20 years - did we learn

20 years ago I passed I. Sc from Langat Singh College. I had a goal to become a doctor, a neurosurgeon. If some one would have seen me after May 1989, he would have felt easily that I am infected with the political bug. I was raeding, but I knew that it was not adequate. an year before, Mr. Karpoori Thakur had died and Mr. Laloo Prasad was the leader of opposition in the assembly. 1989 August - September some time, opposition leaders inside muzaffarpur zail were beaten and there was a meeting in tilak maidan. Laloo Prasda was one of the members of the gamot on the dais. even then he was passing vulgar comments about the collector (dont know if it was she). after parliament elections, future of congress government in bihar was clear. It was January 1990, my father not happy with my preparation, 'instructed' me to go to patna and get coaching for my pre medical test. at patna i had my childhood friend, an active member of a dalit organisation. he helped me alot, in exchange i had to listen to his stories of dalit oppression and response by some people . . . sometime his abusings also . . . . my friendship continued.
1990 assembly elections and laloo jee became the cm. through kamandal and mandal he became stronger. but i remained in patna . . . infected. 1991, january, poisioned air, i was going back from my teacher's house, saw people in line for human chain for communal harmony . . . i too joined. suddenly laloo prasad came . . "line mat torana, line mat torana" . . . then i remembered, it was ramna road ( one of the muslim dominated areas- across patna university, sushil modi was ruffled there) where i was standing. got pics. laloo prasad kept going. . . . rajeev gandhi died and i came home in my village. i got admission at bhu for bsc course. as the train crossed ganga after mugalsarai, i told my friend (not the above mentioned one) that the way laloo is going, it will take 20 years to get rid of him. my friend replied, if so, it will be all lost. i agreed but reafirmed - we have no option. but will he do anything for bihar? even if he does not do anything . . . . by the other end of ganga, we promised to each other, no more political discussion.
with number of massacres, many died, many became weak . . . .but one man, laloo prasad became stronger. he was doing no good for any one. one memorable thing, charwaha vidyalaya. which could not run . . . tany- tany- fiss! but laloo kept going. slowly people understood . . . i passed my mbbs, got married. . . preparing for my pg . . i was staying at choudhury tola. it was election time, i had come out to call my wife from a std booth. laloo prasad came in his popular bus "hamen mallom hai ki yahan jyada bolane ki jaroorat nahin hai . . .ye vote ka raj hai, laloo ka raj hai, mane kee 'chhot ka raj hai, akaliyat ka raj hai" . . . laloo prasda kept going . . . .i thought of filing a proprietery case against him. this word "chhot", "chhotaka jaat", was my uncle's word, how can he copy that? but i had to prepare for my pg. came to chennai. my brother got in to law studies. i kept saying him to come to chennai but he did not.
next elections and laloo wiped out . . . .survived due to sonia jee. ultimately people gave clear verdict. people keep worrying about activities of nitish kumar . . . worrying about revival of laloo . . .my brother has joined patna high court. . . . what will happen to laloo?
last month one of my caste man, a student of Isc, hit on the vertex of a dusadh lady . . . village panchayat fined him with 25, 000. he (his father) refused to pay. with lot of difficulty dusadha was helped by some people (same people who used to help them before lallo came in to being) and he filed case in a district court. my brother filed a case in high court for arrest of the offender. free of cost. (- with us it haooens unconsciously - our tradition. our family's tradition. my father had appeared for 10th exam of his friend who failed due to english for 8 times (those days - before karpoori - english was compulsary), got caught and fought the court case for 12 years to get acquited). my brother pleaded that in addition to this being an attempt to murder, because these people are poor, they are being troubled. judge asked then how are you here? they must have spent few thousands . . i am doing social service. judge laughed. "such people vanish at district level". case was thrown to dustbin. my brother is a fool. "moorkh". He had apealed to human rights commision, they are yet to turn. did we learn anything over last 20 years? and I forgot to say, i am a bhumihar. my father's title is 'thakur' but he did not put the same for we both brothers. and i am seriously thinking to make it "moorkh" at least occaisionaly.
Dr. Manish Kumar 'moorkh'