ABSTRACT
Bihar is a conscious state with a long history of struggles for social equality and inclusiveness. Since the time of Gautama Buddha, there has been a long journey in this region of challenging established social norms and traditions in favour of social equality and harmony. Even in the modern period, after Bihar became an independent state, many streams emerged that advocated for establishing socio-political equality. The first stream was influenced by Gandhiji and was in favour of building a broad social base for the national movement. This segment was vocal about issues such as untouchability and temple entry. It received ideological support from political social workers such as Rajendra Prasad, Jagjivan Ram, and Jaglal Chowdhary. The backward castes, on the other hand, had their own distinct stream that formed caste associations focused upon certain social reforms within their respective castes and attempted to uplift themselves in the social hierarchy through Sanskritisation. The caste conferences also focused on some real economic issues such as wage increases, forced work, etc. The 1930s saw the rise of socialist ideology advocating for social equality, championed by leaders such as Ram Manohar Lohia and Jaiprakash Narayan. The socialist ideology mobilised peasants from all castes and aided peasant movements led by Swami Sahjananda Saraswati, Yadunandan Sharma, and Karyanand Sharma. After independence, the Indian Constitution included various provisions related to social equality and empowerment. The significance of voting was emphasised by universal adult suffrage. The backward castes then started organising themselves politically, and demanding reservation under the guidance of leaders like R. L. Chandpuri. Ram Manohar Lohia’s slogan ‘Pichda pave sau me saath’ politically united the socialists, backward castes, farmers, and labourers, resulting in Congress’s defeat in 1967. The political dominance of the socially backward castes was established, and under Karpoori Thakur’s leadership, a strong ideology of social justice emerged, culminating in Mandal politics and the rise of Lalu Prasad in the 1990s. Furthermore, an important shift in the politics of social justice came with the rise of Nitish Kumar, who realised the importance of both social justice and economic development and presented the concept of ‘development with justice’, which is Bihar’s current direction, as well as the vision of creating a socially conscious and economically prosperous Bihar.
