Is Raj Thackeray Correct: All Crimes of Rape and Murder are done by Biharis?

Raj Thackeray is a maverick politician who is prone to making sensational and provocative statements. For this many FIR’s have been filed against him. Not for a moment will I support Raj Thackeray, but having said that it is important we analyse the crimes of rape and women in India. There is no doubt that the socio- economic situation in Bihar is bad. The caste divide is extreme, so much so that people will be surprised to know that in Patna even the Police billets are segregated on caste lines.

The second point that must be emphasised is that Bihar is a feudal state where the women have been subjugated and made second class citizens. Add to this the caste equation and you have a deadly concoction of the worst case of socio economic scenario one can think off. Bihar is almost a lawless state, despite all efforts of Nits Kumar the state remains steeped in obscurantism and backwardness. Industrial production is nonexistent and jobs are difficult to come by. With the loss of the mineral rich areas to Jharkhand, Bihar has almost empty coffers.

Thus the pressure to migrate to other states is extreme and many Biharis migrate to Delhi, Calcutta and Bombay for a livelihood. When this crowd leaves Bihar they mostly leave their families behind and work single in the metropolis. Conditioned by a feudal background these Bihar men are easily susceptible to crime. There is no doubt that a large number of crimes of rape and other sex related matters can be traced to people from Bihar. Unable to visualize a freedom of girls in dress and demeanor, that they have not seen in Bihar these Bihari workers are easily swayed and base thoughts come to them resulting in crimes of rape.

Unfortunately this also applies to Eastern Utter Pradesh which is also the sister state of Bihar in terms of obscurantism and backwardness. Perhaps the only solution is to not only enact stringent laws, but also improve the socio- economic scenario in Bihar and UP. Incidentally it is not only Raj who has articulated these thoughts but the Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit has also earlier gone on record with the same observations. The fact is the Bihar and UP constitutes 40% of India’s population and curbing this menace of rape and crime by men of this state is no easy task