Bihar election results are out and as per news reports, Lalu's RJD is set to get 16 ministers in Nitish Kumar cabinet with possibilities of his daughter, Misa Bharti, nominated as Deputy CM. It is also possible that his two debutant sons will get cabinet berth.
In this situation, a Bihari youth, who has seen the state of affairs in the 90s is scared to death to imagine the same 'dynasty' wielding power. This fear is further enhanced by the fact that a quarter of the MLAs is from 'Yadav' clan.
This denounces the whole theory of 'social justice' which claims Bihar hasn't voted along the lines of caste, but that minorities are getting a say in governance. Let the Nitish Kumar cabinet be formed and see what kind of representation the minorities, Dalits and others get and if they are actually the disadvantaged ones.
Whatever be the mathematics, a generation of Biharis can't forget those days that they went through as kids and adults under Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi rules, aptly named as 'jungleraj'.
Here are five scary things from the past that none of us wishes to witness again, in any state:
1. Rangbaazi: Despite being at the bottom of crime charts in the nation, Bihar is still struggling hard to shed its synonymity with criminal activities like loots, murders, ransom and indiscriminate firings among various groups of criminals.
It was in the 90s when you could see a biker driving and the rider, sitting in opposite direction, firing from automatic weapons on the car chasing it. That was a common sight and became normal as people learnt to live with it.
2. Corruption: It was none other than Lalu Prasad Yadav who was involved in one of the biggest scams in the nation i.e. the 'fodder scam'. Bihari pride nosedived due to his apathy to governance and indulgence in scams.
3. Apathy to education: In a deliberate attempt to not allow people to educate themselves, Lalu and Rabri's whole regime was focussed on destroying the educational infrastructure. I don't see any other reason for it. Teachers were not paid their salaries for months on go, and the schools lacked basic facilities like roof and blackboards. Thanks to private schools the kids could study in the smaller cities, but the rural Bihar had nowhere to go.
4. Kidnapping industry: The movie Apaharan, aptly depicts the organised kidnapping industry of the state. There was a time in Bihar when getting into 'kidnapping industry' was a great idea for a business. A student going to school wasn't sure of returning to home. Biharis have seen the days when upper-class homes would pay lakhs to see their kids back home, if not the mutilated bodies would be rotting away in drains and rivers.
5. Migration to other states: Unless the law and order of the state improves, the state will have a tough time creating employment opportunities. This will trigger a wave of migration where Biharis will again be forced to work in the paddy fields of Haryana and Punjab.