Regional Feelings In A Nation: Bihar

Regional feelings? Patna has a
fairly large Bengali population which competes fiercely for the few
jobs that are available. In fact, during the early British period,
they had a virtual monopoly on the government jobs. But have you ever
heard of a hate campaign against them? Marwaris control a large part
of the trade in the city. Punjabis are in large number. The second
holiest place of the Sikhs is at Patna: the birthplace of Guru Gobind
Singhji. South Indians are a thriving community here, numbering about
30,000. Anglo Indians are another thriving community at Patna and
nearby Danapur. Two seats in the Bihar assembly is reserved for the
Anglo Indian community. The author William Dalrymple has himself
written to me that his family has strong Bhagalpur connections. But
for a few minor incidents of Sikh owned shops looted in the aftermath
of Indira Gandhi’s murder (mind you, no murders of Sikhs at Patna at
that time), can you give a single incident of hate crime or campaign
based on ethnicity? The closest you will come to a riotous situation
in Patna is during the 1942 Quit India movement and the JP movement of
1970′s: both for a national cause.