.
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