Jail houses rock

On Wednesday, the Patna High Court had the right idea. To source the anarchy that blows through Bihar, it sought a peep into the prisons where powerful dons and petty criminals have been housed, presumably to keep them well isolated from pursuing any mischief. That impromptu raids ordered in Bihar8217;s 55 jails would turn up mobile phones and other prohibited material was perhaps expected. It is instead the modality of the entire exercise that has confirmed the dire situation prevailing in the state. Bihar8217;s military police was entrusted with the exercise, with the media being asked not to broadcast news of raids so that the criminals and the district police would not be alerted. It is shocking, of course, that it took judicial intervention to dispossess Pappu Yadav, RJD MP from Madhepura, of his mobile phone, so that he can less easily coordinate his nefarious activities. We would, however, drain the raids of optimum value if the focus remained solely on containing Bihar8217;s dons.

Behind their clout lies a widespread, and completely unlawful, harnessing of the instruments of state power. Behind their clout 8212; behind this criminalisation of politics 8212; lies the crimininalisation of the law enforcement machinery. When cops collude to convert prisons, symbols of punitive captivity, into safe havens for politically powerful detainees, other pieces of Bihar8217;s dismal jigsaw fall into place. Like the fact that seven years after the massacre of 59 Dalits, at the hands of the Ranvir Sena, in Laxmanpur-Bathe, charges have still not been framed against the accused. Like the fact that to declare a boom in the healthcare sector, you do have to scan through income tax returns of doctors. Their economic well-being can be ascertained from the fact that in Bihar8217;s economy of extortion, they are current favourites with kidnappers.

In Laloo Prasad Yadav8217;s Bihar, the pretence of social justice is in tatters. In campaign after electoral campaign, he has sought votes with the promise that appurtenances of the state would be utilised to maximise public good. Experience points to a sadder reality.