Bihar election: Gaya’s Musahars, who await life of dignity, hold key to 3 seats
Ground report: The Musahars, Bihar’s poorest caste, still lack toilets and tap water; though they are upset with HAM, they say NDA schemes have brought relief
Way back in 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured India that 100 per cent of the country had got toilet coverage. But it seems he and the BJP-led NDA’s “double-engine government” in Bihar forgot to count the poorest of the poor, the lowest in the caste-entrenched Bihar—the Musahars (“rat-eaters”)—even though one of their own, Jitan Ram Manjhi, is a minister in the NDA government at the Centre.
The name itself signifies the status of these people who are counted among the “Mahadalits” — the lowest among the Dalits — a people that once survived by eating rats (‘musa’ meaning rats; ‘aahar’ meaning food). These Musahars, who constitute about 3.08 per cent of the population in Bihar, have a sizable population in Gaya district.
Life without dignity
A dingy pathway from the highway leads to Tureekala, a village of 150 Musahar households. None of these has either a toilet or tap water. They have no choice but to defecate in the open. The villagers say that with their meagre earnings, they cannot afford to build even soak pits in their homes.
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“We live a hand-to-mouth existence. A toilet is a big thing for us,” Rajendra Manjhi, who works as a construction labourer, told The Federal.
It is no different at Bayabigha or Parsawan villages. These villages, with a sizeable number of Musahars tolees (households), the conditions remain the same. In most villages, they continue to live in mud houses with thatched roofs. But in some areas, their shanties have been getting replaced with concrete cabins with zero idea of ventilation.
The interiors of their modest dwellings are even worse — squalid, suffocating, and unhygienic — giving the impression of a den rather than a home. They may not have to survive on rats now but two square meals a day is a luxury.
Musahars, who constitute about 3.08 per cent of the population in Bihar, have a sizable population in Gaya district
Angry with HAM, happy with NDA
Jitan Ram, an old guard in state politics who rose in the ranks to become its chief minister for a brief period (2014–2015), became the Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises last year. Majhi, considered the leader of the Musahars, has not been able to change their fate though.
Jitan Ram’s party, the Hindustan Awami Morcha (HAM), is contesting three seats in Gaya district, including Imamganj, Tekari, and Barachatti. In the villages under Barachatti constituency, there seems to be some resentment against HAM, with the people seemingly dejected with their MLA, Jitan Ram’s daughter-in-law Jyoti Manjhi.
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Voices of dissent can be heard from the nearby Imamganj seat as well, where HAM’s Deepa Manjhi is contesting. However, that should not bother Jitan Ram. Being a part of NDA may prevent his party’s downfall because people seem happy with Modi and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar over the monetary schemes launched by the NDA government.
Particularly, the recent Mukhyamantri Mahila Rozgar Yojana, under which women members of self-help groups (SHGs) known as “Jeevika Didis” received Rs10,000 in their accounts, seem to have assuaged frayed tempers just ahead of the elections.
Plate of food, additional income
At Parsawan village, Rubi Devi has opened a “chhotamota dukaan” (small shop) with the amount she got under the scheme. Her husband Kamlesh, who works as a painter, is content that an additional income is coming home.
In the same village, Jagdish Manjhi’s dream of eating a full plate of rice every day has been fulfilled by the Nitish Kumar government’s announcement of old-age pension. The Federal found the 80-year-old Jagdish outside his modest dwelling at Parsawan village, eating rice with vegetable curry. He considers himself fortunate enough to live to see this day.
Both Jagdish and his wife now get Rs 1,100 a month under the pension scheme, a sum he says suffices for his needs.
Gareeban Choudhary, who is from the Pasi caste, has a modest meal outside his dwelling in Nawan village
Contest for Dalit votes
In Gaya, the Musahar population is followed by the Yadavs (OBC), economically backward classes (EBCs), upper castes, Muslims, and also a section of other OBCs including Kurmis/Koeris, and Banyas. But the target of every alliance is the Dalit votes in Gaya.
Even within the NDA camps, a tussle is on between Jitan Ram and LJP(RV)’s Chirag Paswan to emerge as the top Dalit face. Interestingly, the disgruntled HAM leaders who did not get tickets from the party are not contesting against their party faces in Imamganj and Barachatti, both of which have a sizable Musahar population. Instead, they are contesting against the LJP(RV) in Bodh Gaya constituency, apparently on the directions of Jitan Ram.
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“They are being projected as rebels, which they are not. They are working under a plan,” revealed a source within the NDA. However, Bodh Gaya also has a sizeable Musahar population, second only to the Yadavs, a traditional vote bank of Lalu Prasad’s RJD.
Grand Alliance upbeat
Therefore, the feeling of disgruntlement among a chunk of Musahars in Imamganj and Barachatti has set the stage for an interesting contest. The Opposition Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) has fielded RJD leaders Ritu Priya Chaudhary from Imamganj and Tanushree Manjhi from Barachatti. The Opposition believes they stand a good chance in both constituencies with their sizable chunk of Yadavs and Musahars.
The Musahar settlements are a picture of squalor and poverty
The Opposition is also trying to rope in the EBC votes, including the Pasi caste, which has had its own reasons to be miffed with Nitish. The caste is involved in making toddy, an alcoholic drink made from palm sap. Following the Nitish government’s ban on alcohol, several people from the community have faced arrest and harassment.
At Nawan village, Gareeban Choudhary, told The Federal he has faced the “worst of times” under the current government. “I have been jailed for earning my livelihood. It was only after that I paid Rs 2 lakh as bribe that I was allowed to go. Paying such a huge amount has devastated me,” said Choudhary who is from the Pasi caste.
