Uttam Sengupta: The BJP paid the price for its inability to understand Bihar and its remarkable people

by Guest Fri Nov 13, 2015 12:15 pm

http://www.outlookindia.com/article/a-bihari-story-of-the-haar/295854

by Guest Fri Nov 13, 2015 12:21 pm

I was again reminded of the episode—that warm and spontaneous hospitality to complete strangers—when Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried to drive a communal wedge during the election campaign and accused Nitish Kumar of plotting to give the benefits of reservation to Muslims. And when Amit Shah declared that if BJP lost by accident, there would be celebrations in Pakistan. The line may perhaps have worked in Gujarat, but in the syncretic culture of Bihar, it was bound to be rebuffed.

Bihar has been known for its scholars, writers and historians and a story often recalled with relish in Patna’s academic and bureaucratic circles concerned the visit of renowned economist and Nobel laureate John Hicks to Delhi. When Hicks called on Jawaharlal Nehru, he expressed a desire to meet Prof Gorakh Nath Sinha, his contemporary, who had done pioneering work on the economics of food. Nehru had never heard of Sinha. Nor had anyone else in Delhi. Hicks was astonished and told Nehru he was shocked that India was not making use of Sinha. Gorakh babu was eventually traced to Patna’s A.N. Sinha College, of which he was the first principal, and arrangements made for him to meet Hicks.

Uttam Sengupta: The BJP paid the price for its inability to understand Bihar and its remarkable people

Uttam Sengupta: The BJP paid the price for its inability to understand Bihar and its remarkable people

Re: Uttam Sengupta: The BJP paid the price for its inability to understand Bihar and its remarkable people