Strictly speaking calling Nalanda home turf of the chief minister Nitish Kumar is wrong as he had spent the entire life in Bakhtiarpur town––his birthplace––in Patna district where his family shifted long back from Kalyanbigha in Nalanda district. After that Nitish shifted to Patna proper for study and political career.
Yet in the media circle Nalanda is often dubbed as the present chief minister’s home turf for some very obvious socio-political reasons. At present he is an MLC, therefore, he has no particular constituency to take special care of. In the past he had been MP from Nalanda, though he represented Barh in Parliament––Bakhtiarpur then used to fall in this constituency––for much longer time. He got NTPC plant in Barh a decade back. But today, as the chief minister, Barh is getting much less attention than Nalanda.

True Nalanda is an international place, therefore, it gets much attention from the Centre too. For example, the Nalanda International University (NIU) is a central university, whose brainchild is none else but the former President A P J Abdul Kalam. Nitish had no role in reviving its concept, except providing land, which in all case the state government had to give.

Similarly, the ordnance factory near Rajgir–– which had incidentally ran into trouble because of the ASI objections––was inaugurated by the then defence minister, George Fernandes. He did so because he used to represent it in Lok Sabha.

These two projects were windfalls, which the district got for historical reasons. But that was not to be. After the advent of Nitish Kumar the district got an engineering college in Chandi, a medical college in Pawapuri and there is talk of setting up an international airport in Silao near Rajgir, as the one in Patna has become too small for the purpose.

As the railway minister Nitish Kumar already got a railway workshop in Harnaut in the district, which is likely to start soon. He got Shramjiwi Express extended to Rajgir whereas later Lalu Prasad, as the railway minister, extended Magadh Express to Islampur, also in Nalanda district.

As if that is not enough, even Nalanda’s villages get more electricity than the rural areas of Patna, though the power situation in the state capital proper is much better. The rest of Bihar, save perhaps Supaul, the district to which power minister Vijendra Yadav, belongs, hardly get any power.

Besides, the second largest training camp for CRPF, an IT institute and state’s only adventure sports venue are to come up in Nalanda.

But all these pumping of money does not mean that everything is hunky dory. Though Nitish Kumar asks the Union government to open Central University of Bihar in Motihari so that Champaran could be developed the NIU provides a lesson for him. Despite its international status NIU is unable to get Vice Chancellor of its stature.

Renowned historian and columnist, Ramchandra Guha, and acclaimed academic and head of Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research Pratap Bhanu Mehta, rejected the offer of Vice Chancellorship of Nalanda International University. Guha, it must be recalled, is a great admirer of Nitish, yet he turned down the offer made by the Centre. Delhi-based Sociologist Gopa Sabharwal has been selected for this job.

Similar is the case with the Harnaut Railway Workshop. Officers from East Central Railway at Hajipur––or any other zone––are not willing to take up the post of Chief Workshop Manager there though it is less than two hours drive from Patna. What is strange is that they have no problem in getting posted to Jamalpur, the oldest workshop of the country in Munger district though it is far too away from Patna. This is because Jamalpur also has Indian Railway Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineers and has full-fledged colony and other facilities. Law and order situation is also one of the factors in Harnaut.

If Rajgir has historical importance, Bodh Gaya is no less famous. But Gaya has perhaps travelled several years back so far water and electricity supply are concerned. Only the road condition has improved, but much of that because of the Centre’s generosity towards the pilgrim town.

There is a big international airport in Gaya, which is too close to Bodh Gaya, military cantonment and Magadh University yet no attention is now being paid to it though its distance from Patna is almost as much as Silao is from the state capital. But Gaya is not Nalanda.

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