Yes, I Am Bihari (Paperback - 2016)

The book portrays the saga of gory incidents which shook Mumbai in the wake of the students from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh having gone there to take the railway examination, were severely assaulted by the local goons, and sent back home without taking the railway examination. The book encapsulates a sincere longing for discovering an identity which must define the people of a particular state.

Ironically, the book explores through the adventurous journey of Prabhash Chandra that such an identity significantly remains non-existent. ‘Yes, I am Bihari’ identity is a sacred discovery and intrinsic realisation of the central character of this novel, Prabhash Chandra throughout his roller coaster journey to Mumbai from Darbhanga district in Bihar. The book incisively explores the concepts of ‘Marathi Asmita’, ‘Marathi Manoos’ and ‘Bihari Asmita’ in the light of the contemporary turbulent times where regional chauvinistic identity assumes the subterfuge for glorifying the Indian nationalism. ‘Yes, I am Bihari’ is a clarion call of Prabhash Chandra to his fellow brethren from Bihar to rise above the curse of caste syndrome and embrace the solirary identity of being ‘Biharis’ which alone is the magical mantra for transforming Bihar and making it a role model for the other states of the country as reflected in the Chief Minister’s speech: “As Netajee Subhas Chandra Bose had said: ‘Give me your blood, I will give you freedom’; I say with authority, give me your unstinted support, I will give you a transformed Bihar—a Bihar that will be a model for the other states and the model for the country and each ‘Bihari’ will be the role model for any Indian from outside our state.”

Author of Yes, I can Achieve, and Delhi Beckons: RaGa for NaMo, Vivekanand Jha is a well-known political thinker and a motivational speaker. He is a prolific writer, who has contributed hundreds of articles on national politics. Delhi Beckons: RaGa for NaMo, a book on Indian nationalism, was launched by Shri Narendra Modi in vibrant Gujarat education summit. In addition to his writing political columns, he continues to write his own blogs on politics which is accessed by the people from across the world. Apart from being a versatile writer, Vivekanand Jha has been mesmerizing his audience through his customised motivational programs across the country. Jha staunchly believes that this book will enable Biharis to rise above their narrow caste syndrome and embrace the larger identity of being Biharis and repeat the mantra which Prabhash Chandra had discovered with fullest pride: ‘Yes, I am Bihari and am proud of it’.