Development for the people : the Bihar model

Prof E Bijoykumar *

Nitish Kumar - 29th, 31th & 32th Chief Minister of Bihar

Every government is committed to ushering in development of its people in whichever way it is defined. What constitutes development is an intensely debated issue. In our post graduate curriculum students are taught many models of development to remind them that there is no ‘the model’. All we have been able to deliver is’ a model’ out of many possibilities. The mathematical models have given us a sense of completeness and the discourse has been made more interesting by the emergence of highly state specific models such as Kerala model and Gujarat model.

The competition between Nitish Kumar of Bihar and Narendra Modi of Gujarat has led to the emergence of the Bihar model of development or governance. Whenever governance is discussed I make it a point to emphasise that Tripura is a model state in governance, of course for the people. It never occurred to me that there can be a Bihar model. Bihar came under the scanner after it registered the highest growth rate In India. Besides its demand for special category status surprised us. The graduation from the league of Bimaru states was noticed for various reasons, one being a state with a non UPA government.

The Manipur model prompted by the persistently low infant mortality rate in spite of pervasive backwardness was mentioned in a government of India document but its parameters were never spelt out clearly. This time when I was passing through Kolkata on my way to Dimapur, yes to Dimapur, I had the opportunity of listening to and watching Nitish kumar in the TV uninterrupted by loadshedding talking about the Bihar model.

The landslide and the unrest in Karbi Anglong gave me no other option. It took two days to reach Dimapur by air. Unlike Lalu Prasad Yadav who is struggling for survival in politics, Nitish kumar is likely to have a shot on prime ministership next year and is an emerging force.

The compere Rajdeep Sardesai introduced in a light yet meaningful statement the development in Bihar by saying that now girls in Bihar could go for evening shows in cinema halls, a simple but unthinkable proposition a few years back. Yet it showed the return of governance and sanity in Bihar. Nitish Kumar started the talk by saying he did not have the luxury of studying any development model. He tried to understand various parameters of development such as Poverty, illiteracy, school dropouts, infant mortality, human development index etc and simply tried to remove the constraints, if any, in the process. He buttressed his claim by asserting that his government has brought change in every dimension.

The initial focus was on ensuring connectivity in Bihar. After that the focus gradually shifted to provision of educational and health facilities Let us take an example of how policy is formulated in Bihar today. He realised that there was a relation between fertility and girls’ education measured by number of years girls stay in school. The proportion of girls passing class X had a negative impact on fertility and hence on population growth. He then decided to take steps to raise the proportion of girls passing class XII.

When he realised that many girl students had problem reaching their schools in time, he distributed lakhs of bicycles to girl students. The scheme has been extended to boys also. To encourage OBC student’s scholarship was offered to students belonging to this community, students with first class in class X are given Rs 10,000 each. Now the number of beneficiaries has increased several-fold. More and more OBC students are passing class X in first class. He also proceeded to establish a high school in every village where girl students do not have to go a long distance to reach their school. Schools were opened and teachers were appointed in large numbers. That someone felt that still it was inadequate was a different matter.

He took pride in the fact that in any recruitment drive the proportion of applicants from Bihar was very high. He claimed credit for the increasing trend in this proportion. In short he has made effective use of the understanding of the interdependence of development parameters. He talked of the burden on Bihar after Jharkhand was created out of it.

The mines and natural resources went to the new state and heritage sites like Bodh Gaya and Nalanda remained with Bihar. The planning commission had, at the time of state bifurcation, assured the state that it would be adequately compensated through special plan assistance. He lamented that instead of keeping its words the planning commission and the central government are giving the impression that Bihar is asking for special provisions. Since Bihar has not been adequately compensated for the loss of Jharkhand he is demanding that.

The point is here is a leader keenly observing the emerging scenario around and trying to deliver. If a developmental model is pursued taking into account the ground realities and aspirations of the people as in Bihar what can be better? This is where models in general have failed. The way he presented, though he would hate the word presentation, the Bihar model was like an academic don's presentation. The audience of the talk included Lord Meghnad Desai and a galaxy of scholars.