Celebrated on 22nd
March to commemorate the State’s separation from Bengal on the day in 1912,
Bihar Divas is the one day of the year when over 103 million Biharis,
regardless of their individual beliefs, can come together in shared experience;
an experience that binds Biharis around the globe to this remarkable land and
its people.
In our busy daily
life schedules we are mainly focused in earning bread and butter for ourselves
and our family. We hardly think of anything else but occasions like Bihar Divas
springs us a chance to think about our root identity. The glorious history of
Bihar gives us a sense of pride and the recent developments in the state
enthuses us with the feeling of Being Bihari. Why shouldn’t we feel ourselves
lucky to be citizens of that place in the world that is the cradle of Hinduism,
the incubator of Sufism, the birthplace of Buddhism, Jainism and the tenth guru
of Sikhs? Time and again the state has proved the saying right that ‘what Bihar
does today the world adopts tomorrow’. Now a day when the whole country is
talking about corruption, Bihar became the first state to provide online
information about the property of government servants and to adopt Right to
Service Act; according to that every work should be finished in a fixed time
schedule. Balika Cycle Yojna and reservation of fifty percent seats to women in
panchayat increased participation of women in the process of development. Many
more things are there of which we can be proud of.
When the present
government got the mandate to reform the state which had been continuously lagging
behind, it also thought about its migrated citizens. To remain in touch with
them and to address their problems in a suitable way, the government decided to
form Bihar Foundation on 24th Nov. 2006. Later on, it was registered
as a society under Dept. of Industry, Govt. of Bihar on 27th July
2007. There had been so many organisations working in the name of Bihar and
established by the migrated people of Bihar throughout the globe but Bihar
Foundation provided them an opportunity to come under one umbrella and work
conjointly for the welfare of Bihari diaspora and for development of the state
of Bihar.
With the
objectives of Bonding, Branding and Business, Bihar Foundation endeavours to
unite Biharis worldwide. The chapters of the Bihar Foundation are basically the
extended arms of the foundation which embraces the migrated Biharis. The
chapters functioning around the globe organises some events from time to time which
provides a platform for Biharis to know each other at a place away from their
home and to trace the oneness which they carry with themselves. Whether it is
the cultural commonality, linguistic loyalty or geographical gusto, all comes
with the essence of Biharism. Celebration of Bihar Divas is the best possible
way to render the voice of Being Bihari. It not only unites the Biharis
globally but at the same time fosters the feelings to do something for the
motherland.
It has been
observed that the day is celebrated all over the world by the NRBs with the
same pomp and gaiety as it takes place in Bihar. The folk dances, music, quiz,
various competitions, arts and craft exhibition, Bhojpuri film festival,
seminar are the main activities which take place this day. Bihari cuisines are
also served to remind the delicacies which we eat from generations and hardly
find at our workplace. This day the foundation also recognizes the work done by
the passionate sons of Bihar. For last three years, it has been celebrated in
five cities of India namely at Mumbai, Chennai, Bangluru, Kolkata and Delhi and
at eight places abroad namely at California, New Jersey, USA, Canada,
Australia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arab.
There are many
Bihar based organisations who are not associated with the foundation have also
desired to celebrate Bihar Divas at their respective places. The people of Bihar,
who migrated in the second wave of migration and formed countries like Fiji,
Surinam, Mauritius, and Trinidad and Tobago, now also want to trace their roots
in Bihar. It's because of the fact that Bihar Divas celebration has acted as a
platform to inform the diaspora and other people about recent developments in
the state and its glorious history and heritage. It also provides an opportunity
to connect the diaspora with their motherland and their ethnic brethren. Few
years before most of the diaspora people used to hide their identity. Now, it
has been observed that most of them express themselves as being Bihari and Bihar
Divas celebration has definitely played vital role in rendering their voice.
The occasion gives a feeling of pride, self respect and has given root identity
to the diaspora which was lost earlier. Technology has also played significant
role in spreading the message of Bihar Divas. USA Chapter of the foundation
arranged for the Live Webcast of Bihar Divas celebration of the Gandhi Maidan,
Patna in 2010. This increased the audience base. Social media platforms like
facebook and twitter also added glory to this celebration.
Although
the history of Bihar can be traced back to the history of civilization,
nevertheless Modern Bihar has completed hundred years of its formation last
year. It’s again a time of leadership and hope, as a developing Bihar seeks to
become a player of significance. On 6th March 2013, even the Prime
Minister of India praised Bihar for its growth and development in his tweet. The
time has come for a strong and sustained engagement between Bihar and its
children and Bihar Divas has definitely played significant role in uniting
Biharis worldwide.
thease events are boosting new generation of Bihar
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