NO to Jungle Raj
I remember the day when I learnt about a mishappening in my
locality. I was not more than 10. Somebody was murdered somewhere in the city
and the body was shoved into a manhole in my colony. I used to walk past that
manhole everyday to catch my school bus with my brother and other cousins.
How do you feel reading this? What comes to your mind? The state
of mind of a ten year old after getting to know about a chilling incident few
meters away from her doorsteps? The scare she would have to go through everyday
while passing by that manhole? Oh, or even bigger. The fear the people of Bihar
live in, day in and day out?
Well, when I came to know about it, I dealt with it normally
as if it was okay to being murdered and being thrown into a gutter. I wasn’t
affected. Not too much. And that was a girl aged about 10.
The point I am trying to make here is that people had
accepted these realities. They had started to believe that these things would
keep happening every day and they just need to be cautious for themselves and
their families. The atmosphere of fear prevailed. But came that day when the
people in Bihar did away with accepting something they didn’t have to. They said
‘NO’ to the everyday kidnappings, extortions, burglaries and murders. That, was
a new sun rise for Bihar. The election results of the 14th Assembly
Elections in 2005.
The change was visible. The change was everywhere. There was
no atmosphere of fear anymore. The normalcy returned. We started respecting
this man! Everyone did!
But we have got used to this change now. We don’t want to go
back to what Bihar was used to being ten years ago. Is that too much to ask? Well,
the next five years shall perhaps answer this question. Because time and again
politics proves the absence of any kind of conscience. Back in 2005 the battle
was fought against this man, while in 2015 with this man. So, is the Jungle Raj
going to be back? Or so it looks. I am scared, so is my family and so are a lot
many people residing in Bihar.
Quite a comeback for Lalu! A whopping eighty seats, the
maximum for any party. The phoenix who rose from the ashes as they call him. A
phoenix, really? Well yes, he burnt ten years ago. I hope this time the people
are not fooled into picking up the ashes and giving them a new life. Hope this
time no circumstances compel the people into reducing someone to a state from
where there is no come back.
#notojungleraj #anoptimistbihari
