Saale Bihari!!!
Kislay wrote about the plight of Biharis. No not of the ones who are illiterate, living in villages or in scores of slums in the cities and towns or even dying in floods. He was talking about the average middle class Bihari or even the upper class privileged one who is forever taunted and haunted by the badge of being of all things ignoble, a Bihari.Most of us when asked where we are from mention the names of our states like Bengal, Punjab, Karnataka or Rajasthan – those who belong to Bihar try to skirt the issue by saying the name of their city or preferably their caste or subcaste.
When the state was divided my cousins who had lived all their growing years in Bihar were pleased, not because they had any political motives but because now they would be able to escape the Bihari tag by saying they belong to Jharkhand.
Why is one state in the country subjected to so much ridicule?
Biharis I am told are cowards, ignorant, uncouth and they speak a language that’s just so ghatti.
When I was in school I was told that the Mauryan dynasty rose in Bihar. That one of the world’s oldest and most reputed universities Nalanda was in Bihar. I was told that the first war of Independence or the revolt of 1857 became possible because Mangal Pandey a Bihari had the guts to revolt against his British masters for something he thought was unjust.
Also in the modern day most IAS officers are recruited from that state. Uncouth? They lead our foreign services and on a personal front I have been put to shame many a time by the impeccable language and manners of many friends who call Bihar home.
So the question I want to ask is where do we get that sad picture of Bihar from?
From the state of its political affairs? Arent we all in the same boat….some more some less? from the condition of its infrastructure? Since when is the common man responsible for such things? For its lack of law and order? If a few dozen run a rampage and rule in the absence of effective policing how again is the common man to be blamed for this?
All I am saying is that we have enough hate, ridicule and mistrust going round as it is. Can we make a conscious decision to not make derogatory remarks or even funny ones about the religion or region someone belongs to? I may have picked up bihar as an example but this is as much true for diverse people from Sardars to Muslims to dwellers of the North Eastern states, to Bengalis to Keralites.
People make remarks mostly unthinking perhaps but which leave an indelible mark on the psyche of the person on the receiving end. Can we as educated responsible citizens take this small step towards a better tomorrow?
Comments
Very well written.
The most ridiculous was when I saw a guy from MP ridiculing a Bihari, saying they deserved it. I wanted to say, "Don't worry it will be you next."
one of my closest friend is a jharkhandi... and we've teased her about that since post grad. but never did we mean it maliciously... today, i doubt we'd crack those jokes....
Reminds me of the following joke:
A Bihari was waiting for his bus at the bus stop. Finally the bus arrives and he gets in. The bus is fully loaded with sardarjis. One sardarji orders Bihari to tell a joke. Now, the Bihari thinks he's in big trouble because he knows only sardar jokes! After thinking for some time he decides to substitute all references to 'sardars' in his joke with 'Biharis'. He starts the jokes with, "There was once a Bihari..." And suddenly he gets a major blow on his back from one of the sardarjis who shouts, "Kyon be! Sab sardar mar gaye hai kya?"
Cheers,
Salil
"When I was in school I was told that the Mauryan dynasty rose in Bihar. That one of the world’s oldest and most reputed universities Nalanda was in Bihar. I was told that the first war of Independence or the revolt of 1857 became possible because Mangal Pandey a Bihari had the guts to revolt against his British masters for something he thought was unjust.
" -> That is what I was talking about .
@Akshaya
The same thing happened to quite a lot of people I know . At least you were open enough to change . There are some who won't even give my kind a chance .
IHM - I know what you mean...I was in Mumbai last year and my home was right opposite a Shiv sena camp...everytime they cropped up in the news for anti marathi statements...I shivered cause I could have been easily marked out...my car license plate was from Haryana.
Hemanth...there we go again, calling everyone names. Lets just stay with the individual and while at it lets start with ourselves. Lets promise to not make those generalised derogatory remarks about the 'other'
Rayshma...even those jokes hurt at some level. The victims bear with it cause we who are joking only in fun seem a shade better than the malacious ones.
I hope you see what i am talking about.
Akshaya....glad to see, that you had an oppurtunity to change your opinion and that you did do so.
Salil....jokes apart...its a serious problem. Schools in Britain are censoring children's rhymes which reek of discrimination, we as adults continue to commit the same crime.
Kislay...thanks for visiting. Lets hope by writing about it we will be able to make some people rethink their prejudices. This is the first step to change.
"People make remarks mostly unthinking perhaps but which leave an indelible mark on the psyche of the person on the receiving end" says it all!!!
Cheers
thanks for visiting and appreciating, do keep visiting.
sah...welcome to my enchanted world...the point is that whether a person is doing a lowly job or not. He or she is a human and must be treated as one. and as an equal.
and in the movies too... biharis are never represented by a intelligent character.... it futher reenforces the fact that biharis are odd....
i have had the pleasure of being with many biharis... right from a student per state military school chail...and now in the real army....
A bihari... general g s bhushan... the man ..who averted a almost war just with his strategies... is never shown by the media... and lalu continues to be the alpha bihari male...
Ya ya..you would say..am awake after a long time :-)
Anyways..your blog does nothing else but reminds me of the chapter on Cast from "India Unbound" ..
Though i wanted to resist from making this controversial remark..but can't help it. ..These days i have stopped believing in this concept called as 'country'...for me the world is a plain old jungle where powerful animals rule over weaker species.....how does it matter that by "chance" I am borned in India...I dont care if someone would kill me for saying that I Hate this god forsaken land.....
--Bugs
Hey Bugs,
You can choose to be bitter or you can choose to do something about the bitterness by adding sugar...choice is yours. I can't change anyone's mind set.