Raghuvansh Prasad Singh’s outreach to Nitish: A sign of churn in Bihar?

Source: business-standard.com

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decimated the opposition in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, but intriguing developments of the past few days suggest space opening up for a possible churn in Bihar politics in the run up to the state Assembly polls by October 2020.

On Tuesday, union minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh ridiculed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and others over their attending ‘iftaar’ parties. In turn, Kumar was dismissive of Giriraj Singh’s comments and said his government would deliver on all its promises much before the Assembly polls.

By evening, BJP sources said party chief Amit Shah had phoned Giriraj Singh and advised him to be careful about his comments, particularly on BJP’s allies.

In his tweet, Giriraj Singh had commented at a photograph of Kumar and other leaders breaking fast at an ‘iftar’. “How beautiful would the picture have emerged, had phalaahaar (a fruit feast) been organised during Navaratra with the same fervour with splendid photographs taken. Why do we lag behind in observance of our own karm-dharm (religious customs) in public, while staying ahead in making a show for those of others,” Singh tweeted in Hindi.

The latest developments come in the wake of Kumar spurning the offer of a cabinet berth in the Narendra Modi-led council of ministers at the Centre, stating that his party does not “symbolic” but “proportional representation”. He, however, denied any “unease” between the allies.

Kumar then expanded his cabinet, including eight ministers, all from the Janata Dal (United) that he leads. He offered the BJP one ministerial berth, which it refused.

On Monday, senior Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said all non-BJP parties needed to get together to provide a national alternative to the BJP. “We are not allergic to any particular party or leader,” Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said when asked about Kumar’s acceptability.

“It would be even better if all small parties merge together and become a single entity to take on the humongous challenge posed by the BJP,” Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said. He said these were his personal views but RJD chief Lalu Prasad, currently incarcerated, and he have worked together for a long time and thought alike “on most occasions”.

In the just concluded Lok Sabha polls, the RJD could not win a single seat in Bihar. Its ally Congress could win one seat. However, Kumar’s JD(U) won 16, and allies BJP and Lok Janshakti Parthy won 17 and six seats respectively.

The RJD vote share in the Lok Sabha polls was 15.36 per cent, while JD (U)’s was 21.81 per cent, BJP’s 23.58 per cent and LJP’s 7.86 per cent. The Congress bagged a vote share of 7.7 per cent. In 2015 Assembly polls, the alliance of RJD, JD (U) and Congress had defeated the BJP-led NDA in Bihar.

Historically, the JD (U), and its previous avatar of Samata Party, has performed poorly whenever it has fought any election without a strong alliance partner.

The Samata Party, with George Fernandes and Kumar as its top leaders, could win only seven of undivided Bihar’s 324 assembly seats. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the JD (U) could win only two seats. The JD (U) has improved its vote share significantly.

Observers of Bihar politics say Kumar is aware that the BJP might now want the chief ministerial chair for itself after the next Assembly polls. In Maharashtra in 2014, the BJP had severed ties with the Shiv Sena to emerge the single largest party in the Assembly.

However, no other party currently has a leader of the stature of Kumar in Bihar, including the BJP. BJP’s Giriraj Singh is now a cabinet minister in the Modi government, while Bihar BJP state unit chief Nityanand Rai, being groomed as a possible chief minister, is minister of state for home at the Centre but still lacks Kumar’s popularity.

Raghuvansh Prasad Singh’s comments suggest that the parties that came out of the womb of the socialist parties, or the ‘Janata parivar’, could be prepared to come together under Kumar’s leadership. “Now that the results have dented Tejaswi Yadav’s leadership, the challenge from within the family of Lalu Prasad to Kumar has weakened,” a Bihar leader said.

Giriraj Singh, who defeated CPI’s Kanhaiya Kumar from Begusarai, has been a known detractor of Kumar’s. “We have never taken utterances of Giriraj seriously. We have always believed in giving respect to all religions and hence we sport a ’tilak’ and also wear skullcaps.” JD(U) spokesman Sanjay Singh said.

The ’tilak’ and skullcap metaphor is reminiscent of the developments of April, 2013, when at his party’s national executive meet in New Delhi Kumar had used the analogy to highlight ideological differences with the BJP, which eventually led to him severing 17-year-old ties between the two parties.

Union minister and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan said the BJP-JD(U) and his party’s alliance is “intact”. Former chief ministers Rabri Devi and Jitan Ram Manjhi also appeared to have mellowed towards Kumar. Kumar attended the iftar that Manjhi hosted. Rabri Devi said any decision on inclusion of new allies can be taken only in consultation with all allies.

Union minister and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan said the BJP-JD(U) and his party’s alliance is “intact”. Former chief ministers Rabri Devi and Jitan Ram Manjhi also appeared to have mellowed towards Kumar. Kumar attended the iftar that Manjhi hosted. Rabri Devi said any decision on inclusion of new allies can be taken only in consultation with all allies.

Bhikari Thakur

Bhikari Thakur, popularly known as “Shakespear of Bhojpuri” was born in a barber-family on 18th December,1887 at Kutubpur ( Diyara) Village in Saran District. Name of his father and mother was Dal Singar Thakur and Shivkali Devi respectively. He had a younger brother named Bahor Thakur.

He went Kharagpur to earn livelihood. He had earned much and but not satisfied with the job. Ramlila had impressed him. He went Jagannath Puri. till the time, he has been converted to another person.

He established Dance Party in the native village and began to play Ram Lila, sing songs and took interest in Social-works. Now he writes dramas, songs and books etc. Language of the books was simple and attracted many. Books were published from Varanasi , Chhapra nad Howrah.

His literary creations including Dramas ( Bidesiya, Beti-Bechawa,Bidhawa Bilaap etc.) and songs are praised and used to sing even today. He died in the age of 84 years on 10th July,1971. 

Bhikari Thakur – The Shakespeare of Bihar

Bhikari Thakur is best known for the creation of the twentieth century theatre form Bidesia. Bhikari Thakur was a barber (a backward Caste) who abandoned home and hearth to form a group of actors who dealt with issues of confrontation: between the traditional and the modern, between urban and rural, between the haves and the have-nots. Appreciative native Bhojpuri audiences consider Bhikari Thakur as the incomparable founder father, propagator and exponent par excellence of this form. He was a folk poet, a folk singer, a folk dancer and actor.

The narrative of Bidesia has been made so effective through the medium of vibrant dances and pleasing music and based on such life-like stories that it presents a realistic picture of the poor joint families of the region.

The Bhojpuri taste is so theatrically inclined that it will not hesitate even to undertake long journeys to witness a performance. Like in many other folk forms, the female roles in Bidesia are played by the male actor-dancers. Normally they wear dhoti or shirt trousers but they sport long hair and make it and ornament it like women’s hair. Dance forms an integral part of this form, in fact it’s the essence of the performance, which starts with dance in order to attract a large audience. Once this is done the Bidesia starts. The actors, besides dancing take on female roles in different dramatic contexts. Inspite of the advent of various other modes of entertainment, Bidesia remains the most popular and refreshing relaxation for the Bhojpuris. Through his plays, he gave voice to the cause of poor laborers and tried to create awareness about the poor situation of women in bhojpuri society. He always stood and spoke against casteism and communalism in the same cultural tunes. People from this region are very fond of and feel proud of his contribution to the local cultural traditions. His plays and his style of theatre are very popular for their rhythmic language, sweet songs and appealing music. His plays are a true reflection of bhojpuri culture. Almost all of his works focused on the day-to-day problems of lower castes/classes. He used satire and light-hearted comments to maximum effect to put forward his views on social ills and other problems plaguing Bhojpuri society.

He was born on December 18, 1887 at the village of Kutubpur in the district of Saran, Bihar. His mother’s name was Shivakali Devi and father was Dalsingar Thakur. He belonged to a naai (barber) caste, one of the most backward castes in Indian society. The traditional work of his caste was cutting hairs and assisting brahmins in marriage as well as in death ceremonies. They were also used by dikus to send and distribute ceremonial (in cases of marriages and deaths) and other messages in the village and nearby areas. They acted like postal workers in the traditional-feudal village setup.

In one of his works he says: “Jati Hazzam more Kutubpur mokam… Jati-pesha bate, bidya naheen bate babujee”. In this he speaks about his own caste and regrets that his caste people are distributing letters to all without knowing the importance of the letter, or the alphabets. He clearly understood the power of education and continuously chided his people for being illiterate and bounded by jajmani (patron-client) relations with the dikus.

Among the masses of Bihar and other Bhojpuri-speaking areas, he needs no introduction. But the so-called mainstream ‘culture’, like always, has conspired to keep mum about his contribution, actively avoiding even mentioning his name. Hence, there are no serious documented accounts of his works till now. He is greatest flag bearer of Bhojpuri language and culture. Bhojpuri is widely spoken in major parts of Bihar including Jharkhand, some parts of eastern UP and Bengal. He is not only popular in this linguistic belt but also in the cities where Bihari workers migrated for their livelihood. Many criticized him for upholding feudal and Brahminical values, which to some extent may be true. Despite the support and legitimation of few brahminical and feudal values in his works, he always pioneered the vision of a just and egalitarian society and this is the difference we have to understand. No vision of egalitarian and subaltern society can be even imagined under these idiotic and nonsensical shadows of Brahminical values.

Though his plays revolved and evolved around villages and rural society, they still became very famous in the big cities like Kolkatta, Patna, Benares and other small cities, where migrant labourers and poor workers went in search for their livelihood. Breaking all boundaries of nation he, along with his mandali, also visited Mauritius, Kenya, Singapore, Nepal, British Guyana, Surinam, Uganda, Myanmar, Madagascar, South Africa, Fiji, Trinidad and other places where bhojpuri culture is more or less flourishing.

Bidesia, as a vibrant mode of a regional cultural expression, rugged and unsophisticated in form and rich in variety, is a powerful expression of cultural heritage of weaker section of society. Bhikari Thakur, through his artistic talents and bitter experiences, developed it by picking up elements from Ramlila, raslila, birha yatra and other performative elements and molded it into a totally new and wonderful style known now as bidesia. Bidesia means migrated people, who left their home in search of livelihood, but in the larger context Bhikari’s bidesia not only migrated from the lands but also from their culture also. Many people get confused between the bidesia style and his play Bidesia. Actually, he did all his plays in bidesia style which is very similar to nautanki, but later his theatrical style was known from his famous production Bidesia.

He has written as well as directed and performed ten major works; beginning with a non-serious vasant-bahar based on the dhobi-dhobin dance he saw somewhere.

After Thakur’s death in 1971, his theatre style and use of bhojpuri language are continually being abused by the music industry in producing bhojpuri songs and plays replete with sexual innuendo. This is like a counter-revolution of the brahmin-bania combine against all the ideals that Bhikari Thakur propagated through his art. The dikus have no relations based on social reality and always aim to get maximum monetary profits on the basis of cultural vulgarity. This market forced a shift from Bhikari Thakur’s socio-economic oriented plays to mere sexual fantasy and cheap entertainment. This reflects the creative bankruptcy of dikus against which we dalit-bahujans should come forward and play a vital role to safe guard our anti-diku legacy in which Bhikari Thakur is one of the big stars in the galaxy of Dalit-bahujan revolutionary artistes.

His major productions include: – Bidesia, Bhai- Birodh, Beti-Viyog or Beti Bechba (seller of daughter), Kalyuga Prema (Love in Kalyuga), Radheshyam Behar (based on krisna- radha love), Ganga-asnan (ceremonial bath in ganga), Bidhwa- vilap, Putrabadh (killing of son), Gabar- Bichar (based on an illegitimate child), and Nanad Bhojai.

1. Bhai-Virodh (opposition from brother)

This play deals with the theme of joint family, which is a very prominent feature of Bihar’s rural society. Three brothers are separated due to lack of confidence and respect for each other on the instigation of a person outside their family. However, at the end they realize the importance of living together but not before a lot of harm had actually taken place.

2. Beti-Viyog or Beti- Bechwa (seller of daughter)

This play is considered a very progressive play. Bhikari Thakur through this play criticizes the wide-spread custom of selling young girls in marriage to much older men. This custom prevailed in Bhojpuri-speaking areas until recently. The protagonist is a young girl whose father sells her to an older person.

3. Kalyuga- Prem

Through this play Bhikari Thakur talks about the bad effects of drinking. The lone wage earner of the family is a drunkard and often visits prostitutes. This extravagance soon leads to the pauperization of his family. His whole family including his wife and son suffers tremendously because of the bad habits of the head of the family. Later in the play the wife and son decide to confront him but to no avail. Later being fed up with his father’s immoral ways, the son runs away from the family and goes to Calcutta to earn money to eventually return and rescue his mother.

4. Ganga-Asnan

Malechu is from a village. His wife wants to go to bathe in the Ganga but his mother is too old to do so. The wife finally prevails and they set out but not after loading much luggage for his old mother to carry on the way. Before they reach the Ganga a quarrel ensues and Malechu beats up his mother. At the banks of the Ganga, his mother gets lost in a fair. In the same fair, his wife is seduced by a sadhu with the promise of giving her a son. Malechu finds her in the nick of time and epiphany dawns on the both of them who then find the mother and beg her forgiveness. The story is a critique both of the distance between parents and their children in a situation where old parents are completely dependent on their children and also of the tantric culture of sadhus who most often are conmen.

5. Vidhwa-Vilap (The weeping widow)

The story is about how widows are treated within their homes. It is seen as an extension of Beti-bechwa for more often than not young girls married to old men; spend most of their lives as widows. The story reflects the hatred and seclusion a widow has to suffer in brahminical society for no fault of her own.

6. Gabar-Dichor

It the story of an illegitimate son of Garbari and Galij’s wife. Galij returns from the town to find the village gossiping about his son’s parentage. He wants to take Dichor back to Calcutta with him. But both Galij’s wife and Garbari intervene. A quarrel ensues as each of them claims Dichor as their own. The panchayat is called and they decide that Dichor be divided into three pieces. A man comes and maps Dichors body and agrees to do the job for four annas a piece. The mother relents refusing to pay and giving up all claim on the son. The panchayat sees the light and Dichor is allowed to stay with his mother. Almost all his plays took their themes from society but were molded in Bhikari’s new progressive and revolutionary style. When asked why he took to theatre, Bhikari answered, “I used to watch Ramlila and Raslila. When in Ramlila, Vyasji gave sermons to people; I also thought I could also give sermons to my people”. This dream came true and till his last day he served his people through his sermons, which unlike diku sermons were based on real life. But our legendary cultural figure is no more among us. He breathed his last on July 10, 1971 after giving us a new lease of life.

Pride of Bihar

Ustad Bismillah Khan was the third classical musician after Pt Ravi Shankar and Smt M S Subbulakshmi to be awarded Bharat Rathna, the highest civilian honour in India.

The gentle genius of Bismillah Khan was  perhaps single handedly responsible for making Shehnai a famous classical instrument. Traditionally used to play music during marriages, Shehnai is the counterpart of south indian nadaswaram. It is also used to play music in temples. 


Simplicity was the way of life for Ustad, It retains the old world charm of a Benaras life… his chief mode of transport was a cycle-rikshaw, even after he became one of the most respected musician !


The legendary shehani maestro, a man of tenderness, a man who believed in remaining private and who believed that musicians are supposed to be heard and not seen. Bismillah Khan was born on March 21, 1916 at Bhirung Raut Ki Gali, in Dumraon as the second son of Paigambar Khan and Mitthan. He was named as Qamaruddin to rhyme with Shamsuddin, their first son. His grandfather, Rasool Baksh Khan uttered “Bismillah” after looking at the newborn, thus he was named Bismillah Khan.

His ancestors were court musicians in the princely state of Dumraon in Bihar and he was trained under his uncle, the late Ali Bux `Vilayatu’, a shehnai player attached to Varanasi’s Vishwanath Temple. He brought Shehnai to the center stage of indian music with his concert in the calcutta All India Music Conference in 1937. There was no looking back. It was Khan Sahib who poured his heart out into Raga Kafi from Red Fort on the eve of India’s first Republic Day ceremony.


Khan had the rare honor of performing at Delhi’s Red Fort on the eve of India’s Independence in 1947. He also performed Raga Kafi from the Red Fort on the eve of India’s first Republic Day ceremony, on January 26, 1950. His recital had almost become a cultural part of the Independence Day Celebrations telecast on Doordarshan every year on August 15th. After the Prime Minister’s speech from Lal Qila (Red Fort) in Old Delhi, Doordarshan would broadcast live performance by the shehnai maestro. And this tradition had been going on since the days of Pandit Nehru.


Where others see conflict and contradiction between his music and his religion, Bismillah Khan had seen only a divine unity. Music, sur, namaaz is the same thing. His namaaz was the seven shuddh and five komal surs. Even as a devout Shia, Khan Sahib was also a staunch devotee of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of music. 

His honorary doctorate from the Benares Hindu University and Shantiniketan bespeaks of his fame. He was bequeathed with the Sangeet Natak Academi Award, the Tansen Award of the Madhya Pradesh government and also the prestigious Padma Vibhushan. On August 17, 2006, Khan was taken ill and admitted to the Heritage Hospital, Varanasi for treatment. He died after four days on August 21, 2006 due to a cardiac arrest. He was ninety years old. He is survived by five sons, three daughters and a large number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The Government of India declared one day of national mourning on his death. His body was buried at Fatemain burial ground of old Varanasi under a neem tree with 21-gun salute from Indian Army.

He played in Afghanistan, Europe, Iran, Iraq, Canada, West Africa, USA, USSR, Japan, Hong Kong and almost every capital city across the world.

Bihar more happening tourist spot than Goa?

Celebrated as the party destination in India, Goa appears to have lost its ‘happening’ tag to the humble Bihar. Data collected by the Union tourism ministry appears to indicate that Bihar attracted a larger number of foreign tourists in 2009 than Goa.

The government’s India Tourism Statistics report shows that while 4.2 lakh foreign tourists visited Bihar in 2009, Goa drew about 3.7 lakh losing its place in the top 10 destinations in India. Industry hands say that the economic downturn was largely responsible for the sharp decline in the number of tourists. Increasing number of adverse reports on the safety of women and declining law and order situation may also have been responsible for the drop in numbers. In fact states like Kerala and Rajasthan that have been hot international favourites have suffered the most in 2009 thanks to the global economic situation. While the number of foreign tourist arrivals dropped by 27% in Rajasthan from 14.7 lakh in 2009 to 10.7 lakh in 2008, Kerala saw 5.4 lakh tourists arriving in 2009. Andhra, that remains numero uno for domestic tourists, also witnessed stagnation with tourist arrivals increasing from 7.8 lakh to just 7.9 lakh between 2008 and 2009.

Delhi lost its place as the top ranking state in 2008 to Tamil Nadu that saw a 16.7% increase in foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in 2009. The top 5 states in FTAs were TN (23.6 lakh), Maharashtra (19.9 lakh), Delhi (19.5 lakh), Uttar Pradesh (15.32 lakh) and West Bengal (11.8 lakh).

United States continued to send the maximum number of tourists in 2009 as it had in 2008. The top 10 source countries in 2009 were USA, UK, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Malaysia and Japan. These countries accounted for 64% of the total foreign tourist arrivals in 2009.

Government will look into Bihar Industries Association demands: Official

PATNA: The government will pay heed to the Bihar industrialists’ demands of VAT reimbursement, relaxation in commercial taxes and allowing them to create their own industrial areas, among others, to boost industrial growth in the state, said principal secretary, industries, Alok Kumar Sinha, at an interactive session with members of Bihar Industries Association (BIA) here on Saturday.

Sinha said he would call a meeting next week of officials of his department to discuss the suggestions made by the BIA members for industrial development in the state. He also assured the BIA members to arrange their meeting with Bihar State Electricity Board ( BSEB) officials to discuss their demand for reducing power tariff for industries.

40000 Bihar children missing, says Amod Kanth

PATNA: The magnitude of human trafficking in Bihar is alarming as about 35,000 to 40,000 children from the state were missing and nobody knew about their whereabouts, said former Delhi police commissioner Amod Kanth. There was no human development indicator in Bihar, resulting in the frequent use of child labour and violation of law dealing with it, he said.

Speaking on the first day of the three-day seminar on ‘Training of Master trainers: To combat human trafficking’, organized jointly by the crime investigation department (CID) of Bihar police and Save the Children, a civil society organization, here on Monday, Kanth stressed the need to redefine human trafficking as the present definition did not deal with the issue in its entirety. The Central government was working on a new manual to make it clear, he said, adding that the Immoral Trafficking Act discussed only about commercialization of sex and the Juvenile Justice Act talked only about children between 6 and 8 years of age.
Throwing light on the complexity of the issue, Kanth said human trafficking was related not only to prostitution but also with forced marriage, child sex and organ transplant. He said the present definition was itself so complex that it was creating problem in tackling the real issue.

Addressing the inaugural function, DGP Abhayanand said human trafficking was the worst form of rights violation and reiterated the Bihar police commitment to eliminate this evil from the state.

The DGP asked police officials to behave properly with victims of human trafficking, be alert about any information in this regard and take cognisance on priority basis.

Speaking on ‘Coordination: Police, community and civil society organization’, member of Bihar Public Service Commission and retired IPS officer, Rajyabardhan Sharma, said the local police should take the media help in busting the gangs involved in human trafficking. He, however, felt the media was not giving proper space to such serious issues.

State programme coordinator of Save the Children, Nitu Prasad, said the victims needed support as kids took to crime because of lack of awareness about law.

ADG (CID) A S Nimbran, IG Arbind Pandey and DIG Kamal Kishore were also present on the occasion.

Anil Agarwal (Chairman of Vedanta)

Anil Agarwal

Anil Agarwal (born 1954, Patna, Bihar, India) is an Indian metals, mining magnate and the founder and chairman of the UK-based Vedanta Resources Corporation. His personal wealth is US$6.4 billion as of 2010.

Early life and background

Anil Agarwal was born in Patna, Bihar in 1954. His father was a small-businessman. His father was into making aluminium conductors. Mr. Agarwal, was a matriculate from Miller High School, Patna. Lalu Prasad Yadav was his classmate and he also claim to be his great fan. He is strict vegetarian.

Career
Anil Agarwal founded Sterlite Industries, a business operating in the industrial sector in 1976[1] and then in 1986 established Vedanta Resources bringing together a variety of businesses owned by the Agarwal family.[2].Mr. Agarwal served as Chief Executive Officer of Vedanta Resources Plc. from November 27, 2003 to March 2005. He served as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Sterlite Industries India Ltd.(subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Plc) from 1980 to October 19, 2004. Mr. Agarwal has over 31 years experience as an industrialist. He has been an Executive Chairman of Vedanta Resources Plc since March 23, 2005 and its Executive Director since May 16, 2003. Mr. Agarwal has been Chairman of Sterlite Industries India Ltd. since October 20, 2004. Mr. Agarwal has been Non Executive Chairman and an Additional Director of Sterlite Technologies Limited (a/k/a, Sterlite Optical Technologies Ltd.) since October 30, 2006. He serves as an Executive Chairman of BALCO( acquired by Sterlite). He serves as Chairman of the Board of Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd. (BALCO) and Sterlite Gold Ltd. Mr. Agarwal also serves as a Director of SOVL, Vedanta Alumina and Sterlite Paper Limited. He has been Director of Sterlite Gold Ltd. since January 1999 and Sterlite Industries India Ltd. since 1978. He serves as Director of Copper Mines Of Tasmania Pty Ltd., and Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd. (BALCO). Mr. Agarwal has been an Executive Director of Vedanta Resources Plc since May 16, 2003. He serves as a Director of Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) , Vedanta Resources Holdings Limited and VAL.

Anil Agarwal is the Executive Chairman of Vedanta Group. Mr Agarwal, who founded the Group in 1976, is also Chairman of Sterlite and is a Director of BALCO, HZL, and Vedanta Alumina Ltd. Since 1976 the Group has grown under his leadership, vision and strategy. Mr Agarwal has over 30 years experience as an industrialist.

Vedanta Resources is a diversified metals and mining company with revenues in excess of USD 8 billion. It is the first Indian manufacturing company to be listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Anil Agarwal serves as the President of Operations at Orient Ceramics & Industries Ltd. Mr. Agarwal has over 31 years experience as an Industrialist. Mr. Agarwal founded Vedanta Resources plc in 1976 and served as its Chief Executive Officer from November 27, 2003 to March 2005. He served as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Sterlite Industries India Ltd., a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Plc from 1980 to October 19, 2004. He has been the Executive …  Chairman of Vedanta Resources Plc since March 23, 2005. Mr. Agarwal has been the Chairman of Sterlite Industries India Ltd. since October 20, 2004. Mr. Agarwal has been the Non Executive Chairman of Sterlite Technologies Limited (a/k/a, Sterlite Optical Technologies Ltd.) since October 30, 2006. He serves as the Chairman of the Board of Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd. (BALCO) and Sterlite Gold Ltd. He serves as the Chairman of the Board at Sterlite Energy Ltd. and has been its Director since November 2007. He has been an Executive Director at Vedanta Resources Plc since May 16, 2003. Mr. Agarwal also serves as a Director of SOVL, Sterlite Opportunities and Ventures Ltd., Vedanta Aluminium Limited, Sterlite Metal Rollings Mills Private Limited, Finsider International Limited, Thalanga Copped Mines Pty Limited and Sterlite Paper Limited. He has been a Director of Sterlite Gold Ltd. since January 1999 and Sterlite Industries India Ltd. since 1978. He serves as a Director of Copper Mines Of Tasmania Pty Ltd. He serves as a Director of Vedanta Resources Holdings Limited and VAL. He served as a Director of Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) from April 11, 2002 to March 2009. He received the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 award.

Wealth

Having ranked eighth in 2003,[3] as of November 2006, he was the eleventh-richest Indian, with a personal fortune of US$4.5 billion.As of 6 October 2007, Agarwal’s net worth was estimated at $12.7 billion, making him the 6th richest Indian.As of 11th March 2010, his net worth is estimated at $ 6.4 billion

Personal life

Mr. Agarwal is based in UK, where he lives in London, is married and has two children.


Languages in Bihar

Language ISO 639-3 Scripts No. of Speakers Geographical Distribution
Angika anp Anga LipiDevanagari 30,000,000 Eastern BiharJharkhandWest BengalNepal
Bajjika   Devanagari 11,738,000 North-Central Bihar Eastern Terai
Bhojpuri bho KaithiDevanagari 23,384,562 Western Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Central Terai
Fiji Hindi[7] hif Roman and Devanagari 460,000 Fiji Islands
Kudmali kyw N.A. 37,000 Bihar West Bengal Orissa Assam.
Magahi mag KaithiDevanagari 11,362,000 Southern Bihar
Maithili mai MaithiliDevanagari 13,500,000 Northern Bihar Delhi Eastern Terai and .Maldives.
Majhi mjz N.A 21,841 Eastern BiharNepal
Musasa smm N.A 50,000 Eastern BiharNepal
Panchpargania tdb N.A. 274,000 West Bengal Jharkhand Assam
Sadri sck N.A. 165,683 Jharkhand Bihar and Bangladesh
Sadri, Oraon sdr N.A. 1,965,000 Jharkhand and Bangladesh
Sarnami Hindustani[8] hns N.A. 150,000 Suriname
Surajpuri sjp N.A. 273,000 KishanganjKatihar & Araria.

A profile of Bihar

Bihar’s antiquity is evident from its name, which is derived from the ancient word “VIHARA” (monastery). It is indeed a land of monasteries. Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Muslim and Sikh shrines abound in this ancient land where India’s first major empires rose and fell. Where the ruins of the worlds’ earliest university slumbers in the void of time. The passage of Ganga, flowing wide and deep enrich the plains of Bihar before distributing in Bengal’s deltoid zone.

Among all Indian states, Bihar is the one most intimately linked to the Buddha’s life, resulting in a trail of pilgrimages which have come to be known as the Buddhist circuit. The Buddhist trail begins at the capital city, Patna, where a noteworthy museum contains a collection of Hindu and Buddhist sculptures as well as a terracotta urn said to contain the ashes of Lord Buddha.

The Khuda Baksh Oriental Library has rare Muslim manuscripts including some from the University of Cordoba in Spain. 40 km away, Vaishali, was the site for the second Buddhist Council is the presence of ruins testify. 90 km south of Patna is Nalanda which translates as the place that confers the lotus’ (of spiritual knowledge). A monastic university   flourished here from the 5th to the 11th century. It is said to have contained nine million books, with 2,000 teachers to impart knowledge to 10,000 students who came from all over the Buddhist world. Lord Buddha himself taught here and Hieun Tsang, the 7th century Chinese traveler, was a student. Ongoing excavations have uncovered temples, monasteries and lecture halls. Rajgir, ‘the royal palace’, 12 km south, was the venue for the first Buddhist Council.

The Buddha spent five years at Rajgir after having attained enlightenment, and many of the remains at Rajgir commemorate various incidents related to life of Buddha, the hill of Gridhrakuta being perhaps the most important, as this is where the Buddha delivered most of his sermons. Bodhgaya is the spot where Lord Buddha attained enlightenment, with the Mahabodhi Temple marking the precise location. This landlocked state of Bihar is surrounded by Nepal, Bengal, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and comprises four cultural regions-Bhojpur, Mithila and Magadha and Chotanagpur. Rivers Kosi and Gandak from the north and Sone from the south join the Ganga. In the fertile plains, rice, sugarcane, oilseeds, gram, maize, jute, barley and wheat are cultivated.

Improving the Lives of Women in Bihar

In Bihar, India, hope is found where you least expect it. Behind a closed door where 10 to 25 women  have come together to discuss their most urgent needs. Unheard of a generation ago, this gathering is a mahila mandal – better known in this country as a women’s group.

Life for women and girls in Bihar is especially grim as they face a system called Purdah that is almost as oppressive and restrictive as the Taliban era in Afghanistan. Women are required to cover themselves in public and cannot travel without their husbands’ permission. The harsh realities are reflected in the almost 90 percent illiteracy rate among women and the fact that 88 percent of girls marry before the age of 17.  

Mahila mandals, with the aid of international organizations and donor support, are beginning to help though. One of the positive changes will be setting up savings and credit groups in which loans are approved and administered by and for local women.  Having access to a loan as small as $50 can completely transform a woman’s life in Bihar. Even a small amount of money can provide her the means to purchase raw materials that can be turned into finished products for sale, including seeds to grow crops, or an animal that produces milk, cheese or eggs that are marketable. 

This year, there will be 100 new mahila mandals or women’s savings and credit groups formed in Bihar. It is anticipated that the capital saved by the 5,100 group members will increase from $21,000 to $40,000 this year. More than 90 percent of that amount will be revolved as loans among the members. The value of this community-controlled asset is especially amazing when you realize the average annual income in this area is just over $400 a year.

Support from individuals in the United States can help transform the lives of women in this region and offer hope to them for a safer, more secure future.