In the post-Mandal era, Lalu Prasad seems to have been replaced for good in Bihar. JDU led Bihar government has geared up for the upcoming assembly election due in October/November 2010.
The 42 months rule of JDU led government appears uneasy in its relationship but it needs the 55 MLAs to keep his government afloat. With another 18 months left in its five year tenure, the government has approved a Rs 815 crore ambitious project for Mahadalits (a separate category for 18 sub-castes of dalits). The steps taken for empowerment of extremely backward castes (EBCs), Mahadalits and minorities benefited Nitish led government in the Lok Sabha elections.
His focus on Pansmanda Musalaman (i.e. backward Muslim community) is also quite strategic in dividing the Muslim vote banks like he has divided Dalits and Hindus. Reopening of Bhagalpur riots also is aimed at the same.
He has got Ali anwar and Dr Ezaj Ali sent to Rajya sabha as well as a crucial signal to the Muslim community.
Nitish Kumar is seeking special category status for Bihar and has made it a huge public issue.
Ram Sundar Das, a former chief minister joined the JDU just before the Lok Sabha elections. He defeated Ram Vilas Paswan who had retained Hazipur seat in eight elections. Das had lost the chief minister’s job to Lalu Prasad Yadav in 1990. Janata Dal had won the most seats in Bihar Assembly. Lalu Prasad ruled Bihar for 15-year until Nitish led coalition defeated him 2005.
In the recently held Lok Sabha elections Ranjan Prasad Yadav of JDU defeated Lalu Yadav.
Nitish Kumar has focused on the EBCs (includes many poorest sub-castes), which account for over 20 percent of Bihar’s eight crore people. He has introduced a 20- percent reservation for them in village panchayats.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Meira Kumar: New Speaker or Bihar's future Chief Minister?
Sonia Gandhi's choice of Meira Kumar, daughter Jagjivan Ram, the former Deputy Prime Minister who had to walk out of Congress is meant to send a clear signal to Dalits across the country.
L K Advani, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Yadav recalled Jagjivan Ram's rift with the Congress party while claiming him to be their own. BSP was part of the chorus welcoming Kumar's ascension to the top chair. For BSP, likes of Jagjivan Ram has been the ‘co-opted’ used by Congress against Ambedkar.
Kumar has defeated both Mayawati and Ramvilas Paswan in the 1985 Bijnore by-election.
Bihar politics was yet again played out in LS, with JD(U) president Sharad Yadav and his bete-noire Lalu Prasad using the inauguration of Speaker Meira Kumar to settle scores with each other.
The newly-elected Speaker, who, like the other two leaders, too hails from Bihar, however, made a timely intervention, preventing the scene from getting uglier. She was constrained to issue her first directive as Lok Sabha Speaker soon after when she asked the House reporters to expunge parts of the exchanges between the two Yadav satraps. Meira Kumar is a Congress MP from Sasaram, Bihar.
Trouble arose when the former railway minister, in his speech welcoming Ms Kumar's election as Lok Sabha Speaker, deviated from the standard practice of hailing her elevation, and said her anointment on the post should not be seen as a mere tokenism.
RJD chief recalled the role of her predecessor Somnath Chatterjee, saying he had shown how a Speaker should be above party-affiliations. When the issue of nuclear deal arose, Chatterjee, he said, took a stand "which went against the Left parties. But he did not budge. A similar situation may arise before you and you will have to take tough decisions".
He sought to caution Speaker against the Opposition’s real gameplan. "All leaders have promised Speaker that they would cooperate in smooth running of the House. But I have my doubts whether these promises will be kept," Lalu Prasad said in his usual tongue-in-cheek style, evoking laughter from a section of the members.
What invited Sharad Yadav's interruption was his charge that the NDA government, when it was in power at the Centre, had refused to approve welfare schemes initiated by the then RJD government in Bihar for the welfare of SC/STs.
The JD(U) leader, at this juncture, sought to remind him that this was not the occasion to play politics. When interrupted again after some time, the RJD leader retorted by saying that Parliament was the platform from which politics was generally played out.
"We've come here to do politics. You may do Hari-Bhajan if you like," Lalu Prasad retorted as other members watched silently. Rather than joining issues with the irrepressible RJD leader, Sharad Yadav opted to remain silent after this. The newly elected Speaker later ordered portions of the exchange between the two Bihar leaders to be expunged.
Grapevine from Congress sources suggest that Meira Kumar would be the Chief Ministerial candidate in the next Bihar assembly elections. Isn't her refusal to resign from the membership of Congress Party even after assuming Speaker's chair pregnant with some such meaning?
Highlights of Bihar's Economic Survey
The Bihar government carried out an economic survey for the year 2008-09. The report of this survey was published in Feb 2009. It provides some interesting highlights of the economy in Bihar.
Some highlights:
1. Out of the entire Bihar population 89.5% stay in the rural areas
2. Population density is 880
3. Sex ratio is 919 girls to 1000 boys with Siwan having the best ratio of 1031 girls to every 1000 boys and Munger having the worst ratio of 872 girls per 1000 boys. Patna follows close behind with 873 girls to 1000 boys. (However the high ratios in Siwan is most likely due to emigration of the male population to other
states in India in search of work)
4. Gross enrollment of students from Bihar in higher education is 6.7% compared to the India average of 9.2%. While the male enrollment is better the female enrollment is only 3.5% against India average of 7.7%
5. Bihar has a very low density of higher education institutions. For e.g. Bihar has only 7 engineering colleges (with no new applications for engineering colleges pending). Compare this with 292 engineering colleges in Andhra Pradesh (with applications for 113 new colleges pending) and 286 engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu (with applications for 53 new colleges pending). Even UP has 125 engineering colleges with 43 new applications pending.
6. Reduced crime rate: As per the report there were 117.9 crimes per lakh of population for the year 2007 which is below the national average of 175.10. This placed Bihar at the 28th rank for crime with Pondicherry having the highest crime rate of 475.4 crimes per lakh population and Nagaland having the lowest crime rate of 54.4 crimes per lakh population. Source: World Bihari Forum
Some highlights:
1. Out of the entire Bihar population 89.5% stay in the rural areas
2. Population density is 880
3. Sex ratio is 919 girls to 1000 boys with Siwan having the best ratio of 1031 girls to every 1000 boys and Munger having the worst ratio of 872 girls per 1000 boys. Patna follows close behind with 873 girls to 1000 boys. (However the high ratios in Siwan is most likely due to emigration of the male population to other
states in India in search of work)
4. Gross enrollment of students from Bihar in higher education is 6.7% compared to the India average of 9.2%. While the male enrollment is better the female enrollment is only 3.5% against India average of 7.7%
5. Bihar has a very low density of higher education institutions. For e.g. Bihar has only 7 engineering colleges (with no new applications for engineering colleges pending). Compare this with 292 engineering colleges in Andhra Pradesh (with applications for 113 new colleges pending) and 286 engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu (with applications for 53 new colleges pending). Even UP has 125 engineering colleges with 43 new applications pending.
6. Reduced crime rate: As per the report there were 117.9 crimes per lakh of population for the year 2007 which is below the national average of 175.10. This placed Bihar at the 28th rank for crime with Pondicherry having the highest crime rate of 475.4 crimes per lakh population and Nagaland having the lowest crime rate of 54.4 crimes per lakh population. Source: World Bihari Forum
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Bihar Assembly seeks special category status for Bihar
Does anyone have the text of the Bihar Assembly's unanimous resolution demanding special category status to Biahr? It was passed on April 4, 2006.
One must admit that the report/book titled "Special Category Status: A Case for Bihar" makes a compelling case for special category status to Bihar.
There is statistical evidence to show that Bihar did not become backward, it was made backward. There has been a deliberate effort that in terms of economic and social indicators of development, Bihar remains below all-India averages in most respects of human development.
Raekha Prasad reporting in May 2006 for The Guardian from Khagaul, her father's home town wrote, "The state of Bihar contradicts modern India's optimistic vision of itself। "Bihar" has become an expletive, a butt of derogatory jokes made by people in certain metropolitan circles who have never visited the place। Underlying the ridicule is a potent fear in the minds of many Indians that Bihar is a template of what this ascendant economic power could yet become. For India's burgeoning middle classes, Bihar is a byword for everything they most fear: feudal and caste cruelty, criminalised politics and grinding poverty." Backwardness of the state is at the root of the crisis that has been underlined.
While special category status to Bihar merits attention, does anyone know about the fate of the Bihar's Common School System Commission that had submitted its 313-page report in June 2007 calling “for a legislation underpinning the Common School System.” If this is done Bihar can show the right path especially with regard to education to the whole country. Has Bihar Government acted on its recommendation?
One must admit that the report/book titled "Special Category Status: A Case for Bihar" makes a compelling case for special category status to Bihar.
There is statistical evidence to show that Bihar did not become backward, it was made backward. There has been a deliberate effort that in terms of economic and social indicators of development, Bihar remains below all-India averages in most respects of human development.
Raekha Prasad reporting in May 2006 for The Guardian from Khagaul, her father's home town wrote, "The state of Bihar contradicts modern India's optimistic vision of itself। "Bihar" has become an expletive, a butt of derogatory jokes made by people in certain metropolitan circles who have never visited the place। Underlying the ridicule is a potent fear in the minds of many Indians that Bihar is a template of what this ascendant economic power could yet become. For India's burgeoning middle classes, Bihar is a byword for everything they most fear: feudal and caste cruelty, criminalised politics and grinding poverty." Backwardness of the state is at the root of the crisis that has been underlined.
While special category status to Bihar merits attention, does anyone know about the fate of the Bihar's Common School System Commission that had submitted its 313-page report in June 2007 calling “for a legislation underpinning the Common School System.” If this is done Bihar can show the right path especially with regard to education to the whole country. Has Bihar Government acted on its recommendation?
Bihar Deserves ‘Special Category status'
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on May 15, 2009 announced that the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) would support any party in New Delhi that grants special status to his state for economic development.
Nitish listed grounds for making such a demand saying Bihar has international borders with Nepal and Bangladesh, it is struck by recurring floods, power scenario is critical and also there is a problem of extremism. "Bihar can overcome these problems once it gets financial support, investment and subsidy," he added. In a rare gesture of unity and rising above the political affiliation, the members sitting on both sides rose in unison and forcefully approved the resolution calling the Centre to include Bihar in the special category of states. Members cutting across the party line favoured the move and urged their central leaders to take up the matter with the Prime Minister.
An all-party delegation led by Nitish Kumar sought an appointment with the PM on the issue. The delegation approached the PMO for an appointment on April 13, 2006. But even after 37 months, the appointment has not been given. Bihar Chamber of Commerce (BCC) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on 15 May, 2009 urged the Centre to give special category status to Bihar. Satyajit Singh, Bihar CII, chairman too felt that Bihar needed a composite package with special category status.
BCC delegation had on August 28, 1999, met the then Union finance minister Dr Manmohan Singh and the then vice-chairman of Planning Commission Pranab Mukherjee, seeking special category state status to Bihar. He recalled that in June, 1989, the then PM Rajiv Gandhi had announced a special package for Bihar of over Rs 5,000 crore for various projects but it was never implemented.
Bihar government and BCC has been demanding economically and industrially backward state status for Bihar for the past several years.
He has put forward a strong case for special category status for the state, which lags behind several states in economic development. He put forward a strong case for special category status for the state, which lags behind several states in economic development. He pointed out, however, that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had refused to give Bihar special status despite repeated requests.
Noted economist Lord Meghnad J Desai on Friday fully endorsed Bihar's claim for special category status and even favoured "political bargaining" for that. "Transformation in the position of Bihar is a great achievement. It is time to make a persuasive case for Bihar". 
Deasi said: "Political bargaining can come in handy for achieving the special category status to Bihar. There should be more transparency in allocation of funds by the Centre."
Desai said something has gone wrong in Bihar and UP which send 120 MPs to Parliament. "In advanced states, the social empowerment of weaker sections took place much earlier. In Bihar and UP, the empowerment of socially weaker sections has remained suppressed for a long time," he said.
He strongly pleaded for effective people-centric governance and direct funds to the target group. "A poor man knows more than experts where to spend the money," Desai said.
Nitish said giving funds directly to the poor will cut down corruption and government expenditure. He also pointed towards the poor power condition in Bihar. "Whenever I hold meetings with important persons there is always a power outage. I told Lord Desai that this is also one reason Bihar should be given the special category status," he said. "When I took over, Bihar's own production was zero. While efforts were made to set up power plants in Bihar, private parties were unwilling to come because no coal linkage (transportation of coal directly from mines) facility has been given to the state," he said.
Nitish listed grounds for making such a demand saying Bihar has international borders with Nepal and Bangladesh, it is struck by recurring floods, power scenario is critical and also there is a problem of extremism. "Bihar can overcome these problems once it gets financial support, investment and subsidy," he added. In a rare gesture of unity and rising above the political affiliation, the members sitting on both sides rose in unison and forcefully approved the resolution calling the Centre to include Bihar in the special category of states. Members cutting across the party line favoured the move and urged their central leaders to take up the matter with the Prime Minister.
An all-party delegation led by Nitish Kumar sought an appointment with the PM on the issue. The delegation approached the PMO for an appointment on April 13, 2006. But even after 37 months, the appointment has not been given. Bihar Chamber of Commerce (BCC) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on 15 May, 2009 urged the Centre to give special category status to Bihar. Satyajit Singh, Bihar CII, chairman too felt that Bihar needed a composite package with special category status.
BCC delegation had on August 28, 1999, met the then Union finance minister Dr Manmohan Singh and the then vice-chairman of Planning Commission Pranab Mukherjee, seeking special category state status to Bihar. He recalled that in June, 1989, the then PM Rajiv Gandhi had announced a special package for Bihar of over Rs 5,000 crore for various projects but it was never implemented.
Bihar government and BCC has been demanding economically and industrially backward state status for Bihar for the past several years.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Loka Sabha Election Results of Bihar
As expected Nitish Kumar-led NDA posted an emphatic victory in the Lok Sabha elections in Bihar winning 32 of the State's 40 seats। JDU led NDA virtual swept the state washing out the duo of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan.
Kumar's JD(U) won 20 of 25 seats it contested, the BJP pocketed 12 of the 15 it fought.
Ramvilas Paswan's LJP was obliterated in the electoral battlefield losing all 12 seats it contested, including his own seat of Hajipur, which sent him seven times to the Lok Sabha. LJP had four MPs in the 14th Lok Sabha.
Lalu Prasad lost from Pataliputra where he was pipped at the post by his friend-turned-foe Ranjan Prasad Yadav of JD(U)। Prasad retained Saran, winning it for the fourth time.
In terms of vote share, JD(U) has gained only modestly with its share rising from 22.4% to 24%, and the BJP has actually dropped slightly, but the RJD's vote share has plummeted by over 11% - from 30.7% last time to just 19.3% now - and Paswan's LJP has lost another 1.6% in vote share. The Congress, despite contesting on its own, has raised its share from 4.5% to 10.3%, but that huge jump didn't yield seats because of the low base on which it came.
National Performance
Performace in the Bihar's 40 Parliamentary constituencies
Candidates in Ara
CRIMINALS AND THEIR RELATIVES WHO LOST
CONGRESS
Ranjita Ranjan
Wife of Pappu Yadav Supaul
INDEPENDENT
Shanti Priya
Mother of Pappu Yadav Purnea
RJD
Heena Shahabuddin
Wife of Mohammad Shahabuddin Siwan
CONGRESS
Lovely Anand
Wife of Anand Mohan Sheohar
LJP
Veena Devi
Wife of Suraj Bhan Singh Nawada
JD-U
Munna Shukla
Vaishali
LJP
Rama Singh
Arrah
JD-U
Prabhunath Singh
Maharajganj
LJP
Zakir Khan
Araria
RJD
Taslimuddin
Kishanganj
CONGRESS
Sadhu Yadav
West Champaran
BSP
Anwarul Haq
Sheohar
RJD
Jay Prakash Yadav
Banka
Kumar's JD(U) won 20 of 25 seats it contested, the BJP pocketed 12 of the 15 it fought.
Ramvilas Paswan's LJP was obliterated in the electoral battlefield losing all 12 seats it contested, including his own seat of Hajipur, which sent him seven times to the Lok Sabha. LJP had four MPs in the 14th Lok Sabha.
Lalu Prasad lost from Pataliputra where he was pipped at the post by his friend-turned-foe Ranjan Prasad Yadav of JD(U)। Prasad retained Saran, winning it for the fourth time.
In terms of vote share, JD(U) has gained only modestly with its share rising from 22.4% to 24%, and the BJP has actually dropped slightly, but the RJD's vote share has plummeted by over 11% - from 30.7% last time to just 19.3% now - and Paswan's LJP has lost another 1.6% in vote share. The Congress, despite contesting on its own, has raised its share from 4.5% to 10.3%, but that huge jump didn't yield seats because of the low base on which it came.
National Performance
UNITED PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE - 262
Congress - 206
Trinamool Congress - 19
DMK - 18
Nationalist Congress Party - 9
National Conference - 3
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha - 2
Muslim League Kerala State Committee - 2
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen - 1
Bodoland People's Front - 1
Kerala Congress (Mani) - 1
NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE - 159
Bharatiya Janata Party - 116
Janata Dal-United - 20
Shiv Sena - 11
Rashtriya Lok Dal - 5
Akali Dal - 4
Telangana Rashtra Samithi - 2
Asom Gana Parishad - 1
THIRD FRONT - 80
Bahujan Samaj Party - 21
CPI-M - 16
Biju Janata Dal - 14
AIADMK - 9
Telegu Desam Party - 6
CPI - 4
Janata Dal-Secular - 3
Forward Bloc - 2
Revolutionary Socialist Party - 2
MDMK - 1
Haryana Janhit Congress - 1
Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) - 1
FOURTH FRONT - 27
Samajwadi Party - 23
Rashtriya Janata Dal - 4
OTHERS - 15
Independents - 9
Assam United Democratic Front - 1
Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi - 1
Swabhimani Paksha - 1
Nagaland People's Front - 1
Sikkim Democratic Front - 1
VCK - 1
Performace in the Bihar's 40 Parliamentary constituencies
Party Position - BIHAR | ||||||
JDU | BJP | Cong | RJD | LJP | Ind & others | Total |
20 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 40 |
| Ara | GEN | Meena Singh | Janata Dal (United) | Rama Kishore Singh | LJP | 74,880 |
| Buxar | GEN | Jagdanand Singh | RJD | Lalmuni Chaubey | BJP | 2,252 |
| Sasaram | SC | Meira Kumar | Indian National Congress | Munilal | BJP | 42,954 |
| Karakat | GEN | Mahabali Singh | Janata Dal (United) | Kanti Singh | RJD | 20,483 |
| Saran | GEN | Lalu Prasad Yadav | RJD | Rajiv Pratap Rudy | BJP | 52,571 |
| Maharajganj | GEN | Uma Shankar Singh | RJD | PrabhuNath Singh | JD(U) | 2,795 |
| Siwan | GEN | Om Prakash Yadav | IND | Hena Shahab | RJD | 63,430 |
| Hajipur | SC | Ram Sundar Das | Janata Dal (United) | Ram Vilas Paswan | Lok Jan Shakti Party | 37,954 |
| Paschim Champaran | GEN | Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal | Bharatiya Janata Party | Prakash Jha | Lok Jan Shakti Party | 47343 |
| Valmikinagar | GEN | Baidyanath Prasad Mahto | Janata Dal (United) | Fakhruddin Ahmed | IND | 1,84,125 |
| Purvi Champaran | GEN | Radha Mohan Singh | Bharatiya Janata Party | Akhilesh Prasad Singh | Rashtriya Janata Dal | 78,863 |
| Sheohar | GEN | Rama Devi | Bharatiya Janata Party | Md.Anwarul Haque | BSP | 1,21,423 |
| Madhepura | GEN | Sharad Yadav | Janata Dal (United) | Prof. Ravindra Charan Yadav | RJD | 1,68,973 |
| Muzaffarpur | GEN | Capt. Jainarayan Pd. Nishad | Janata Dal (United) | Bhagwanlal Sahni | LJP | 47,987 |
| Vaishali | GEN | Raghuvansh Prasad Singh | Rashtriya Janata Dal | Vijay Kumar Shukla | JD(U) | 16,447 |
| Gopalganj | SC | Puranmasi Ram | Janata Dal (United) | Anil Kumar | RJD | 42,471 |
| Begusarai | GEN | DR. Monazir Hassan | Janata Dal (United) | Shatrughan Prasad Singh | CPI | 40,837 |
| Banka | GEN | Digvijay Singh | IND | Jaiprakash Yadav | RJD | 28,716 |
| Patna Saheb | GEN | Shatrughan Sinha | Bharatiya Janata Party | Vijay Kumar | Rashtriya Janata Dal | 1,66,770 |
| Pataliputra | GEN | Ranjan Prasad Yadav | Janata Dal (United) | Lalu Prasad Yadav | RJD | 23,541 |
| Ujiyarpur | GEN | Ashwamegh Devi | Janata Dal (United) | Alok Kumar Mehta | RJD | 25,279 |
| Samastipur | SC | Maheshwar Hazari | Janata Dal (United) | Ram Chandra Paswan | LJP | 1,04,376 |
| Khagaria | GEN | Dinesh Chandra Yadav | Janata Dal (United) | Ravindar Kr. Rana | Rashtriya Janata Dal | 1,38,755 |
| Munger | GEN | Rajiv Ranjan Singh | Janata Dal (United) | Ram Badan Rai | RJD | 1,89,361 |
| Nalanda | GEN | Kaushalendra Kumar | Janata Dal (United) | Satish Kumar | LJP | 1,52,666 |
| Gaya | SC | Hari Manjhi | Bharatiya Janata Party | Ramji Manjhi | RJD | 62,453 |
| Jamui | SC | Bhudeo Choudhary | Janata Dal (United) | Shyam Rajak | RJD | 29,797 |
| Nawada | GEN | Bhola Singh | Bharatiya Janata Party | Veena Devi | LJP | 34,917 |
| Darbhanga | GEN | Kirti Azad | Bharatiya Janata Party | Md. Ali Ashraf Fatmi | Rashtriya Janata Dal | 46453 |
| Purnia | GEN | Uday Singh | Bharatiya Janata Party | Shanti Priya | IND | 1,86,227 |
| Katihar | GEN | Nikhil Kumar Chaudhary | Bharatiya Janata Party | Shah Tariq Anwar | NCP | 14,015 |
| Kishanganj | GEN | Mohammad Asrararul Haque | IndianNational Congress | Syed Mahood Ashraf | JD(U) | 81,125 |
| Madhubani | GEN | Hukumdeo Narain Yadav | Bharatiya Janata Party | Abdul Bari Siddiqui | RJD | 9,931 |
| Araria | GEN | Pradeep Kumar Singh | Bharatiya Janata Party | Zakir Hussain Khan | LJP | 22,242 |
| Jhanjharpur | GEN | ManganiLal Mandal | Janata Dal (United) | Devendra Prasad Yadav | RJD | 42,778 |
| Supaul | GEN | Vishwamohan Kumar | Janata Dal (United) | Ranjeet Ranjan | Indian National Congress | 1,66,075 |
| Sitamarhi | GEN | Arjun Rai | JD(U) | Samir Kumar Mahaseth | Cong | 1,17,139 |
| Bhagalpur | GEN | Syed Shahnawaz Hussain | Bharatiya Janata Party | Shakuni Choudhary | Rashtriya Janata Dal | 55,811 |
| Aurangabad | GEN | Sushil Kumar Singh | Janata Dal (United) | Shakil Ahmed Khan | RJD | 72,055 |
| Jehanabad | GEN | Jagdish Sharma | Janata Dal (United) | Surendra Prasad Yadav | RJD | 21,329 |
Candidates in Ara
| Performance of Bihar's Key Politicians |
| Victors | Vanquished |
| Lalu Yadav | Ramvilas Paswan |
| Ram Sunder Das | Prakash Jha |
| Sharad Yadav | Shekhar Suman |
| Shatrughan Sinha | Ranjita Ranjan |
| Ranjan Yadav | Raghunath Jha |
| Kirti Azad | Prabhunath Singh |
| Lallan Singh | Kanti Singh |
| Jagdish Sharma | Shakil Ahmed |
| Syed Shahnawaz Hussain | George Fernandes |
| Digvijay Singh | Rajiv Pratap Rudi |
| Jagdanand Singh | Akhilesh Prasad Singh |
| Raghuvansh Pd. Singh | Munna Shukla |
| Meira Kumar | Jai Prakash Yadav |
| Monazir Hussan | F A A Fatmi |
| Hukumdeo Narain Yadav | Surendra Yadav |
| Radha Mohan Singh | Muni Lal choubey |
CRIMINALS AND THEIR RELATIVES WHO LOST
CONGRESS
Ranjita Ranjan
Wife of Pappu Yadav Supaul
INDEPENDENT
Shanti Priya
Mother of Pappu Yadav Purnea
RJD
Heena Shahabuddin
Wife of Mohammad Shahabuddin Siwan
CONGRESS
Lovely Anand
Wife of Anand Mohan Sheohar
LJP
Veena Devi
Wife of Suraj Bhan Singh Nawada
JD-U
Munna Shukla
Vaishali
LJP
Rama Singh
Arrah
JD-U
Prabhunath Singh
Maharajganj
LJP
Zakir Khan
Araria
RJD
Taslimuddin
Kishanganj
CONGRESS
Sadhu Yadav
West Champaran
BSP
Anwarul Haq
Sheohar
RJD
Jay Prakash Yadav
Banka
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Politics of Common School System & English language
One was outraged to note that the leader of the opposition chose to address the Lok Sabha and the nation on a crucial issue of national importance such as Indo-US Nuclear deal not in Hindi but in English. Where was the need for the use of English language in the Lok Sabha by the most ardent nationalist leader? It is understandable why a senior politician from UP gets perturbed by the growing trend of unnecessary, inappropriate and uncalled use of English language in our country.
Although one disagrees with Samajwadi Party on almost all issues ranging from its support for Indo-US Nuclear deal to its impudent promotion of industrialists like Anil Ambani and its dynastic politics but on the issue of language underlined in its manifesto, one is compelled to agree with it because there is an echo of what was recommended by a Government of India’s high-powered committee under Dr D.S. Kothari, the then chairman of University Grants Commission to frame a national policy which would give shape and direction to newly independent India’s school education system.
The Kothari Commission Report on Education (1964-66) is still regarded as the most in-depth study of primary and secondary education in Indian history. The Kothari Commission advocated a common school system. According to the commission the characteristics of a common school system include--publicly funded schools open to all children irrespective of caste, creed, community, religion, economic condition or social status, no tuition fee is charged and providing free instruction for all in the mother tongue at the primary level, particularly for linguistic minorities; active encouragement of teaching in regional languages at the secondary level and discontinuance of state aid to schools imparting education other than in the medium of mother tongue/ regional language.
The National Education Policies of 1986 and 1992 endorsed the Kothari Commission’s recommendation of a common school system across the country. However the recommendation has never translated into action. In 1990, the apex Central Advisory Board on Education (CABE), which appraises the extent to which the National Education Policy is implemented by the Central and state governments and other agencies appointed a committee to review NEP 1986. The CABE constituted Acharya Ramamurti Committee which noted that the common school system proposal was not making any headway because of the constitutional protection given to minorities to establish and administer their own educational institutions is incompatible with a common school system, public schools and privately managed English medium schools, schools charging capitation fees and those offering expensive coaching have proliferated.
What is noteworthy is that quite like other political parties Samajwadi Party neither did anything to promote common school system when it was in power nor does it promise to do so now. Therefore, mere insistent and valid criticism on misplaced emphasis on English language is not sufficient. Almost all the advocates of Hindi including the stalwarts in Hindi journalism and politicians of Hindi heartland have either sent their children to English schools or wish to do so.
In such a backdrop, Dalit thinkers are absolutely right in demanding English education because at least since 1757 English language seems to have determined as to who is an oppressor and who is the oppressed. In fact it is sad but it appears to be true that they who know English are Upper Castes and they who do not are Dalits. English as a medium of education must be eliminated in favour of mother tongue but opposing it without advocating common school system is manifestly insincere and dishonest because no developed or developing country has ever achieved Universal Elementary Education or, for that matter, Universal Secondary Education, without a strong state-funded and state-regulated Common School System. It is indeed an irony that such an equitable public school system has been prevalent in some form or the other in several European countries, USA and Canada but not in India where it is needed the most.
However, it must be mentioned that in 2006, Bihar Chief Minister called for the Common School System to be implemented by the central government in order to ensure quality and non-discriminatory education to all. Bihar, said he, is the first state to have constituted a commission on common school system. Since then reiterating the recommendations of Kothari Commission, the Common School System Commission has submitted its 313-page report in June 2007 and almost two years have passed but one is not aware of steps taken by Bihar Government to act on its recommendation calling “for a legislation underpinning the Common School System.” If it happens it would be a trendsetter beyond empty posturing on English language as a medium of education.
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Although one disagrees with Samajwadi Party on almost all issues ranging from its support for Indo-US Nuclear deal to its impudent promotion of industrialists like Anil Ambani and its dynastic politics but on the issue of language underlined in its manifesto, one is compelled to agree with it because there is an echo of what was recommended by a Government of India’s high-powered committee under Dr D.S. Kothari, the then chairman of University Grants Commission to frame a national policy which would give shape and direction to newly independent India’s school education system.
The Kothari Commission Report on Education (1964-66) is still regarded as the most in-depth study of primary and secondary education in Indian history. The Kothari Commission advocated a common school system. According to the commission the characteristics of a common school system include--publicly funded schools open to all children irrespective of caste, creed, community, religion, economic condition or social status, no tuition fee is charged and providing free instruction for all in the mother tongue at the primary level, particularly for linguistic minorities; active encouragement of teaching in regional languages at the secondary level and discontinuance of state aid to schools imparting education other than in the medium of mother tongue/ regional language.
The National Education Policies of 1986 and 1992 endorsed the Kothari Commission’s recommendation of a common school system across the country. However the recommendation has never translated into action. In 1990, the apex Central Advisory Board on Education (CABE), which appraises the extent to which the National Education Policy is implemented by the Central and state governments and other agencies appointed a committee to review NEP 1986. The CABE constituted Acharya Ramamurti Committee which noted that the common school system proposal was not making any headway because of the constitutional protection given to minorities to establish and administer their own educational institutions is incompatible with a common school system, public schools and privately managed English medium schools, schools charging capitation fees and those offering expensive coaching have proliferated.
What is noteworthy is that quite like other political parties Samajwadi Party neither did anything to promote common school system when it was in power nor does it promise to do so now. Therefore, mere insistent and valid criticism on misplaced emphasis on English language is not sufficient. Almost all the advocates of Hindi including the stalwarts in Hindi journalism and politicians of Hindi heartland have either sent their children to English schools or wish to do so.
In such a backdrop, Dalit thinkers are absolutely right in demanding English education because at least since 1757 English language seems to have determined as to who is an oppressor and who is the oppressed. In fact it is sad but it appears to be true that they who know English are Upper Castes and they who do not are Dalits. English as a medium of education must be eliminated in favour of mother tongue but opposing it without advocating common school system is manifestly insincere and dishonest because no developed or developing country has ever achieved Universal Elementary Education or, for that matter, Universal Secondary Education, without a strong state-funded and state-regulated Common School System. It is indeed an irony that such an equitable public school system has been prevalent in some form or the other in several European countries, USA and Canada but not in India where it is needed the most.
However, it must be mentioned that in 2006, Bihar Chief Minister called for the Common School System to be implemented by the central government in order to ensure quality and non-discriminatory education to all. Bihar, said he, is the first state to have constituted a commission on common school system. Since then reiterating the recommendations of Kothari Commission, the Common School System Commission has submitted its 313-page report in June 2007 and almost two years have passed but one is not aware of steps taken by Bihar Government to act on its recommendation calling “for a legislation underpinning the Common School System.” If it happens it would be a trendsetter beyond empty posturing on English language as a medium of education.
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