Anti-Bihari sentiment in India
Encyclopedia
Anti-Bihari sentiment: Bihari refers to the people of the Indian state of Bihar
, which is a region in the north-eastern Gangetic plains (as well as people of the Bihari ethnic group
that originated there). Bihar has had slower economic growth than the rest of India in the 1990s, and as a consequnce many Bihari's have migrated to other parts of India in search of work. Bihari migrant workers have been subject to a growing degree of xenophobia
, racial discrimination
, prejudice
and violence
. Biharis are often looked down upon and their accent ridiculed. In 2000 and 2003, anti-Bihari violence led to the deaths of up to 200 people and created 10,000 internal refugees.
of $148 a year against India's average of $997 and 30.6% of the state's population lives below the poverty line against India's average of 22.15%. The level of urbanisation (10.5%) is below the national average (27.78%); and behind states like Maharastra (42.4%). Urban poverty in Bihar (32.91%) is above the national average of 23.62%. Also using per capita water supply as a surrogate variable, Bihar (61 litres per day) is below the national average (142 litres per day) and that of Maharastra(175 litres per day according to 2006 data) in civic amenities.
and feelings of resentment in Punjab. The migrant population in Punjab, according to state researchers, is nearing three million out of a total population of over nearly 30 million. One third of the migrants, nearly one million, live in and around Ludhiana. After the attacks on Uttar Pradeshi's and Biharis in October 2008, a Punjabi group called the Dal Khalsa, carried banners and placards that read “Punjab for Punjabis” and “Return migrants, Save Punjab”. This fear is further personified by the rise of Bhojpuri cinema in non-Bhojpuri speaking states. Punjabi comedian Jaspal Bhatti
said that instead of assimilating with the culture of the state, the migrant population was seeking to decimate Punjabi culture and cinema. In Mumbai
, Raj Thackeray had also complained to theatre owners for their reluctance to exhibit Marathi movies and producers of Marathi movies complained that it is becoming difficult to hire theatres in Mumbai to release their productions and exhibitors preferred to show Bhojpuri language movies.
Furthermore, many see Biharis as criminals and attribute any rise in criminality to Bihari
youth
, or the so called "Bihari
Mafia
". Due to the high levels of crime in Bihar
there is a perception by some that Biharis are inherently criminal by nature. This has led to Biharis being blamed for crimes ranging from automobile
theft
to increases in rape
, murder
and kidnapping
.
of $148 a year against India's average of $997. Given this income dispartity, migrant workers moved to better paid locations and offered to work at lower rates. For example, in Tamil Nadu inter-state migrant construction workers are paid about Rs.60 to Rs.70 a day against the minimum of Rs.130 per day. After thousands of migrant workers left Nashik, industries were worried that their costs would increase through more expensive local workers. In an interview with the Times of India, Raj Thackeray
, leader of the MNS said; "The city (Mumbai
) cannot take the burden anymore. Look at our roads, our trains and parks. On the pipes that bring water to Mumbai are 40,000 huts. It is a security hazard. The footpaths too have been taken over by migrants. The message has to go to UP and Bihar that there is no space left in Mumbai for you. After destroying the city, the migrants will go back to their villages. But where will we go then?". The strain to Mumbai's infrastructure through migration has also been commented by mainstream secular politicians. The Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh
felt that unchecked migration had placed a strain on the basic infrastructure of the state. However, he has maintained and urged migrant Bihari workers to remain in Maharashtra, even during the height of the anti North Indian agitation. Sheila Dikshit, the Chief Minister of Delhi
, said that because of people migrating from Bihar
and Uttar Pradesh
, Delhi's infrastructure was overburdened. She said, that "these people come to Delhi from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh but don't ever go back causing burden on Delhi's infrastructure."
's MNS supporters in Mumbai on 20 October 2008. One student from Bihar was killed during the attacks. Four persons were killed and another seriously injured in the violence that broke out in a village near Kalyan following the arrest of MNS chief Raj Thackeray. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
demanded action against the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena activists and full security to students. Nitish Kumar requested Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh
intervention. Kumar directed the additional director general of police to contact senior police officials in Maharashtra and compile a report on Sunday's incident and asked the home commissioner to hold talks with the Maharashtra home secretary to seek protection for people from Bihar. In 2003, the Shiv Sena alleged that of the 500 Maharashtrian candidates, only ten of them successful in the Railways exams. 90 per cent of the successful candidates were alleged to be from Bihar. Activists from the Shiv Sena ransacked a railway recruitment office in protest against non-Marathi's being among the 650,000 candidates set to compete for 2,200 railway jobs in the state. Eventually, after attacks on Biharis heading towards Mumbai for exams, the central government delayed the exams.
, Nagaland
, and Manipur
. As with all migrations in history, this has created tensions with the local population, which has resulted in large scale violence. In 2000 and 2003, anti-Bihari violence led to the deaths of up to 200 people, and created 10,000 internal refugees. Similar violent incidents have also taken place recently in Manipur
and Assam
. According to K P S Gill
waves of xenophobic violence have swept across Assam repeatedly since 1979, targeting Bangladeshis, Bengalis, Biharis and Marwaris.
have suffered from violence from Sindhis
, particularly in the city of Karachi
in the riots of 1994-1996. As a result of the violence against them Biharis in Pakistan have organized the Bihari Qaumi Movement to protect their rights.
. Even official planning commission records use this term. BIMARU resembles the Hindi
and Urdu
word for illness, Bimar. The BI in BIMARU stands for Bihar. Ther other Hindi-speaking states that are included in BIMARU are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Bihar, and other North Indian states, have also been held accountable for holding India's GDP ranking below the double digit number.
, commented in the Shiv Sena newspaper, Samnna on why Biharis are disliked outside Hindi-speaking North India. He quoted part of a text message as the title of his article. The message suggests that Biharis bring diseases, violence, job insecurity, and domination, wherever they go. The text message says, "Ek Bihari, Sau Bimari. Do Bihari Ladai ki taiyari, Teen Bihari train hamari and paanch Bihari to sarkar hamaari" (One Bihari equals hundred diseases, Two Biharis is preparing for war, Three Biharis it is a train hijack, and five Biharis will try to form the ruling Government). Nitish kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, and the Union Railway Minister, Lalu Prasad Yadav, protested against the remark, demanding official condemnation of Bal Thackeray. Kumar, during a press report at Patna
Airport, said, "If Manmohan Singh
fails to intervene in what is happening in Maharashtra
, it would mean only one thing – he is not interested in resolving the issue and that would not be good for the leader of the nation". Angered by Thackeray's insulting remark against the Bihari community, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) activists burnt the effigy of the Shiv Sena
chief at Kargil Chowk
in Patna and said that the senior Thackeray had completely lost his marbles and needed to be immediately committed in a mental asylum.
. The police said the protesters targeted Patna
, Jehanabad
, Barh
, Khusrupur
, Sasaram
and Purnia
railway stations in the morning. The protesting students reportedly set afire two AC bogies of an express train at Barh
railway station. They ransacked Jehanabad
, Barh
, Purnia
and Sasaram
railway stations. According to the railway police, at least 10 students were detained in the morning and extra security was deployed to control the situation. Noted Physician Dr Diwakar Tejaswi observed a day-long fast in Patna to protest against repeated violence by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena
(MNS) leader Raj Thackeray
and his goons against the north Indians. Various student organisations gave a call for Bihar shutdown on October 25, 2008 to protest attacks on north Indian candidates by Maharashtra Navnirnam Sena activists during a Railway recruitment examination in Mumbai
.
Various cases were filed in Bihar and Jharkhand against Raj Thackeray for assaulting the students. A murder case was also filed by Jagdish Prasad, father of Pawan Kumar, who was allegedly killed by MNS activists in Mumbai
. Mumbai
police, however, claimed it to be a case of accident. Bihar
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
announced a compensation of Rs 1,50,000 to Pawan's family. Bihar state Congress chief, Anil Kumar Sharma, has demanded enactment of an Act by Parliament for closing opportunities to any political party or organisation that indulge in obscurantism and raise such narrow, chauvinistic issues based on caste
, religion and regionalism to capture power. A murder case was also lodged against Raj Thackeray and 15 others in a court in Jharkhand on 1 November 2008 following the death of a train passenger last month in Maharashtra. According to the Dhanbad police, their Mumbai counterparts termed Sakaldeo's death as an accident. According to social scientist Dr. Shaibal Gupta
, the beating of students from Bihar has consolidated Bihari sub-nationalism
.
. Armed with lathis and hockey sticks, more than 100 BBS members trooped to Borwankar’s Nildih Road bungalow around 3.30 pm. Shouting anti-MNS slogans, they smashed windowpanes and broke flowerpots. BBS president Anand Bihari Dubey called the attack on Borwankar’s residence unfortunate, and said that he knew BBS members were angry after the attack in Maharashtra on Biharis, but did not expect a reaction. Fear of further violence gripped the 4,000-odd Maharashtrians settlers living in and around the city. Two air-conditioned bogies of the train Vikramshila
Express – reportedly with Maharashtrian
passengers on board – were set on fire in Barh
area of Bihar. Hundreds of slogan-shouting students surrounded Barh
railway station in rural Patna demanding that MNS
leader Raj Thackeray be tried for sedition. No one was reported injured and passengers fled soon as the attackers started setting the bogies on fire.
A group of 63 tourists, of which many were Marathis, were on a tour of sacred Buddhist sites. The tourists found themselves stranded on the outskirts of Patna as riots broke out. The Marathis in the group were forced to hide their identity for fear of attacks. The group avoided speaking in Marathi, and women wore saris in the north Indian rather than the Marathi style. For security, the group had to be escorted by 25 policeman to the station. The tourists reached Nagpur safely. In another incident, a senior woman government official in Bihar, with the surname Thackeray, was the target of an angry mob that surrounded her office and shouted slogans against her in Purnia district. Ashwini Dattarey Thackeray was the target of a mob of over 200 people. The mob, led by a local leader of the Lok Janashakti Party, surrounded Thackeray’s office in Purnia, about 350 km from here, and shouted slogans like, “Go back Maharashtrians” and “Officer go back, we do not need your services”.
A gang of 25 people pelted stones on the Maharashtra Bhawan in Khalasi Line, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
. Constructed in 1928, the building is owned by the lone trust run by Marathis in Kanpur. It has served as an important venue for prominent festivals, including Ganesh Utsav and Krishna Janmastami. On 29 October, in Ghaziabad, Marathi students at Mahanand Mission Harijan PG College were attacked, allegedly by an Uttar Pradesh student leader and his friends. Police sources in Ghaziabad confirmed the victims stated in their FIR that the attackers “mentioned Rahul Raj and Dharam Dev” while kicking them in heir hostel rooms. A group of 20 youths, from Bihar, attacked Maharashtra Sadan in the capital on 3 November. The Rashtrawadi Sena has claimed responsibility for the attack. They ransacked the reception of the building and raised slogans against Raj Thackeray.
. "We have given a proposal to the Uttar Pradesh
government through its Culture Minister Subhash Pandey for setting up the industry in Lucknow. Besides, we are also counting on some other options like Delhi, Noida and Patna," Bhojpuri superstar and producer Manoj Tiwari said. The films have a large market because the Bhojpuri diaspora
is spread over countries like Mauritius
, Nepal
, Dubai
, Guyana
, West Indies, Fiji
, Indonesia
, Surinam and the Netherlands
. There is a significant wealthy Bihari doctor community in the United Kingdom
. 70 per cent of the total production cost of a Bhojpuri film — budgets of which range from Rs 80 lakh to Rs 1.25 crore — is usually spent in Maharashtra
, providing direct employment to junior artists, make-up men, spot boys and local studios among others.
s have decided to firmly stay away from states of the North East and Punjab. However, other Biharis migrants have found that returning to Maharashtra is still an option for them despite the violent nature of the agitation. Culturally, Biharis appear to have rejected a film based heavily on Punjabi culture. In August 2008, a film called Singh is Kinng
starring Akshay Kumar
which was a superhit in India, flopped in Bihar. Bihar has been where Akshay Kumar's films, from Jaanwar to Hey Babyy, have acquired a blockbuster status. In this case, the heavy usage of Punjabi language, culture was said to be the main cause of the movie being rejected by Bihari audiences.
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, which is a region in the north-eastern Gangetic plains (as well as people of the Bihari ethnic group
Bihari people
The Biharis are an ethnic group originating from the present state of Bihar with a history going back three millennia...
that originated there). Bihar has had slower economic growth than the rest of India in the 1990s, and as a consequnce many Bihari's have migrated to other parts of India in search of work. Bihari migrant workers have been subject to a growing degree of xenophobia
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
, racial discrimination
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, prejudice
Prejudice
Prejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...
and violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
. Biharis are often looked down upon and their accent ridiculed. In 2000 and 2003, anti-Bihari violence led to the deaths of up to 200 people and created 10,000 internal refugees.
Causes
Since the late 1980s and through to 2005, poor governance and Annual Flooding of Bihar by Kosi River (Sorrow of Bihar) contributed to a crisis in the Bihar economy. The criminalisation of politics, and kidnappings of professional workers between 1990-2005 contributed to an economic collapse and led to the flight of capital, middle class professionals, and business leaders to other parts of India. This flight of business and capital increased unemployment and this led to the mass migration of Bihari farmers and unemployed youth to more developed states of India. The state has a per capita incomePer capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
of $148 a year against India's average of $997 and 30.6% of the state's population lives below the poverty line against India's average of 22.15%. The level of urbanisation (10.5%) is below the national average (27.78%); and behind states like Maharastra (42.4%). Urban poverty in Bihar (32.91%) is above the national average of 23.62%. Also using per capita water supply as a surrogate variable, Bihar (61 litres per day) is below the national average (142 litres per day) and that of Maharastra(175 litres per day according to 2006 data) in civic amenities.
Social and cultural
There is a perception in Indian states with smaller populations that Bihari culture could dominate local languages and customs as migration of poor workers continue from those states. This feeling that local customs would be overwhelmed by migrants was a key feature of the MNS campaign in MaharashtraMaharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
and feelings of resentment in Punjab. The migrant population in Punjab, according to state researchers, is nearing three million out of a total population of over nearly 30 million. One third of the migrants, nearly one million, live in and around Ludhiana. After the attacks on Uttar Pradeshi's and Biharis in October 2008, a Punjabi group called the Dal Khalsa, carried banners and placards that read “Punjab for Punjabis” and “Return migrants, Save Punjab”. This fear is further personified by the rise of Bhojpuri cinema in non-Bhojpuri speaking states. Punjabi comedian Jaspal Bhatti
Jaspal Bhatti
Jaspal Singh Bhatti is an Indian television personality famous for his satirical take on the problems of the common man...
said that instead of assimilating with the culture of the state, the migrant population was seeking to decimate Punjabi culture and cinema. In Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, Raj Thackeray had also complained to theatre owners for their reluctance to exhibit Marathi movies and producers of Marathi movies complained that it is becoming difficult to hire theatres in Mumbai to release their productions and exhibitors preferred to show Bhojpuri language movies.
Furthermore, many see Biharis as criminals and attribute any rise in criminality to Bihari
Bihari people
The Biharis are an ethnic group originating from the present state of Bihar with a history going back three millennia...
youth
Youth
Youth is the time of life between childhood and adulthood . Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature individuals could exist at all ages.-Usage:Around the world, the terms "youth",...
, or the so called "Bihari
Bihari people
The Biharis are an ethnic group originating from the present state of Bihar with a history going back three millennia...
Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
". Due to the high levels of crime in Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
there is a perception by some that Biharis are inherently criminal by nature. This has led to Biharis being blamed for crimes ranging from automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
theft
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
to increases in rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
and kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
.
Economic
Bihar has a per capita incomePer capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
of $148 a year against India's average of $997. Given this income dispartity, migrant workers moved to better paid locations and offered to work at lower rates. For example, in Tamil Nadu inter-state migrant construction workers are paid about Rs.60 to Rs.70 a day against the minimum of Rs.130 per day. After thousands of migrant workers left Nashik, industries were worried that their costs would increase through more expensive local workers. In an interview with the Times of India, Raj Thackeray
Raj Thackeray
Raj Shrikant Thackeray is the founder and president of the right-wing Marathi ethnocentric regional political party, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena in the state of Maharashtra, India...
, leader of the MNS said; "The city (Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
) cannot take the burden anymore. Look at our roads, our trains and parks. On the pipes that bring water to Mumbai are 40,000 huts. It is a security hazard. The footpaths too have been taken over by migrants. The message has to go to UP and Bihar that there is no space left in Mumbai for you. After destroying the city, the migrants will go back to their villages. But where will we go then?". The strain to Mumbai's infrastructure through migration has also been commented by mainstream secular politicians. The Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh
Vilasrao Deshmukh
Vilasrao Dagadojirao Deshmukh , popularly known as Vilasrao is the current Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Earth Sciences....
felt that unchecked migration had placed a strain on the basic infrastructure of the state. However, he has maintained and urged migrant Bihari workers to remain in Maharashtra, even during the height of the anti North Indian agitation. Sheila Dikshit, the Chief Minister of Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, said that because of people migrating from Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
and Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, Delhi's infrastructure was overburdened. She said, that "these people come to Delhi from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh but don't ever go back causing burden on Delhi's infrastructure."
Maharashtra
North Indian students, including students from Bihar, preparing for the railway entrance exam were attacked by Raj ThackerayRaj Thackeray
Raj Shrikant Thackeray is the founder and president of the right-wing Marathi ethnocentric regional political party, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena in the state of Maharashtra, India...
's MNS supporters in Mumbai on 20 October 2008. One student from Bihar was killed during the attacks. Four persons were killed and another seriously injured in the violence that broke out in a village near Kalyan following the arrest of MNS chief Raj Thackeray. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
Nitish Kumar
Nitish Kumār is an Indian politician currently serving as Chief Minister of Bihar, an eastern state of India. He leads the Janata Dal party...
demanded action against the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena activists and full security to students. Nitish Kumar requested Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh
Vilasrao Deshmukh
Vilasrao Dagadojirao Deshmukh , popularly known as Vilasrao is the current Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Earth Sciences....
intervention. Kumar directed the additional director general of police to contact senior police officials in Maharashtra and compile a report on Sunday's incident and asked the home commissioner to hold talks with the Maharashtra home secretary to seek protection for people from Bihar. In 2003, the Shiv Sena alleged that of the 500 Maharashtrian candidates, only ten of them successful in the Railways exams. 90 per cent of the successful candidates were alleged to be from Bihar. Activists from the Shiv Sena ransacked a railway recruitment office in protest against non-Marathi's being among the 650,000 candidates set to compete for 2,200 railway jobs in the state. Eventually, after attacks on Biharis heading towards Mumbai for exams, the central government delayed the exams.
North East states
Biharis have sought work in many states that form part of North East India. There were significant communities in AssamAssam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, Nagaland
Nagaland
Nagaland is a state in the far north-eastern part of India. It borders the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam to the north, Burma to the east and Manipur to the south. The state capital is Kohima, and the largest city is Dimapur...
, and Manipur
Manipur
Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...
. As with all migrations in history, this has created tensions with the local population, which has resulted in large scale violence. In 2000 and 2003, anti-Bihari violence led to the deaths of up to 200 people, and created 10,000 internal refugees. Similar violent incidents have also taken place recently in Manipur
Manipur
Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...
and Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
. According to K P S Gill
Kanwar Pal Singh Gill
Kanwar Pal Singh Gill served twice as Director General of Police Punjab, where he is credited with having brought the Punjab insurgency under control, and while the BBC reports that many see Gill as a hero, there are accusations that Gill and the forces under his command were responsible for...
waves of xenophobic violence have swept across Assam repeatedly since 1979, targeting Bangladeshis, Bengalis, Biharis and Marwaris.
Karnataka
In July 2009, activists of the Kannada Protection Force (KPF) in Karnataka stormed into exam centres and disrupted railway recruitment examinations in protest against the appearance of north Indian candidates, especially from Bihar, in large numbers.Punjab
In October 2007, a bomb ripped through a packed multiplex theatre in Ludhiana, killing seven people and injuring many in the following stampede. The 600 seater Shringar theatre was playing a Bhojpuri film when the explosion happened . The attack which was blamed on the Khalistani terrorists shows signs of Punjabi regionalism over Hindi nationalism still active in Punjab.Rajasthan
The government in Rajasthan assured full protection to students from Bihar, after ragging incidents of Bihari students in a private engineering college in Udaipur surfaced . Lalu Prasad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan flayed the attacks on Bihari students in Rajasthan saying that the students were subjected to insult, torture and assaulted with sticks when they protested. Former chief minister Rabri Devi called upon the chief minister to take necessary action and assure the safety of the students. According to reports, several Bihari students were thrashed during the ragging. .Sindh
Biharis in PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
have suffered from violence from Sindhis
Sindhi people
Sindhis are a Sindhi speaking socio-ethnic group of people originating from Sindh, a province Formerly of British India, now in Pakistan. Today Sindhis that live in Pakistan belong to various religious denominations including Islam, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Christianity...
, particularly in the city of Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
in the riots of 1994-1996. As a result of the violence against them Biharis in Pakistan have organized the Bihari Qaumi Movement to protect their rights.
Derisive use of BIMARU term
Dr Ashish Bose, a Bengali retired govt servant coined the epithet BIMARUBIMARU
BIMARU was an acronym coined by taking the first letter of four northern Indian states : Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. Later Orissa was included resulting in BIMAROU. It was coined by Ashish Bose in the mid 1980s...
. Even official planning commission records use this term. BIMARU resembles the Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
and Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
word for illness, Bimar. The BI in BIMARU stands for Bihar. Ther other Hindi-speaking states that are included in BIMARU are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Bihar, and other North Indian states, have also been held accountable for holding India's GDP ranking below the double digit number.
Editorial by Bal Thackeray
Shiv Sena leader, Bal ThackerayBal Thackeray
Bal Keshav Thackeray , popularly known as Balasaheb Thackeray, is an Indian politician, founder and chief of the Shiv Sena, a right-wing Hindu nationalist, and Marathi ethnocentric party active mainly in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.Born in Pune, Thackeray began his professional career...
, commented in the Shiv Sena newspaper, Samnna on why Biharis are disliked outside Hindi-speaking North India. He quoted part of a text message as the title of his article. The message suggests that Biharis bring diseases, violence, job insecurity, and domination, wherever they go. The text message says, "Ek Bihari, Sau Bimari. Do Bihari Ladai ki taiyari, Teen Bihari train hamari and paanch Bihari to sarkar hamaari" (One Bihari equals hundred diseases, Two Biharis is preparing for war, Three Biharis it is a train hijack, and five Biharis will try to form the ruling Government). Nitish kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, and the Union Railway Minister, Lalu Prasad Yadav, protested against the remark, demanding official condemnation of Bal Thackeray. Kumar, during a press report at Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
Airport, said, "If Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister belonging to the Indian...
fails to intervene in what is happening in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, it would mean only one thing – he is not interested in resolving the issue and that would not be good for the leader of the nation". Angered by Thackeray's insulting remark against the Bihari community, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) activists burnt the effigy of the Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena , is a political party in India founded on 19 June 1966 by Balasaheb Thackeray. It is currently headed by Thackeray's son, Uddhav Thackeray...
chief at Kargil Chowk
Kargil Chowk
Kargil Chowk is a War memorial. It was established in year 2000, near by Gandhi Maidan, Patna. It is dedicated to the soldiers from Bihar & Jharkhand who had sacrificed their lives in the Pakistani infiltration in 1999.-List engraved names on Kargil Chowk:...
in Patna and said that the senior Thackeray had completely lost his marbles and needed to be immediately committed in a mental asylum.
Protests & demonstrations
Angry students in various parts of Bihar damaged railway property and disrupted train traffic, as protests continued against assaults on north Indians by MNS activists in MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. The police said the protesters targeted Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
, Jehanabad
Jehanabad
Jehanabad is a city and a municipality in and the headquarters of Jehanabad district in the Indian state of Bihar. Earlier, Jehanabad was part of Gaya district. It is 50 km away from both Patna and Gaya.-Demographics:...
, Barh
Barh
Barh is a town and subdivision of Patna District of Bihar. It is located along the Ganges River, south-east of Patna.Barh railway station witnessed burning of many trains by a mob protesting the withdrawal of stoppage of trains there and many more causes....
, Khusrupur
Khusrupur
Khusrupur is a city and a notified area in Patna district in the Indian state of Bihar. On June 1, 2009, Khusrupur railway station witnessed burning of two trains by a mob protesting the withdrawal of stoppage of trains there...
, Sasaram
Sasaram
Sasaram , sometimes also spelled as Sahasram, is the administrative headquarters of the Rohtas district in the Indian state of Bihar.It is one of the oldest cities in India, and is famous for production of stone chips and for the local quarrying industry...
and Purnia
Purnia
Purnia is a city and a Municipal Corporation in Purnia district of the Indian state of Bihar. It is located 400 km from Patna.The Indian army, Border Security Force ,and the SSB and the have bases around the city...
railway stations in the morning. The protesting students reportedly set afire two AC bogies of an express train at Barh
Barh
Barh is a town and subdivision of Patna District of Bihar. It is located along the Ganges River, south-east of Patna.Barh railway station witnessed burning of many trains by a mob protesting the withdrawal of stoppage of trains there and many more causes....
railway station. They ransacked Jehanabad
Jehanabad
Jehanabad is a city and a municipality in and the headquarters of Jehanabad district in the Indian state of Bihar. Earlier, Jehanabad was part of Gaya district. It is 50 km away from both Patna and Gaya.-Demographics:...
, Barh
Barh
Barh is a town and subdivision of Patna District of Bihar. It is located along the Ganges River, south-east of Patna.Barh railway station witnessed burning of many trains by a mob protesting the withdrawal of stoppage of trains there and many more causes....
, Purnia
Purnia
Purnia is a city and a Municipal Corporation in Purnia district of the Indian state of Bihar. It is located 400 km from Patna.The Indian army, Border Security Force ,and the SSB and the have bases around the city...
and Sasaram
Sasaram
Sasaram , sometimes also spelled as Sahasram, is the administrative headquarters of the Rohtas district in the Indian state of Bihar.It is one of the oldest cities in India, and is famous for production of stone chips and for the local quarrying industry...
railway stations. According to the railway police, at least 10 students were detained in the morning and extra security was deployed to control the situation. Noted Physician Dr Diwakar Tejaswi observed a day-long fast in Patna to protest against repeated violence by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena is a political party based in Maharashtra operating on the motto of "Sons of the Soil". It was founded on the March 9, 2006 in Mumbai by Raj Thackeray after he left the Shiv Sena due to differences with Uddhav Thackeray and sidelining in major decisions like...
(MNS) leader Raj Thackeray
Raj Thackeray
Raj Shrikant Thackeray is the founder and president of the right-wing Marathi ethnocentric regional political party, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena in the state of Maharashtra, India...
and his goons against the north Indians. Various student organisations gave a call for Bihar shutdown on October 25, 2008 to protest attacks on north Indian candidates by Maharashtra Navnirnam Sena activists during a Railway recruitment examination in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
.
Various cases were filed in Bihar and Jharkhand against Raj Thackeray for assaulting the students. A murder case was also filed by Jagdish Prasad, father of Pawan Kumar, who was allegedly killed by MNS activists in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
police, however, claimed it to be a case of accident. Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
Nitish Kumar
Nitish Kumār is an Indian politician currently serving as Chief Minister of Bihar, an eastern state of India. He leads the Janata Dal party...
announced a compensation of Rs 1,50,000 to Pawan's family. Bihar state Congress chief, Anil Kumar Sharma, has demanded enactment of an Act by Parliament for closing opportunities to any political party or organisation that indulge in obscurantism and raise such narrow, chauvinistic issues based on caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
, religion and regionalism to capture power. A murder case was also lodged against Raj Thackeray and 15 others in a court in Jharkhand on 1 November 2008 following the death of a train passenger last month in Maharashtra. According to the Dhanbad police, their Mumbai counterparts termed Sakaldeo's death as an accident. According to social scientist Dr. Shaibal Gupta
Shaibal Gupta
Dr. Shaibal Gupta is a prominent social scientist, founder member-secretary of Asian Development Research Institute in Patna, Bihar. Asian Development Research Institute is a non-government organization established in 1991. He is an economist by profession. He has spent many years studying Bihar...
, the beating of students from Bihar has consolidated Bihari sub-nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
.
Rahul Raj
Rahul Raj, from Patna, was shot dead aboard a bus in Mumbai by the police on the 28 October. Rahul was 23 years old and was brandishing a pistol and not shooting at public. The Mumbai police alleged that he wanted to assassinate Raj Thackeray. Nitish Kumar questioned the police action, but R R Patil justified it, and restored Raj Thackeray`s security. It was alleged that Rahul was protesting against the attacks on Bihari and Uttar Pradeshi candidates appearing for railway examinations. Mumbai crime branch is looking in to the incident. During Rahul's funeral slogans of "Raj Thackeray murdabad" and "Rahul Raj amar rahe" were heard. Despite Mumbai police's allegations, there was high level government representation at the funeral. Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi and PHED minister Ashwini Kumar Chaubey represented the state government at the cremation which was also attended by Patna MP Ram Kripal Yadav. The bier was carried by Rahul's friends even as the district administration had arranged a flower-bedecked truck for the purpose.Attacks against Marathis
After the October 2008 anti-Bihari attacks in Maharashtra, members of the Bharatiya Bhojpuri Sangh (BBS) vandalised the official residence of Tata Motors Jamshedpur plant head S.B. Borwankar, a MaharashtrianMarathi people
The Marathi people or Maharashtrians are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, that inhabit the Maharashtra region and state of western India. Their language Marathi is part of the southern group of Indo-Aryan languages...
. Armed with lathis and hockey sticks, more than 100 BBS members trooped to Borwankar’s Nildih Road bungalow around 3.30 pm. Shouting anti-MNS slogans, they smashed windowpanes and broke flowerpots. BBS president Anand Bihari Dubey called the attack on Borwankar’s residence unfortunate, and said that he knew BBS members were angry after the attack in Maharashtra on Biharis, but did not expect a reaction. Fear of further violence gripped the 4,000-odd Maharashtrians settlers living in and around the city. Two air-conditioned bogies of the train Vikramshila
Vikramshila
University was one of the two most important centers of Buddhist learning in India during the Pala dynasty, along with University. was established by King Dharmapala in response to a supposed decline in the quality of scholarship at Nālandā...
Express – reportedly with Maharashtrian
Marathi people
The Marathi people or Maharashtrians are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, that inhabit the Maharashtra region and state of western India. Their language Marathi is part of the southern group of Indo-Aryan languages...
passengers on board – were set on fire in Barh
Barh
Barh is a town and subdivision of Patna District of Bihar. It is located along the Ganges River, south-east of Patna.Barh railway station witnessed burning of many trains by a mob protesting the withdrawal of stoppage of trains there and many more causes....
area of Bihar. Hundreds of slogan-shouting students surrounded Barh
Barh
Barh is a town and subdivision of Patna District of Bihar. It is located along the Ganges River, south-east of Patna.Barh railway station witnessed burning of many trains by a mob protesting the withdrawal of stoppage of trains there and many more causes....
railway station in rural Patna demanding that MNS
MNS
MNS may refer to:*Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, a regional political party in Maharashtra, India*The Malaysian Nature Society*Maki-Nakagawa-Sakata matrix*Ministry of National Security*Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway...
leader Raj Thackeray be tried for sedition. No one was reported injured and passengers fled soon as the attackers started setting the bogies on fire.
A group of 63 tourists, of which many were Marathis, were on a tour of sacred Buddhist sites. The tourists found themselves stranded on the outskirts of Patna as riots broke out. The Marathis in the group were forced to hide their identity for fear of attacks. The group avoided speaking in Marathi, and women wore saris in the north Indian rather than the Marathi style. For security, the group had to be escorted by 25 policeman to the station. The tourists reached Nagpur safely. In another incident, a senior woman government official in Bihar, with the surname Thackeray, was the target of an angry mob that surrounded her office and shouted slogans against her in Purnia district. Ashwini Dattarey Thackeray was the target of a mob of over 200 people. The mob, led by a local leader of the Lok Janashakti Party, surrounded Thackeray’s office in Purnia, about 350 km from here, and shouted slogans like, “Go back Maharashtrians” and “Officer go back, we do not need your services”.
A gang of 25 people pelted stones on the Maharashtra Bhawan in Khalasi Line, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
. Constructed in 1928, the building is owned by the lone trust run by Marathis in Kanpur. It has served as an important venue for prominent festivals, including Ganesh Utsav and Krishna Janmastami. On 29 October, in Ghaziabad, Marathi students at Mahanand Mission Harijan PG College were attacked, allegedly by an Uttar Pradesh student leader and his friends. Police sources in Ghaziabad confirmed the victims stated in their FIR that the attackers “mentioned Rahul Raj and Dharam Dev” while kicking them in heir hostel rooms. A group of 20 youths, from Bihar, attacked Maharashtra Sadan in the capital on 3 November. The Rashtrawadi Sena has claimed responsibility for the attack. They ransacked the reception of the building and raised slogans against Raj Thackeray.
Cultural, economic threats
Bihari leaders have urged a boycott of music CDs of Bollywood singers, movies, clothes and drugs manufactured in Maharashtra. “Why don't Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Lata Mangeshkar or Anna Hazare come out and speak against such attacks on Bihari people? They enjoy greater influence on the society and their words would indeed matter,” asked renowned Bollywood actor Mr Shatrughan Sinha. Nitish Kumar also threatened to block cash flow to Mumbai, country's financial capital. "If Maharashtra is rich today, it's just because the capital investments from across the country have made there. Does Raj Thackeray know where will Mumbai go if we block fund flow to Mumbai and Maharashtra"'” ... "I will pump out air of Mumbai by blocking cash flow if the violence against Biharis does not stop". The Bharatiya Bhojpuri Sangh also demanded a ban on the import of onions from Maharashtra. The organisation said if the ban is not implemented by the Jharkhand government it will stop the entry of trucks carrying onions from Maharshtra. Jharkhand imports onions from Nashik in Maharashtra. "We will intensify our agitation if north Indians are beat in Maharashtra," said Anad Bihari Dubey. In Jamshedpur, trucks arriving from Maharashtra were stopped and searched by nationalist groups. The government has declared that firm action will be taken to prevent a breakdown in law and order. "We have come to know that some people want to stop trucks coming from Maharashtra. "We will not allow people to prevent movement of trucks. Police have been alerted," R.K. Agrawal, Deputy Commissioner of East Singhbhum district said to the media. A mob also attacked a cinema hall in Purnia screening films of Marathi directors. After the attack the angry mob announced the start of their “non-cooperation” movement against Marathis.Bhojpuri Film industry relocation
The Rs 200-crore Bhojpuri film industry is considering moving out of Mumbai owing to threats from MNS workers, and growing insecurity. With an average output of 75 movies per annum and an over 250 million target audience, the Bhojpuri film industry employs hundreds of unskilled and semi-skilled people from the state in various stage of production and distribution. The industry, which has around 50 registered production houses in Mumbai, has initiated talks with Uttar Pradesh and BiharBihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
. "We have given a proposal to the Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
government through its Culture Minister Subhash Pandey for setting up the industry in Lucknow. Besides, we are also counting on some other options like Delhi, Noida and Patna," Bhojpuri superstar and producer Manoj Tiwari said. The films have a large market because the Bhojpuri diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
is spread over countries like Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
, West Indies, Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Surinam and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. There is a significant wealthy Bihari doctor community in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. 70 per cent of the total production cost of a Bhojpuri film — budgets of which range from Rs 80 lakh to Rs 1.25 crore — is usually spent in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, providing direct employment to junior artists, make-up men, spot boys and local studios among others.
Improving Bihar
However, the state government, post 2005, has made an effort to improve the economic condition of the state, and reduce the need for migration. In 2008, the state government approved over Rs 70,000 crore worth of investment, has had record tax collection, broken the political-criminal nexus, made improvements in power supply to villages, towns and cities. They have laid greater emphasis on education and learning by appointing more teachers, and opening a software park. State Ministers who have failed to live up to election commitments have been dismissed. Bihar's GSDP grew by 18% over the period 2006-2007, which was higher than in the past 10 years and one of the highest recorded by the Government of India for that period.Other consequences
Since November 2005, there has been a significant fall in the number of migrant workers in many parts of India. After the early 2008 migrant crisis and bombing of the Bhojpuri cinema hall in Punjab, BihariBihari people
The Biharis are an ethnic group originating from the present state of Bihar with a history going back three millennia...
s have decided to firmly stay away from states of the North East and Punjab. However, other Biharis migrants have found that returning to Maharashtra is still an option for them despite the violent nature of the agitation. Culturally, Biharis appear to have rejected a film based heavily on Punjabi culture. In August 2008, a film called Singh is Kinng
Singh Is Kinng
Singh is Kinng is a 2008 Bollywood comedy film. The film is directed by Anees Bazmee and stars Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif, the film also featured a music video with Snoop Dogg. About 75% of the movie was shot in Australia, around the Gold Coast region and Brisbane using an Australian production...
starring Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar is an Indian film actor, producer and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was particularly known for his appearances in feature films commonly called the "Khiladi series",...
which was a superhit in India, flopped in Bihar. Bihar has been where Akshay Kumar's films, from Jaanwar to Hey Babyy, have acquired a blockbuster status. In this case, the heavy usage of Punjabi language, culture was said to be the main cause of the movie being rejected by Bihari audiences.
See also
- Marathi Regionalism
- 2008 attacks on North Indians in Maharashtra2008 attacks on North Indians in MaharashtraThe 2008 attacks on Uttar Pradeshi and Bihari migrants in Maharashtra began on 3 February 2008 after violent clashes between workers of two political parties—Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Samajwadi Party —at Dadar in Mumbai, capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra...
- Permanent SettlementPermanent SettlementThe Permanent Settlement — also known as the Permanent Settlement of Bengal — was an agreement between the East India Company and Bengali landlords to fix revenues to be raised from land, with far-reaching consequences for both agricultural methods and productivity in the entire Empire and the...