A civil society convention on ‘75 Years of Republic: Challenges for Bihar’ was held in Patna on 12 February. Dipankar Bhattacharya, Delhi University teacher Ratan Lal, Dr. Laxman Yadav, Navin Kumar of Article19, Prof. Chintu Kumari, activists Vandana Prabha, Insaf Manch president Gopal Ravidas and Prof. Shamim Alam addressed the convention which was conducted by Sandip Saurav.
Comrade Dipankar said after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections the urge for transformation of Bihar gained strength with rising voices of struggling forces. The BJP desperately tried to capture and divert people’s resentment through its divisive agenda but Bihar is determined to move on a firm footing with concrete issues. We had seen similar efforts by the same communal forces defeated during the decade of 90s. Bihar always looks forward, after 20 years of misrule a tired and worn out Nitish Kumar has lost that sheen completely and now it's the time for a change. He condemned increased brutal police atrocities as were witnessed in the ghastly incidents of Benipatti in Madhubani and Kanti of Muzaffarpur. The Shaheen Bagh movement had clearly underlined the dangers hovering over the constitution and democracy. We must carry forward this spirit against the likes of Amit Shah, who insults Ambedkar, and Mohan Bhagawat who says India got freedom only after the Mandir inauguration.
Navin Kumar of Article19 said the whole world is facing a crisis that demands bigger struggles for dignity by the masses. He shared concerns on the declining state of education, employment and media in Bihar and said the privatisation of higher education has further deprived already alienated sections of society.
Dr. Laxman Yadav said the country is on the verge of losing the gains of 75 years of independence. We see the constitution openly being subverted in Uttar Pradesh, at the same time Bihar, the land of social justice and peasant movements, gives us hope.
Prof. Ratan Lal criticised dalit leaders inside the NDA for their indifference on the question of employment and education of dalits. They are pulling the Hindutva cart at the cost of dalit unity and rights, he added.
Gopal Ravidas shared his own experience of being a dalit leader. He said even after being elected as MLA he had to face insults from upper caste people. The sorry plight of working women and Scheme workers in Bihar was discussed by Chintu Kumari. Vandana Prabha criticised the Bihar government as the latter tries to limit the existence of common citizens and women into scheme beneficiaries undermining their equal rights and freedoms. Prof. Shamim Alam said we must protect our syncretic culture against the attacks of fascists. Kamlesh Sharma thanked the audience that included a good number of teachers, lawyers and social activists.
