BOOKSin review
I
Nrecentdecades,
renowned publications
havebroughtoutrigorous
scholarlystudies on Bihar.
Political material on Bihar
is eagerlydevouredby the
peopleof Bihar, thedia-
sporaandthenon-Bihari
intelligentsiaandliterati.
Theelectorate of Bihar—
educated or not—isquite
alertandinformedabout
politics, notwithstanding
its economicandeduca-
tional backwardness.
Thus,knowledgeproduc-
tionon Biharenjoysacon-
siderable readership.
Prof.Sanjay Kumarof
the Centre for the Studyof
Developing Societies
(CSDS)-Loknitiisbynow a
well-knownnamenotonly
amongacademics, journal-
ists,literatiandpoliticos
butfar beyondthesesec-
tionsbecauseofhis regular
appearanceson television
andarticlesin printand
onlinemedia.
Equippedwith ahuge
amountofdata on election
studiescollectedby CSDS-
Lokniti,Prof.SanjayKu-
marandhis colleaguesare
betterplacedto dishout
suchstuff.Withgrowing
and deepening regional-
ductory essay puts the
study in perspective.
Equallyhelpfulis thecon-
cluding chapter on the
questionof developmentor
identityin theelectionsof
2014 (LokSabha)and 2015
(Assembly). The second
chapter,whichfocusseson
the social and economic
history,andthethird,en-
capsulating electoralhis-
tory, politicalprocesses
andtheemergenceof the
Other Backward Classes
(OBCs),familiarisereaders
withthe centralityof caste-
basedhierarchyinpolitics.
As faras thepolitical
processesofpost-Inde-
pendence Biharare con-cerned,thebestacademic
studiesare by FrancineR.
Frankel,in heressayin an
anthology(1989)co-edited
by her (Dominanceand
StatePowerin India:De-
cline of aSocialOrder),
HarryW. Blair(whosees-
says remain scattered
largelyin academic journ-
als and anthologies and
badlyneedto be compiled
into asinglevolume),
ArvindN. Das,andAtul
Kohli, in the chapter
“Breakdownin abackward
State:Bihar”in hisbook
Democracyand Discon-
tent: India’s Growing
Crisis of Governability
(1991).
In fact,someessaysof
Blair and achapter by
Kohliprovideabetterun-
derstanding and empir-
ical/statistical details
about themi-governance
and de-development—
ruinof Bihar—inthedec-
adesimmediately preced-
ing the advent of Lalu
Prasad in 1990. Lalu
Prasad’santi-middle-class
politics, arrogantly dis-
missingthe issuesofroads,
electricity,law andorder,
andso on,needed better
elaboration.Partsof Arun
Sinha’sbiography(2011)of
Nitish Kumar dealwithit.
On the riseof the upper
OBCs andDalits,meticu-
lousstudiesin Hindiby
Prasanna Kumar
Chaudhury andShrikant
are equallysignificant.Let
acaveatbeaddedherethat
motivated LaluPrasad-
baiters need to be per-
suadedto go throughthose
readinglistsif theyreally
wishtoclear thehaze they
remainin. They tendto
misbelieve and also
propagate thatbeforeLalu
Prasad,Biharwasnotasisationof Indianpolitics
(particularly since the
1990s, when this trend
spreadbeyondthesouth-
ernStates),studieson the
changingelectoral and
politicaldynamics in In-
dia’sStatesareindeeda
welcomestep by Sage.That
Biharhappensto be the
first Stateto havedrawn
the attentionof the seriesis
heartening.Thejournalist
and academic Arvind
NarayanDas (1948-2000)
never tired of repeating
John Houlton’sremark
about Biharbeing the
heartof India.
In thebookunderre-
view, an 18-page intro-New electoral
dynamics in Bihar
Thebookunderreviewstudieselectionpatternsin
the Stateoverthe 1990-2015periodbut leavesout
crucialdetailson issuessuchas communalisation
andthe riseof the Right.BYMOHAMMADSAJJAD
Post-Mandal
PoliticsinBihar
Changing
Electoral
Patterns
BySanjayKumar
Sage,NewDelhi,
2018
Pages:252+xxviii
Price:Rs.995