Note:In an earlier incident, Bihar government has asked Tamil Nadu
government to probe the killing of five men, including four from Bihar,
who were shot dead by police after being branded bank robbers. The issue
was also raised in the Bihar state assembly on February 24,2012.
Police shot dead the five in an alleged midnight gun battle on February
22,2012 in a Chennai residential locality. Police claimed the five
people had been staying in a rented apartment, claiming to be students,
and they were linked to bank robberies in Chennai since January, 2012.
Doubts about the authenticity of the battle persists.
Wikipedia has a page on Anti-Bihari sentiment (Hindi: बिहारियों के
ख़िलाफ़ जज़्बात, Urdu: بہاریوں کے خلاف جذبات).
It reads as follows:
"Bihari refers to the people of the Indian state of Bihar, which is a
region in the north-eastern Gangetic plains (as well as people of the
Bihari ethnic group that originated there). Bihar has had slower
economic growth than the rest of India in the 1990s, and as a consequnce
many Bihari's have migrated to other parts of India in search of work.
Bihari migrant workers have been subject to a growing degree of
xenophobia, racial discrimination,prejudice and violence.
Biharis are
often looked down upon and their accent ridiculed. In 2000 and 2003,
anti-Bihari violence led to the deaths of up to 200 people[6] and
created 10,000 internal refugees.
Causes
Since the late 1980s and through to 2005, poor governance and Annual
Flooding of Bihar by Kosi River (Sorrow of Bihar) contributed to a
crisis in the Bihar economy. The criminalisation of politics, and
kidnappings of professional workers between 1990-2005 contributed to an
economic collapse and led to the flight of capital, middle class
professionals, and business leaders to other parts of India. This flight
of business and capital increased unemployment and this led to the mass
migration of Bihari farmers and unemployed youth to more developed
states of India.
The state has a per capita income of $536 a year
against India's average of $1470 and 30.6% of the state's population
lives below the poverty line against India's average of 22.15%. The
level of urbanisation (10.5%) is below the national average (27.78%);
and behind states like Maharastra (42.4%). Urban poverty in Bihar
(32.91%) is above the national average of 23.62%. Also using per capita
water supply as a surrogate variable, Bihar (61 litres per day) is below
the national average (142 litres per day) and that of Maharastra(175
litres per day according to 2006 data) in civic amenities.
Social and cultural
There is a perception in Indian states with smaller populations that
Bihari culture could dominate local languages and customs as migration
of poor workers continue from those states. This feeling that local
customs would be overwhelmed by migrants was a key feature of the MNS
campaign in Maharashtra and feelings of resentment in Punjab.
The
migrant population in Punjab, according to state researchers, is nearing
three million out of a total population of over nearly 30 million. One
third of the migrants, nearly one million, live in and around
Ludhiana.After the attacks on Uttar Pradeshi's and Biharis in October
2008, a Punjabi group called the Dal Khalsa, carried banners and
placards that read “Punjab for Punjabis” and “Return migrants, Save
Punjab”. This fear is further personified by the rise of Bhojpuri cinema
in non-Bhojpuri speaking states. Punjabi comedian Jaspal Bhatti said
that instead of assimilating with the culture of the state, the migrant
population was seeking to decimate Punjabi culture and cinema. In
Mumbai, Raj Thackeray had also complained to theatre owners for their
reluctance to exhibit Marathi movies and producers of Marathi movies
complained that it is becoming difficult to hire theatres in Mumbai to
release their productions and exhibitors preferred to show Bhojpuri
language movies.
There is a demand for a separate state of purvanchal by the bhojpuri
speaking population in the eastern region of Uttar Pradesh due to which
Anti-Bhojpuri sentiments are clearly visible among the writers of Awadh
region of Uttar Pradesh who have expressed their anguish over the
Bhojpuri chauvinism shown by Bhojpuri activists in their land, they
claim they have been the victim of aggressive Bhojpuri chauvinism.
Furthermore, many wrongly see Biharis as criminals and attribute any
rise in criminality to Bihari youth, or the so called "Bihari Mafia".
Due to the high levels of crime in Bihar there is a perception by some
that Biharis are inherently criminal by nature. This has led to Biharis
being blamed for crimes ranging from automobile theft to increases in
rape, murder and kidnapping.
Now the people from North-East are under
attacks in the same manner especially in Southern India.
Economic
Bihar has a per capita income of $536 a year against India's average of
$1,470. Given this income dispartity, migrant workers moved to better
paid locations and offered to work at lower rates. For example, in Tamil
Nadu inter-state migrant construction workers are paid about Rs.60 to
Rs.70 a day against the minimum of Rs.130 per day. After thousands of
migrant workers left Nashik, industries were worried that their costs
would increase through more expensive local workers. In an interview
with the Times of India, Raj Thackeray, leader of the MNS said; "The
city (Mumbai) cannot take the burden anymore. Look at our roads, our
trains and parks. On the pipes that bring water to Mumbai are 40,000
huts. It is a security hazard. The footpaths too have been taken over by
migrants. The message has to go to UP and Bihar that there is no space
left in Mumbai for you. After destroying the city, the migrants will go
back to their villages. But where will we go then?". The strain to
Mumbai's infrastructure through migration has also been commented by
mainstream secular politicians.
The then Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh
felt that unchecked migration had placed a strain on the basic
infrastructure of the state. However, he has maintained and urged
migrant Bihari workers to remain in Maharashtra, even during the height
of the anti North Indian agitation.Sheila Dikshit, the Chief Minister of
Delhi, said that because of people migrating from Bihar and Uttar
Pradesh, Delhi's infrastructure was overburdened. She said, that "these
people come to Delhi from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh but don't ever go back
causing burden on Delhi's infrastructure."
19 October 2008 All-India Railway Recruitment Board examination attack
North Indian students, including students from Bihar, preparing for the
railway entrance exam were attacked by Raj Thackeray's MNS supporters in
Mumbai on 20 October 2008. One student from Bihar was killed during the
attacks.
Four persons were killed and another seriously injured in
the violence that broke out in a village near Kalyan following the
arrest of MNS chief Raj Thackeray. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
demanded action against the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena activists and
full security to students. Nitish Kumar requested Maharashtra Chief
Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh intervention. Kumar directed the additional
director general of police to contact senior police officials in
Maharashtra and compile a report on Sunday's incident and asked the home
commissioner to hold talks with the Maharashtra home secretary to seek
protection for people from Bihar.In 2003, the Shiv Sena alleged that of
the 500 Maharashtrian candidates, only ten of them successful in the
Railways exams.90 per cent of the successful candidates were alleged to
be from Bihar. Activists from the Shiv Sena ransacked a railway
recruitment office in protest against non-Marathi's being among the
650,000 candidates set to compete for 2,200 railway jobs in the
state.Eventually, after attacks on Biharis heading towards Mumbai for
exams, the central government delayed the exams.
North East states
Biharis have sought work in many states that form part of North East
India. There were significant communities in Assam, Nagaland, and
Manipur.
As with all migrations in history, this has created tensions
with the local population, which has resulted in large scale violence.
In 2000 and 2003, anti-Bihari violence led to the deaths of up to 200
people,and created 10,000 internal refugees. Similar violent incidents
have also taken place recently in Manipur and Assam. According to K P S
Gill waves of xenophobic violence have swept across Assam repeatedly
since 1979, targeting Bangladeshis, Bengalis, Biharis and Marwaris.
Karnataka
In July 2009, activists of the Kannada Protection Force (KPF) in
Karnataka stormed into exam centres and disrupted railway recruitment
examinations in protest against the appearance of north Indian
candidates, especially from Bihar, in large numbers.
Punjab
In October 2007, a bomb ripped through a packed multiplex theatre in
Ludhiana, killing seven people and injuring many in the following
stampede.
The 600 seater Shringar theatre was playing a Bhojpuri film
when the explosion happened.The attack which was blamed on the
Khalistani terrorists shows signs of Punjabi regionalism over Hindi
nationalism still active in Punjab.
Rajasthan
The government in Rajasthan assured full protection to students from
Bihar, after ragging incidents of Bihari students in a private
engineering college in Udaipur surfaced. Lalu Prasad Yadav and Ram Vilas
Paswan flayed the attacks on Bihari students in Rajasthan saying that
the students were subjected to insult, torture and assaulted with sticks
when they protested. Former chief minister Rabri Devi called upon the
chief minister to take necessary action and assure the safety of the
students. According to reports, several Bihari students were thrashed
during the ragging.
Pakistan Sindh
Biharis in Pakistan have suffered from violence from Sindhis,
particularly in the city of Karachi in the riots of 1994-1996.
As a
result of the violence against them Biharis in Pakistan have organized
the Bihari Qaumi Movement to protect their rights.
Controversial statements
Derisive use of BIMARU term
Dr Ashish Bose, a Bengali retired govt servant coined the epithet
BIMARU. Even official planning commission records use this term. BIMARU
resembles the Hindi and Urdu word for illness, Bimar. The BI in BIMARU
stands for Bihar. The other Hindi-speaking states that are included in
BIMARU are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Bihar, and other
North Indian states, have also been held accountable for holding
India's GDP ranking below the double digit number.
Editorial by Bal Thackeray
Shiv Sena leader, Bal Thackeray, commented in the Shiv Sena newspaper,
Samnna on why Biharis are disliked outside the Hindi-speaking cowbelt
states. He quoted part of a text message as the title of his article.
The message suggests that Biharis bring diseases, violence, job
insecurity, and domination, wherever they go.
The text message says, "Ek
Bihari, Sau Bimari. Do Bihari Ladai ki taiyari, Teen Bihari train
hamari and paanch Bihari to sarkar hamaari" (One Bihari equals hundred
diseases, Two Biharis is preparing for fight, Three Biharis it is a
train hijack, and five Biharis will try to form the ruling Government).
Nitish kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, and the Union Railway
Minister, Lalu Prasad Yadav, protested against the remark, demanding
official condemnation of Bal Thackeray. Kumar, during a press report at
Patna Airport, said, "If Manmohan Singh fails to intervene in what is
happening in Maharashtra, it would mean only one thing – he is not
interested in resolving the issue and that would not be good for the
leader of the nation".
Angered by Thackeray's insulting remark against
the Bihari community, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) activists burnt the
effigy of the Shiv Sena chief at Kargil Chowk in Patna and said that the
senior Thackeray had completely lost his marbles and needed to be
immediately committed in a mental asylum.
Consequences
Protests & demonstrations
Angry students in various parts of Bihar damaged railway property and
disrupted train traffic, as protests continued against assaults on north
Indians by MNS activists in Mumbai. The police said the protesters
targeted Patna, Jehanabad, Barh, Khusrupur, Sasaram and Purnia railway
stations in the morning. The protesting students reportedly set afire
two AC bogies of an express train at Barh railway station. They
ransacked Jehanabad, Barh, Purnia and Sasaram railway stations.
According to the railway police, at least 10 students were detained in
the morning and extra security was deployed to control the
situation.
Noted Physician Dr Diwakar Tejaswi observed a day-long fast in
Patna to protest against repeated violence by the Maharashtra Navnirman
Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray and his goons against the north
Indians.Various student organisations gave a call for Bihar shutdown on
October 25, 2008 to protest attacks on north Indian candidates by
Maharashtra Navnirnam Sena activists during a Railway recruitment
examination in Mumbai.
Various cases were filed in Bihar and Jharkhand against Raj Thackeray
for assaulting the students. A murder case was also filed by Jagdish
Prasad, father of Pawan Kumar, who was allegedly killed by MNS activists
in Mumbai. Mumbai police, however, claimed it to be a case of accident.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced a compensation of Rs
1,50,000 to Pawan's family. Bihar state Congress chief, Anil Kumar
Sharma, has demanded enactment of an Act by Parliament for closing
opportunities to any political party or organisation that indulge in
obscurantism and raise such narrow, chauvinistic issues based on caste,
religion and regionalism to capture power. A murder case was also lodged
against Raj Thackeray and 15 others in a court in Jharkhand on 1
November 2008 following the death of a train passenger last month in
Maharashtra. According to the Dhanbad police, their Mumbai counterparts
termed Sakaldeo's death as an accident. According to social scientist
Dr. Shaibal Gupta, the beating of students from Bihar has consolidated
Bihari sub-nationalism.
Rahul Raj
See also: Rahul Raj encounter
Rahul Raj, from Patna, was shot dead aboard a bus in Mumbai by the
police on the 28 October. Rahul was 23 years old and was brandishing a
pistol and not shooting at public.
The Mumbai police alleged that he
wanted to assassinate Raj Thackeray. Nitish Kumar questioned the police
action, but R R Patil justified it, and restored Raj Thackeray`s
security. It was alleged that Rahul was protesting against the attacks
on Bihari and Uttar Pradeshi candidates appearing for railway
examinations. Mumbai crime branch is looking in to the incident. During
Rahul's funeral slogans of "Raj Thackeray murdabad" and "Rahul Raj amar
rahe" were heard. Despite Mumbai police's allegations, there was high
level government representation at the funeral. Bihar Deputy CM Sushil
Kumar Modi and PHED minister Ashwini Kumar Chaubey represented the state
government at the cremation which was also attended by Patna MP Ram
Kripal Yadav. The bier was carried by Rahul's friends even as the
district administration had arranged a flower-bedecked truck for the
purpose.
Attacks against Marathis
After the October 2008 anti-Bihari attacks in Maharashtra, members of
the Bharatiya Bhojpuri Sangh (BBS) vandalised the official residence of
Tata Motors Jamshedpur plant head S.B. Borwankar, a Maharashtrian. Armed
with lathis and hockey sticks, more than 100 BBS members trooped to
Borwankar’s Nildih Road bungalow around 3.30 pm. Shouting anti-MNS
slogans, they smashed windowpanes and broke flowerpots. BBS president
Anand Bihari Dubey called the attack on Borwankar’s residence
unfortunate, and said that he knew BBS members were angry after the
attack in Maharashtra on Biharis, but did not expect a reaction. Fear of
further violence gripped the 4,000-odd Maharashtrians settlers living
in and around the city. Two air-conditioned bogies of the train
Vikramshila Express – reportedly with Maharashtrian passengers on board –
were set on fire in Barh area of Bihar. Hundreds of slogan-shouting
students surrounded Barh railway station in rural Patna demanding that
MNS leader Raj Thackeray be tried for sedition. No one was reported
injured and passengers fled soon as the attackers started setting the
bogies on fire.
A group of 63 tourists, of which many were Marathis, were on a tour of
sacred Buddhist sites. The tourists found themselves stranded on the
outskirts of Patna as riots broke out.
The Marathis in the group were
forced to hide their identity for fear of attacks. The group avoided
speaking in Marathi, and women wore saris in the north Indian rather
than the Marathi style. For security, the group had to be escorted by 25
policeman to the station. The tourists reached Nagpur safely. In
another incident, a senior woman government official in Bihar, with the
surname Thackeray, was the target of an angry mob that surrounded her
office and shouted slogans against her in Purnia district. Ashwini
Dattarey Thackeray was the target of a mob of over 200 people. The mob,
led by a local leader of the Lok Janashakti Party, surrounded
Thackeray’s office in Purnia, about 350 km from here, and shouted
slogans like, “Go back Maharashtrians” and “Officer go back, we do not
need your services”.
A gang of 25 people pelted stones on the Maharashtra Bhawan in Khalasi
Line, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Constructed in 1928, the building is owned
by the lone trust run by Marathis in Kanpur. It has served as an
important venue for prominent festivals, including Ganesh Utsav and
Krishna Janmastami. On 29 October, in Ghaziabad, Marathi students at
Mahanand Mission Harijan PG College were attacked, allegedly by an Uttar
Pradesh student leader and his friends. Police sources in Ghaziabad
confirmed the victims stated in their FIR that the attackers “mentioned
Rahul Raj and Dharam Dev” while kicking them in heir hostel rooms. A
group of 20 youths, from Bihar, attacked Maharashtra Sadan in the
capital on 3 November. The Rashtrawadi Sena has claimed responsibility
for the attack. They ransacked the reception of the building and raised
slogans against Raj Thackeray.
Cultural, economic threats
Bihari leaders have urged a boycott of music CDs of Bollywood singers,
movies, clothes and drugs manufactured in Maharashtra.
“Why don't Sachin
Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Lata Mangeshkar or Anna Hazare come out and
speak against such attacks on Bihari people? They enjoy greater
influence on the society and their words would indeed matter,” asked
renowned Bollywood actor Mr Shatrughan Sinha. Nitish Kumar also
threatened to block cash flow to Mumbai, country's financial capital.
"If Maharashtra is rich today, it's just because the capital investments
from across the country have made there. Does Raj Thackeray know where
will Mumbai go if we block fund flow to Mumbai and Maharashtra"'” ... "I
will pump out air of Mumbai by blocking cash flow if the violence
against Biharis does not stop".
The Bharatiya Bhojpuri Sangh also
demanded a ban on the import of onions from Maharashtra. The
organisation said if the ban is not implemented by the Jharkhand
government it will stop the entry of trucks carrying onions from
Maharshtra. Jharkhand imports onions from Nashik in Maharashtra. "We
will intensify our agitation if north Indians are beat in Maharashtra,"
said Anad Bihari Dubey. In Jamshedpur, trucks arriving from Maharashtra
were stopped and searched by nationalist groups. The government has
declared that firm action will be taken to prevent a breakdown in law
and order. "We have come to know that some people want to stop trucks
coming from Maharashtra. "We will not allow people to prevent movement
of trucks. Police have been alerted," R.K. Agrawal, Deputy Commissioner
of East Singhbhum district said to the media.A mob also attacked a
cinema hall in Purnia screening films of Marathi directors. After the
attack the angry mob announced the start of their “non-cooperation”
movement against Marathis.
Bhojpuri film industry relocation
The Rs 200-crore Bhojpuri film industry is considering moving out of
Mumbai owing to threats from MNS workers, and growing insecurity.
With
an average output of 75 movies per annum and an over 250 million target
audience, the Bhojpuri film industry employs hundreds of unskilled and
semi-skilled people from the state in various stage of production and
distribution. The industry, which has around 50 registered production
houses in Mumbai, has initiated talks with Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. "We
have given a proposal to the Uttar Pradesh government through its
Culture Minister Subhash Pandey for setting up the industry in Lucknow.
Besides, we are also counting on some other options like Delhi, Noida
and Patna," Bhojpuri superstar and producer Manoj Tiwari said. The films
have a large market because the Bhojpuri diaspora is spread over
countries like Mauritius, Nepal, Dubai, Guyana, West Indies, Fiji,
Indonesia, Surinam and the Netherlands. There is a significant wealthy
Bihari doctor community in the United Kingdom.[citation needed] 70 per
cent of the total production cost of a Bhojpuri film — budgets of which
range from Rs 80 lakh to Rs 1.25 crore — is usually spent in
Maharashtra, providing direct employment to junior artists, make-up men,
spot boys and local studios among others.
In 2008, the state government approved over Rs 70,000 crore worth of
investment, has had record tax collection, broken the political-criminal
nexus, made improvements in power supply to villages, towns and cities.
Bihar, a state fraught with abject poverty, has come out on top as the
fastest growing state second year in a row, with a striking 13.1 percent
growth in 2011-2012. Its economy has also grown bigger than that of
Punjab — the prime destination for Bihari workers.They have laid greater
emphasis on education and learning by appointing more teachers,and
opening a software park. State Ministers who have failed to live up to
election commitments have been dismissed.
Bihar's GSDP grew by 18% over
the period 2006-2007, which was higher than in the past 10 years and one
of the highest recorded by the Government of India for that period.
Other consequences
Since November 2005, there has been a significant fall in the number of
migrant workers in many parts of India.
After the early 2008 migrant
crisis and bombing of the Bhojpuri cinema hall in Punjab, Biharis have
decided to firmly stay away from states of the North East and Punjab.
However, other Biharis migrants have found that returning to Maharashtra
is still an option for them despite the violent nature of the
agitation. Culturally, Biharis appear to have rejected a film based
heavily on Punjabi culture. In August 2008, a film called Singh is Kinng
starring Akshay Kumar which was a superhit in India, flopped in Bihar.
Bihar has been where Akshay Kumar's films, from Jaanwar to Hey Babyy,
have acquired a blockbuster status. In this case, the heavy usage of
Punjabi language, culture was said to be the main cause of the movie
being rejected by Bihari audiences."Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Bihari_sentiment
Gopal Krishna
Thiruvananthapuram,
Sep 19 (IANS) Marxist leader V.S. Achuthanandan Wednesday asked Chief
Minister Oommen Chandy to call for a CBI probe into the alleged murder
of a Bihari youth in Kerala.
Satnam Singh Mann, 34, was brought dead to the Medical College
Hospital here last month from a mental hospital also located in the
Kerala capital.
Mann was arrested when he created a ruckus at spiritual leader
Mata Amritanandamayi's ashram near Kollam early last month and was
charged with trying to attack her.
In a letter to the chief minister, Achuthanandan expressed
dissatisfaction in the ongoing probe which had led to the arrest of two
officials from the mental hospital.
"The arrested now say they are innocent. Only a thorough probe by
the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) will help the truth to come
out," said Achuthanandan.
He said it needed to be probed what happened at the ashram, in
police custody, at the sub-jail and finally at the mental hospital.
Singh's relative Vimal Kishore was the first to allege that Mann was brutally tortured.
"This death has created a furore across the country and
statements that Singh was not in sound mental health is not true. He was
on a spiritual journey to our state. The need of the hour is a CBI
probe, and I wish you will take immediate steps for it," said
Achuthanandan.
Mann's family has also demanded a CBI probe into his death.
