Sitting MPs with pending criminal cases

A list of Bihar MPs from 2004 who have pending criminal cases against them can be got at

http://sites.google.com/site/progressivebihar/2004-bihar-mps-with-criminal-cases

Make a wise choice.

Courtsey: http://elections.mapmyindia.com/analysis.php?q=canSummary&analysis=true&year=2004&state=Bihar&showme=CAN&party=All&orderby=Party&filter=tainted&from=mmi

Elections 2009 - Please vote

Friends,
It is the time when we are given an opportunity to choose what should happen in Bihar. It is the time when we choose where we want progress and development in Bihar or whether we want a decline and further degeneration of Bihar.

Not many of us like to read or hear something like these

1. Most Indians looked at Bihar in the way that the world now sees Pakistan— a failed state, where nothing ever works and anything can go wrong.
2. A FEW years ago a senior advocate during a Supreme Court hearing, casually remarked that a particular government should not suffer from the `Bihar Syndrome'
3. Right or wrong, in the public eye Bihar has come to symbolise a land of "no opportunity" or one of "unequal opportunity", a `failed State' where poverty and extreme inequality abound.
4. The disintegration of the Bihar units of the national political parties into caste-based caucuses has turned Bihar into a failed state.

We have an opportunity: An opportunity to choose growth over decline, an opportunity to choose progress over degeneration, An opportunity to choose prosperity for the state and it's people.

All the people who are in Bihar, please make use of this opportunity. Please use this opportunity to vote for properity and happiness.

Most people on these groups are educated and know what is good for the state. But there are many people in Bihar who are not. Many people in India need a guidance. Let's all become a guidance.

Let us all call atleast some people (5-10 or even more) we know and ask them to vote. Let us educate these people to vote for growth and prosperity.

Please use this opportunity to educate people to rise above caste systems to choose the good of Bihar and the good for people of Bihar. Please educate them to vote for the candidate who has the most potential for developing the region and the state. Choose politicians who have atleast some record of helping the growth in the state. Please educate the people not to vote for candidates who have been MPs for 1 term, 2 term or 10 term if they have not brought progress to the state.

Caste Politics is killing us: The more people you can get to rise above caste politics and not vote for a candidate only because he is of their caste, the more chances are that progress will be made by Bihar.

I am calling up my cousins and relations to caste their vote and choose progress and prosperity in Bihar. Are you also doing it? If not, please do so. Remember we will not get another similar opportunity for another few years and if Bihar doesnt grow we will be responsible to a considerable extent.

Hence everyone, do caste your vote and do urge others also to do so.

72% voters in Bihar think Nitish Kumar is the best Chief Minister

In India Today's recently carried out national opinion poll "Mood of the Nation" , Bihar's Chief Minister Mr. Nitish Kumar, was ranked as the 3rd most popular Chief Minister. He was ranked at the 3rd place only after Narendra Modi and Shiela Dixit.

72% of the voters in Bihar thought Nitish was the best Chief Minister and 54% voters from Jharkhand thought the same.

This is a significant aspect as not people of Bihar and Jharkhand think that Nitish is a very good Chief Minister but the nation also thinks so.

This poll was conducted by India Today along with AC Nielson-ORG-MARG and the article was published on the 10th of April 2009 in India Today.

The last 3 years rankings of the Chief Minister's are as follows

Where they stood, where they stand
Chief Ministers	2009	2008	2007
Narendra Modi, Gujarat	1	1	1
Sheila Dikshit, Delhi	2	5	5
Nitish Kumar, Bihar	3	4	1
Mayawati, Uttar Pradesh	4	2
YSR Reddy, Andhra Pradesh	5	3
M. Karunanidhi, Tamil Nadu	6	6
Ashok Chavan, Maharashtra	7	New entry
Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, West Bengal	8	8
V.S.Achuthanandan, Kerala	9	16
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Madhya Pradesh	10	17
Naveen Patnaik, Orissa	11	11
Ashok Gehlot, Rajasthan	12	New entry
Raman Singh, Chhattisgarh	13	10
Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Haryana	14	14
Parkash Singh Badal, Punjab	15	12
Tarun Kumar Gogoi, Assam	16	13
Digambar Kamat, Goa	17	New entry
Maj.Gen (Retd) B.C.Khanduri	18	18

The article had some good things to say about Nitish Kumar. To quote from the article "Until a couple of years ago, most Indians looked at Bihar in the way that the world now sees Pakistan— a failed state, where nothing ever works and anything can go wrong.

Governance was a sham, the law and order situation was in a shambles and the state Assembly did not even pass a budget for five years and instead opted for the vote on account.

And then Nitish Kumar came along. He laid particular emphasis on the health and education sectors, ensured that the allocations for roads were fully utilised to connect the state and cracked the whip on law offenders, not even hesitating to send his own partymen to jail for violations.

Kumar does not have a pan-Indian image like Modi but 72 per cent voters in Bihar and 54 per cent in Jharkhand thought he was the best chief minister, his support base cutting across the urban-rural divide and age groups. With 10 per cent of the national vote, just one percentage point behind Dikshit, he occupies third place."

I would like to thank Mr. Indra Verma for highlighting this article and pointing out that Bihar is perhaps the only state in India where the issue is development. People can follow this article at Leaders and Laggards by Ashok K. Damodaran from India Today.

Tourist locations in Bihar

While looking at the list of tourist attractions in Bihar, I am always a little intrigued by the handful number of tourism locations in Bihar. Having been the seat of knowledge and the capital (Patliputra), I would assume that there are many more small, not so very famous places, which can become a tourism site in Bihar. I would like to compile a bigger list of places of tourism which can capture more of these places. So if not for others, atleast me and the other people who visit this blog or are part of the email groups, will know of additional places we can visit or talk about to our friends in coffee table discussions.

Based on whatever I have read, and the places I have visited I know of the following places.

1. Nalanda University


2. Mahabodhi Temple


3. Sher Shah Mausoleum


4. Barabar Caves


5. Kesariya Stupa


6. Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public


7. Maluti


8. Golghar


9. Tutla


10. Babadham


11. Deoghar


12. Pawapuri


13. Rajgir

I am talking of locations in both Bihar and Jharkhand because for me these places were always together and even today the map of Bihar that comes to my mind is the old unified map.

I have not found pictures of Tutla even though I have written to the Tourism department of Bihar and specific secretariat of Sasaram district. Maybe they also don't have it as its relatively a un-inhabited natural tourist destination recently found.

So I would like to compile a list of interesting places that can become a tourist destination and look forward to all your inputs on the same. And if you have any photos for the places you would like to suggest, then it would be wonderful.

Languages - One year certification course - Step in the right direction

The Magadh University is introducing a one year certificate course in various languages in the morning shift particularly to cater the people in the army, banks, hotels and private sector jobs. The languages that are likely to be taught are Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, German and Spanish. I think with this most major languages used in developed and emerging economies are covered.

This is a great step being taken up by the University as it will have a multifold advantage:

1. Enhanced tourism: Tourists will feel more comfortable coming to Bihar as they would know that they can communicate in their own language. Infact someone with an entrepreneurial mind can start a tourism venture (A Packaged Tour company) offering packaged tour services for citizens of a particular country, lets say Japan. The Japanese known for their penchant for international vacations every year, do not particularly visit India so often. However this packaged tour company can tie up with a Japanese travel company to attract tourists to Bihar. So besides having such great tourism spots like the ones mentioned below to show the tourists, the tourism company can cater to these tourists in a language they speak by getting people trained in the Magadh University

Nalanda University, Pawapuri, Tutla Dam (grand canyon of India being developed by the tourism department), Mahabodhi Temple and all Budh temples , Sher Shah Mausoleum
Barabar Caves , Kesariya Stupa (this is an amazing recent discovery and tourism can be greatly enhanced by marketing this well), Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public , Maluti, etc (And I might not be aware of many other possible tourism sites).

2. Hotel industry: The hotel industry will have an advantage in catering to the visiting tourists.

3. Private industries: In this era of globalization more and more people will be involved in international trade and may work in countries outside of India. Thus knowing one of these additional languages can be a great boom for the people. Infact students can pursue these languages alongwith their regular studies.

Thus I think this is a step in the right direction. People should take advantage of it and strengthen their foundation and the foundation of Bihar.

More details can be found in the Times of India article MU academy offers courses in foreign languages