I am a Bihari^* and proud to be one.

Wherever I go I have to face questions like, "Do women come out in the streets in Patna?" or "How can you allow a Rabri to rule the state?" and jokes like "Lets give Bihar to Pakistan and then give them Kashmir too" or the one where Laloo tells the Japanese that he would turn Japan into Bihar in a jiffy. Ha! Ha! Good one... except its all not funny beyond a point.

Its true that the state has fallen into an abyss and the politicians are crooks. But remember, what happened in Gujarat has NEVER happened in Bihar; Jayalalitha is no less a crook than Laloo; Mayawati is no more polished than Rabri; Sonia does not have greater credibility than any Bihari politician... and most importantly the average Bihari that you meet is neither a Laloo nor a Rabri and we hate those swine more than anyone else.

Most of us educated Biharis have to look out for opportunities and its not easy for us to give up our roots and settle in alien cities. And, now, our folks (most of them poor labourers) are killed in Assam and threatened by that Big Goon Thackarey in Mumbai. No wonder we can identify the most with vitriolic attacks on Indian expats like in Germany, Malaysia and the US.

Please take time to read this article by a Bihari journalist, M J Akbar, on the plight of the Bihari. And please treat the next Bihari you meet on his/ her merits and not on their provincial affiliation.


^*Bihari: Inhabitant of Bihar, an eastern Indian state. Historically, Bihar has given a great contribution to the composite Indian culture as we know it today. Gautam Buddha, Mahavira and Chanakya were born there. The ancient glorious cities of Pataliputra and Rajagriha, world-famous university of Nalanda, the first republic in the world at Vaishali - they are all there. Over time and due to economic reasons Bihar is now one of India's least developed provinces with low literacy and high infant-mortality levels.