Loyalties live long in Bihar

A journey to a village of 'rat-eaters' in Danapur showcases the impregnability of the RJD, explains Pallavi.

A tonga ride to Dariyapur Shivala from Danapur station roughly takes an hour. The travellers riding pillion sit precariously in their places as the horse starts pulling the cart through dangerously deep potholes.

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The journey to the village's segregated musahar toli (rat-eaters' colony) puts the cart to acid test and to its riders as well. The musahers are the neglected "untouchables" in common parlance. Grappling with the struggle for survival, men of this largely unemployed community work in fields or as construction labourers. And women cook, if their men earn enough.

However, this existentialist struggle apart, the musahers of Dariyapur Shivala have a solace: They have a house, and a concrete one at that. Here, Indira Awas Yojna is an alien term; for them, their houses are results of their "messiah" Lalu Prasad's benevolence.

Says an elated Kalavati: "Lalu ji built pucca homes for us. Today, even if we go hungry to bed, we have a roof to sleep under." Kalavati, though illiterate, is the elected ward commissioner of Dariyapur Shivala, and takes pride in her "rare" meetings with local MLA (Ramanand Yadav). Her husband, Rajkumar, swells with pride while recounting Yadav's phone call to him, "requesting" for votes.

"Only last night, Yadav jee called me up, put his hands across my shoulders and moved with me through the entire village," says Rajkumar, impressed with the MLA's "honour" doled out to him.

But Mangni, his neighbour, has a problem: Despite being under "garibi rekha" (poverty line), musahers don't have a ration card. With meagre earnings, they eat too expensive, too little.

But does their messiah know? Yes, they say, but don't hold the RJD chief responsible for their plight. The local ration shop-owner is the evil-doer for them, they believe. "We have seen foodgrain sacks being loaded at the local ration shop but they never reach us. Is Laluji to be blamed for this?" Rajkumar asks.

So, where do they go to air their grievances? The musahers say that their complaints fall on the deaf ears of powers that be. "MLA saaheb wants us to demand the grains from the ration seller directly but it's like asserting in a void because he comes with various excuses for the non-availability of food grains," he gripes.

But does that translate into anti-incumbency vote? If this not-too-politically-aware community is to be believed, the pucca houses built for them has meant mussahers turning into a "pucca votebank" for the RJD. Kalavati sets the right chord when she says: "Jiska khaib uska bajaib (We will sing peans to him who has given us roof)."

Truly, as they say, loyalties live longer than generations in Bihar.