gislators openedup high
schoolsandcollegesand
recruited almost 100 per
centfromtherespective
dominant castes. These
employees/clients actedas
vote-catchers-cum-booth
managers or cadres for
theirpatrons. Theschools
and colleges were then
takenoverby thegovern-
ment and they became
permanent salaried gov-
ernment employees.
In the nameof merito-
cracy,these very benefi-
ciaries emerged as the
fiercestopponentsof re-
servationfor OBCsin ac-
cordance with the
recommendations of the
Mungerilal Commission
Report andtheB.P.Man-
dal Report.
On the basis of the
2006-07 dataof theDis-
trictInformation System
for Education (DISE),
Prof. Sanjay Kumar
touches uponcertain as-
pects of primary educa-
tion. Apparently and
implicitly appreciating
ChiefMinisterandJanata
Dal(United) leaderNitish
Kumar,he saysthusin this
remarkbased on journal-
isticreporting:
“[R]ecentpolicy initi-
atives andimprovements
in primaryandschoolen-
rolmentshowthatBiharis
making progress in im-
proving its education
levels.Thesepolicieshave
focussedon loweringthe
costof schoolingthrough
subsidising or providing
textbooks, uniforms, bi-
cyclesandcashtransfers
for attendance. While
these have reduced the
costsof schoolingin Bihar,
muchremainsto be done
to boostschooling infra-
structure and improve
conditions for both stu-
dentsandteachers” (page
23).
A deeper academic
scrutinyandfield studyis
requiredto explorethe de-cay of government-funded
primaryeducationin the
1990s,whichled to the rise
of Rashtriya Swayamse-
wak Sangh school net-
works (Shishu Mandirs)in
ruralandurbanBiharand
Jharkhand.
Thesenetworksmight
have contributed to the
communalisation of Bi-
har’ssocial spacein a more
decisive wayandmayhave
eventually helped the
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) in expanding its sup-
portbase.A comprehens-
ive field study by
resource-rich agencies
suchas theCSDS on this
aspect is awaited.
Theinadequacy of the
volume under review is
morestarkly visiblein the
lastchapter,whichdeals
withthe questionof devel-
opmentor identity during
theelectionsof 2014and
2015. Ever since June2013,whenNitishKumar
brokeawayfromtheNa-
tional Democratic Alli-
ance,there wasa sudden
spurtin communalclashes
across Bihar, and deep
communalisation of socio-
cultural spaces became
muchmoreapparent.Or-
ganisations such as the
Gau Pushtikaran
Sangathan emerged and
activities such as Shiv
charcha andkalashyatra
wereundertakento reach
outto subalternwomen.
Visitsof leaderssuchas
PravinTogadiaandYogi
Adityanath to various
partsof Biharbecamefre-
quent,particularly during
the 2013-15 period. In
some of the communal
clashesin northBihar,the
Mallah,afishermencom-
munitynowlisted as lower
OBC(AtiPichhrha),were
accused of beingtheag-
gressors.Across northBi-
har, majoritarian
right-wing organisations
suchas theBajrangDal
mushroomed,withsigni-
ficantMallahpresencein
these.COMMUNALTENSION
In partsof Mallahsettle-
ments in north Bihar,
therewasa sudden risein
theconstructionof Hanu-
mantemples. Latent and
manifest communal ten-
sionandclashesbecame
more resurgent, particu-
larly in those localities
whereMuslimaffluence,
through the remittance
economy fromWestAsian
countries, had become
morevisible. In therural
markets, Muslim traders
emerged, particularlythe
kithandkinof thoseem-
ployed in West Asian
countries, to givecompeti-
tionto theexisting Hindu
traders.
Electionsfor the ruralBIHARCHIEFMINISTERNitishKumargreeting
Muslims ontheoccasionof Eid-ul-Fitr,whichmarksthe
end of theholymonthof Ramzan,in PatnaonJune5.RANJEETKUMAR