A lot for the dead,what about us

This March,the Bihar Government fenced the fields into three burial grounds in memory of the dead. Syed Shahnawaz Hussain,the local BJP MP,inaugurated the fencing,while his ally Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is never tired of explaining how he got it done.

But little has been done for the three families that survived the Laugai carnage,a chilling poster of the Bhagalpur riots. Kya mai kabristan me rahoo? Marne waalon ke liye bahut kuchh ho hara hai,jo bach gaya uski parwah nahin Should I live in the burial ground? A lot is being done for the dead,but nobody caes for the living, Khatoon shakes with anger.

Khatoon lives in a tattered hut with her 85-year-old husband Mohammed Videshi. Her only possessions are two mud grainaries and a goat. Her house,one of the two Muslim houses left in the village,leaks during the rains. Sitting on a wooden bed,Khatoon says many have clicked her photographs and written stories about her plight,but she hasnt got anything from it.

Katoon,her husband and Hadisa,another riots survivor,have not even been provided old age pension. Surprisingly,however,the three have turned BJP supporters. Hadisa says: We voted for Shahnawaz last time. People say he is a good candidate. As he comes from our community,we hope he understands our trauma.

Khatoon,who earns a living from her two bighas of land,knows a bit about politics too. She says the riots brought Lalu Prasad to power. But he did not do anything, she says,adding that Lalu never bothered about inquiry commissions and convictions.

Meanwhile,an old age pension for the three survivors is the last thing in village headwoman Pancham Devis mind. I will get it done after the election, she says.