The lack of Bihar sub nationalism has also hurt Bihar. Traditionally, there have been two forms of nationalism in the north: Indian and caste nationalism. A Bihari was always an Indian and of so-and-so caste; whereas in Maharashtra, a person was an Indian, a Maharashtrian, and then of his caste. What this means is that there is no one to speak up for Bihar. For instance, when Bihar was partitioned, there were no voices that opposed the decision, no one to really challenge such a move. Can you imagine partitioning Karnataka or any other state? Even if it were to happen, there will be huge protests and it will be a long process.

Another example was that when the government introduced the freight equalisation policy, no Bihari thought it fit to protest against this most silly economic idea. Furthermore, there was no voice to demand compensation for Bihar when Jharkhand was made a separate state. And within Bihar, there is no one who really cares for Bihar. Every Bihari politician is concerned about his caste only. Worse, caste members expect their leaders to work for the caste, not for the state, so a leader can only ignore his caste at his own peril.

The freight equalisation policy meant that transport was not to be considered an input cost. This meant that a factory could be set up anywhere in India and the transportation of minerals would be subsidised by the central government. This in turn simply destroyed Bihar's huge competitive advantage (of holding the minerals) and factories were set up everywhere else but in Bihar. Now the freight equalisation policy has been removed, but Bihar simply lacks the infrastructure to compete with other states.

The deep politics-crime nexus in a sense can be traced back to the JP (Jayaprakash Narayan) Movement (1973 to 1975). JP urged an end to all ideology and for the people to participate in politics sans ideology. At that time the socialists were very strong in Bihar.

After JP's call, many people joined politics even if they did not believe in the party's ideology. This destroyed the party structure and prevented the party from having an organisation that could mobilise support. So, after the JP Movement ended and politicians needed to mobilise support, they turned to local criminals, who invariably had some kind of an organisation and the money and muscle power to mobilise support. Thus it was that the criminals became a part and parcel of Bihar's political set-up. It is also because of the destruction of party structures that parties have become family affairs.

Now, the backwards and the most backward Dalits are demanding their rights. So this process is still on. It is not yet complete and needs a few years from completion. The good news is that it is taking place but till then some such violence will continue. For things to improve, three factors are very important. First, social inequity has to go away or decrease dramatically. Over the years, with the empowerment of the lower castes, social inequity has come down a bit, but it remains deeply embedded. Second, land reforms have to take place. Even now, too much land is held by too few, and this only reinforces the social inequity that is so prevalent. And linked to land is the third factor: the strategy of the ownership of the land.  Biharis need to feel that this is their state and that it matters to them.