Long Live Biharis! A Judge’s Tribute to Grit and Good Sense
- Why a joke sparked fury — and what Bihar truly represents
- Bihar by the numbers: facts that challenge the stereotype
A personal note from Justice Katju: why his joke was misunderstood and why Bihar deserves our respect — told with facts and feeling.
Long live Biharis!
By Justice Markandey Katju
Some years back, as a joke, I had said that since Pakistanis have been clamouring for Kashmir for long, we should tell them that we are prepared to give it to them, provided they take Bihar also.
This statement was made in a lighter vein and as a joke, as I later explained.
Yet many Biharis were extremely incensed by it and were furious against me, as if I was a Bihari baiter who mocked at, ridiculed, and disparaged Biharis. There were huge demonstrations against me in many cities of Bihar, my posters were blackened, my effigies burnt, the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar lashed out against me, and even an FIR was filed against me.
So let me set the record straight by giving some facts about Bihar ( and I am not going into the past glory of Bihar e.g. the Mauryan and Gupta Empires, or great figures like Emperor Ashok and Gautam Buddha, who attained enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, and Mahavir, founder of the Jain religion, who belonged to Vaishali, or about Nalanda, the first University in the world ) :
(1) Bihar has more literates ( 6.7 crores ) than Kerala ( 3.0 crores) and Tamil Nadu ( 3.6 crores) combined
(2) Bihar has more graduates than Andhra Pradesh and Kerala combined
(4) Bihar has produced more IAS and IPS officers than Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Gujarat combined
(5) There are more Bihari bank officers than from any other state
(6) More Biharis are in IITs compared to Maharashtra and Gujarat
(7) Education hubs run by Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have often up to 37% Bihari students.
(8) Bihar has several different languages-- maithili, bhojpuri, magahi, hindi, urdu, angika, santhali and munda. Yet only Hindi and Urdu were given official status, doing an injustice to the others
(9) 58% Biharis are below 25 years of age, which make it the youngest state of India.
(10) The Murder rate in Bihar is half of the murder rate in Mumbai.
(11) Rape in Bihar is 1/10th of Delhi.
(12) Number of people killed in Bihar in communal violence* is 1/75 th of Gujarat.
(13 ) Bihar produces more wheat than Punjab.
(14) Bihar is the only large state where there were no farmer suicides.
(15) More Bihari girls complete graduation than in most other Indian states
(16) None of the Indian states has given Prime Ministers to other countries ( except Rishi Sunak in the UK ). Bihar has given 2 Prime Ministers to Mauritius, the current Prime Minister, Dr Navinchand Ramgoolam, and his father Shivsagar Ramgoolam ( whose ancestors were from Bhojpur in Bihar ).
(17) The first President of India was the highly respected Dr Rajendra Prasad from Bihar
(18) Ravish Kumar from Bihar is perhaps the most highly respected and acclaimed journalist in India today, having won the prestigious international Magsaysay award in 2019
(19) Though they have often to migrate to other states due to a lack of job opportunities in Bihar, wherever Biharis go, whether to Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, etc, and even to Dubai and other places abroad, they uplift cities by their talent, hard work, and determination
(20) On a personal note, I may add that when I was a Judge in Allahabad High Court ( 1991-2004 ), sometimes lawyers from Patna High Court appeared before me to argue cases, and I found them among the most erudite and courteous lawyers I have known. Their knowledge of law was profound, yet they were extremely humble and polite, never raising their voice.
I hope after reading this, Biharis will change their opinion about me and have good words to say about me.
(Justice Katju is a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. These are his personal views.)
