Is re-mandated Bihar leader Nitish Kumar aware of the plight of this crowd that thronged one of his meetings during the 2010 assembly polls? He did not dine with anyone seen in this image; he did not even spend a night at anyone’s muddy house. Still a majority of those seen here would have voted him and voted him to power once again.

Most seen in the image above are women, children and elders — the group Nitish has to take into account as he re-takes the chief ministership. Women, who are believed to have voted en masse; Children, who are Bihar’s future; and Elders, who want to see their state prospering in their lifetime, need the utmost attention of the new government.

No doubt Nitish’s thumping win is a refreshing change for this most populous state which until now was described as India’s most lawless by the foreign media.

Now even the expat journos and foreign correspondents are super excited over ‘the messiah resurrecting the once-maligned state’.

They are writing about Bihar’s turnaround and the wave of reforms and change that took place during Nitish’s 2005-2010 rule.

It would not be out of place to mention that Nitish had vowed ‘to turn Bihar into a Developed State by 2015’. For this to be fulfilled, merely promising an investor-industry-friendly environment won’t do much. The actual prosperity can come only if the Bihari women feel the power, Bihari children get the education and the Bihari elders are made witness to the changes as promised. Only then Biharis can march towards progress and claim their lost self-esteem and take the giant leap forward towards real development.

Seriously speaking, I am yet to be convinced that Nitish has done so much as has been advertised. In Bihar, potable water is scarce – water pipes are rusted and pass through choked drains; vocational education is neglected – children are still going out to pursue courses; health remains a non-starter – check it out on the lawns of New Delhi’s AIIMS; industry is hard to locate – there has been no investment; jobs are not available – Biharis are venturing out even to earn Rs.2000 a month; and THE POOR are helpless – PDS has vanished. Moreover government officials do not inspire confidence.

Besides these, Nitish has to create a vibrant and dynamic state which shall make the Biharis all proud. He has to create a Bihar where being called a Bihari will be a matter of pride. He has to ensure that being a Bihari henceforth will be a matter of maan (pride) and not apmaan (shame). He should not forget that he has given the Biharis a lot of hope, which is their only rope. Let every Bihari climb the rope and build a new Bihar.

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List of Chief Ministers of Bihar

#	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Political Party
1	Sri Krishna Sinha [3]	2 April 1946	31 January 1961	Indian National Congress
2	Deep Narayan Singh	1 February 1961	18 February 1961	Indian National Congress
3	Binodanand Jha	18 February 1961	2 October 1963	Indian National Congress
4	Krishana Ballabh Sahay	2 October 1963	5 March 1967	Indian National Congress
5	Mahamaya Prasad Sinha	5 March 1967	28 January 1968	Jana Kranti Dal1
6	Satish Prasad Singh	28 January 1968	1 February 1968	Indian National Congress
7	B. P. Mandal	1 February 1968	2 March 1968	Indian National Congress
8	Bhola Paswan Shashtri	22 March 1968	29 June 1968	Indian National Congress (O)
	President’s rule	29 June 1968	26 February 1969
9	Harihar Singh	26 February 1969	22 June 1969	Indian National Congress
10	Bhola Paswan Shashtri [2]	22 June 1969	4 July 1969	Indian National Congress (O)
	President’s rule	6 July 1969	16 February 1970
11	Daroga Prasad Rai	16 February. 1970	22 December 1970	Indian National Congress
12	Karpuri Thakur	22 December 1970	2 June 1971	Socialist Party
13	Bhola Paswan Shashtri [3]	2 June 1971	9 January 1972	Indian National Congress
	President’s rule	9 January 1972	19 March 1972
14	Kedar Pandey	19 March 1972	2 July 1973	Indian National Congress
15	Abdul Gafoor	2 July 1973	11 April 1975	Indian National Congress
16	Dr.Jagannath Mishra	11 April 1975	30 April 1977	Indian National Congress
	President’s rule	30 April 1977	24 June 1977
17	Karpuri Thakur	24 June 1977	21 April 1979	Janata Party
18	Ram Sunder Das	21 April 1979	17 February 1980	Janata Party
	President’s rule	17 February 1980	8 June 1980
19	Dr.Jagannath Mishra [2]	8 June 1980	14 August 1983	Indian National Congress (I)
20	Chandrashekhar Singh	14 August 1983	12 March 1985	Indian National Congress (I)
21	Bindeshwari Dubey	12 March 1985	13 February 1988	Indian National Congress (I)
22	Bhagwat Jha Azad	14 February 1988	10 March 1989	Indian National Congress (I)
23	Satyendra Narayan Singh	11 March 1989	6 December 1989	Indian National Congress (I)
24	Dr.Jagannath Mishra	6 December 1989	10 March 1990	Indian National Congress (I)
25	Laloo Prasad Yadav	10 March 1990	3 March 1995	Janata Dal
26	Laloo Prasad Yadav [2]	4 April 1995	25 July 1997	Janata Dal, Rashtriya Janata Dal
27	Rabri Devi	25 July 1997	11 February 1999	Rashtriya Janata Dal
28	Rabri Devi [2]	9 March 1999	2 March 2000	Rashtriya Janata Dal
29	Nitish Kumar	3 March 2000	10 March 2000	Janata Dal (United)
30	Rabri Devi [3]	11 March 2000	6 March 2005	Rashtriya Janata Dal
	President’s rule	7 March 2005	24 November 2005
31	Nitish Kumar [2]	24 November 2005	Present	Janata Dal (United)

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Bihar State Profile

Physical Features
	Latitude		24°-20′-10″ ~ 27°-31′-15″ N
	Longitude		82°-19′-50″ ~ 88°-17′-40″ E
	Rural Area		92,257.51 sq. kms
	Urban Area		1,095.49 sq. kms
	Total Area		94,163.00 sq. kms
	Height above Sea-Level		173 Feet
	Normal Rainfall		1,205 mm
	Avg. Number of Rainy Days		52.5 Days in a Year
Administrative Units
	Divisions		9
	Districts		38
	Sub-Divisions		101
	CD Blocks		534
	Panchayats		8,471
	Number of Revenue Villages		45,103
	Number of Urban Agglomerations		9
	Number of Towns		130
	– Statutory Towns		125
	– Non-Statutory Towns		5
	Police Stations		853
	– Civil Police Stations		813
	– Railway Police Stations		40
	Police Districts		43
	– Civil Police District		39
	– Railway Police District		4
Key Statistics – as per 2001 Census (Provisional)
	Population		8,28,78,796
	– Male		4,31,53,964
	– Female		3,97,24,832
	Population (0~6 Years Group)
	– In Absolute Numbers		1,62,34,539
			83,75,532
			78,59,007
	– Percentage of Total Population		19.59%
			19.41%
			19.78%
	Literacy
	– In Absolute Numbers		3,16,75,607
			2,09,78,955
			1,06,96,652
	– Percentage of Total Population		47.53%
			60.32%
			33.57%
	Decadal Population Growth (1991-2001)		130
	– Absolute		1,83,48,242
	– As Percentage		28.43%
	Highest Decadal Growth at		Sheohar District (36.16%)
	Lowest Decadal Growth at		Nalanda District (18.64%)
	– Civil Police Stations		813
	– Railway Police Stations		40
	Density of Population		880 per sq kms
	– Highest Density		Patna, 1471 per sq kms
	– Lowest Density		Kaimur, 382 per sq kms
	Sex Ratio (Females/Thousand Males)		921
	– Highest Ratio		(Siwan) 1,033
	– Lowest Ratio		(Patna) 873
	Highest Literacy Rate		Patna, 63.82%
	Lowest Literacy Rate		Kishanganj, 31.02%
	Average Population of a District		22,39,967