13
Sep
Bihar is a paradox. It is the land that gave the world Buddhism and Jainism, the Mauryan Empire under Ashoka, and Nalanda — a university that drew scholars from across Asia. It is the land of Aryabhatta’s astronomical genius, of the world’s first republic in Vaishali, of the Jayaprakash Narayan movement that shook Delhi in the 1970s. And yet, for all its cultural and intellectual riches, Bihar today stands as one of India’s poorest states. The gap between its glorious past and its present condition is wide, and widening further in the eyes of its citizens. The Weight of History…