Letters: Take a stand - I

With The Economist carrying a lead edit on Bihar and then following it up with a story on how the state has fared under Nitish Kumar, the state has arrived! But the true test of how the state has fared depends not just on the removal of fear — witness the rise in conspicuous consumption of the state — as has happened already with Kumar waging war on the state’s largest business, that of extortion. This depends upon industrialists investing in that state. And that, as The Economist points out, has yet to happen.

Another test of just how well things are progressing in Bihar is linked to the current fight in Maharashtra on whether cabbies in the state should know Marathi — in other words, the idea is to keep out the huge inflows of Bihari migrants into the state. The day Bihar starts throwing up enough opportunities for local employment, Biharis will stop migrating outside the state. State Chief Minister Nitish Kumar needs to strive to achieve that. That will be the day when the Shiv Sena and other chauvinistic parties in Maharashtra will invite Biharis to their state!

 

Sanjay Agarwal, Mumbai

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