‘And we call ourselves a democratic nuclear power’

Given the opportunity, I would be very glad to pay for the shoes needed by the doctor’s son.
Natesan C Ramachandran

I was shocked to read about government doctors not getting paid in Bihar. What is a government worth if it cannot pay its employees on time? The funds are there. It is just a matter of allotting them on time. Is it beyond the pale of a government’s authority to allot the available funds in a timely fashion? Or is it part of the endemic apathy of the Bihar government towards the common man and his needs?
John C Koikara

I studied in Dhanbad, in one of the best schools of the country. This missionary-run private school has produced some really bright students, but none of the really good ones are in Bihar any longer. I don’t know who is to blame for the mess Bihar is in, the politicians or the young people who have never cared to stay back and correct the system.
Arvind Yadav

It is a shame how our system works. The Bihar government has not only spoiled these people’s lives, but also that of their children, who cannot even go to school. I wonder if this is the way our democratic system works, whereby the ‘big’ people draw good salaries, and the poor scrounge for food.
Kamaljit Kaur

Until I read about Mr Sinha, who helps build roads, I used to think how a state like Bihar even survives. Now I understand there are still selfless people in the world.
Manish Gupta

It is high time the unpaid employees kick Rabri and Laloo Yadav out of Bihar. It is a disgrace that one has to see these wretched families, even as others starve and die. If a corrupt scoundrel like Laloo can still occupy a seat in the Rajya Sabha, it is a shame on India.
Ramesh Lahoti

Laloo and his cohorts reacted immediately to lampooning on a TV serial, terming it an insult to Bihar. How come they remain silent when people are bereft of basic facilities like education and food?Who is insulting the people of Bihar, the TV serial producer or the rulers of Bihar?
Pankaj

This can only happen in a banana republic, not in a nuclear power with ambitions to join the UN Security Council. The Bihar government has violated the human rights of thousands of unpaid workers. Why hasn’t the matter not been referred to the NHRC? This is a disaster of the same proportions as the Gujarat genocide, yet the Centre has ignored it completely.
Arvind Amin

Please do not succumb to the temptation of writing off Bihar to satisfy urban India’s demand for fast development at any cost. Please do consider the many inside and outside Bihar who have chosen to struggle and make Bihar a better place to live in.
Shishir K Jha

I hope the government will do something on the publication of these stories. If not, the people should take law into their own hands. After all, laws are meant to safeguard the interests of civilised Indians, not to protect corrupt politicians and bureaucrats.
M K Mishra

It is frustrating to see that while the judiciary has the time and wherewithal to stop a TV serial from being telecast, it is unable to resolve such important issues as non-payment of government wages.
Sanjeev Kumar

I always wondered about the three words ‘Journalism of Courage’, now I know why The Indian Express has such a slogan. This was the first time in 10 years that any national newspaper has dared to write about the supremo and his kingdom. I can only show my gratitude for your newspaper by asking my vendor to replace the leading newspaper I was receiving so long with The Indian Express.
Anugya

I am a Bihari living in the US. This series cuts through our sheath of immunity. It just might make people like me do something about it.
Adarsh

Is the Congress listening? Where are its social justice promises? Unfortunately, in India, one party supports another in one state and opposes it in another. if they can’t pay the due of their employees, they have no right to talk of social justice, nuclear power and things like that.Saccha Singh

I want to know what Sonia Gandhi, who claims that the Congress is the only party responsible for the development of the country in the past 50 years and for all the economic reforms, and who blames the Sangh and the present Government for the current state of affairs, has got to say about this.
K Sreenivas Chakravarthy