Initiating the debate Saibal Gupta, Member-Secretary of Patna-based Asian Development Research Institute, emphasized that the absence of Bihari sub-nationlism had cost the state dear. Tracing the history he said even during the British period Bihar was a neglected part of Bengal Presidency though there was a strong lobby for it. Had there been a streak of sub-nationalism the situation would have been different.  

He cited the example of freight equalization policy, which bled the state white for over four decades. Only in steel sector the state had to suffer a loss of Rupees one lakh crore, yet there was no clamour on this issue.

He said that there was a near absence of mutli-caste development movement in Bihar as in Maharashtra or other states.

Saibal was rather compelled to make a last minute entry as the original speaker, the deputy chief minister of Bihar, Sushil Kumar Modi, had to suddenly accompany the chief minister Nitish Kumar with an all-party delegation on coal linkages to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi. 

Bihar’s Principal Secretary, Health, Amarjeet Sinha, was somewhat apprehensive of the unhealthy trend of sub-nationalism, which, according to him, is weakening the very concept of nationalism.

He said Bihar is not destined to play small and limited role, but it needs to do little more. Primordial loyalty should be cast away. He highlighted the difference between Bharat and India and wished that it would end soon. 

Prof Gopa Sabharwal was, in one way or the other, a cuckoo in crow’s nest. Not only was she a lone woman speaker but also one having a very weak link with Bihar. She is the Vice Chancellor-designate of  the Nalanda International University.

Yet she fired all her sociological ammunition to fight for the cause of Bihari sub-nationalism. She stressed the need for regional identity, but argued that it should not be disruptive.

She shared her unique experience as a researcher in Belgaum about two decades back. She said the town was under curfew for several days following rioting. Yet the people burst into happiness when the news of curfew was telecast by the Doordarshan. After all they had heard the name of their town in a national television channel.

She also highlighted the role Nalanda University played in spreading the education globally in the ancient past.

Rashtriya Janata Dal MP, Jagadanand Singh, sounded a bit rashtrwadi (nationalist) than a Lok Sabha MP of a regional party when he argued that Bihar is not a linguistic state. It had sacrificed a lot for the cause of nation. He said there is not just political federalism, but fiscal federalism in India too.

He cited as to how Bihar never complained when it had to face a series of partition. First it lost its coastal opening when Odisha was carved out, then some of its part was given to Bengal, and finally deprived of all its mineral when Jharkhand was created in 2000. In that way the present Bihar is just 12 years old.

Tripurari Sharan, the director of Doordarshan, narrated his personal experience of Japan to buttress his point as to how and why had it developed. He said that once, while walking in a Tokyo street, it started drizzling and he had to take shelter by the roadside, where he met another person. He asked the person the address of the place he wanted to go. The Japanese, who knew a little bit English, expressed his inability to help Tripurari as he was not aware of the place. But his entire body language was very polite, helpful and apologetic.

“After sometimes I started proceeding ahead. A few moments later I heard somebody rushing towards me from behind. I saw the same man who came running and handed me an umbrella as it was raining. It is this feeling which transformed Japan from rubble to an economic power within a couple of decades,” he added.

He exhorted the Biharis by quoting a line from noted poet Eqbal: Khudi ko kar buland itna ki har taqdeer se pahle khuda bande se khud puche bata teri raza kiya hai.

Shiv Sena-turned-Congress MP, Sanjay Nirupam, started his speech with a sense of disbelief. “Am I sitting in Maharashtra or Bihar. In what type of debate are we embroiled?,” he asked.

He said initially he was surprised to listen to "Jai Jai Maharashtra…" being played in the local station of All India Radio in Mumbai. “We never heard such song with a tinge of sub-nationalism in Bihar,” he added.

“If we talk of Bihari sub-nationalism here, how can we criticise those in Maharashtra or Punjab, who raise identical slogans,” he added.

He came down heavily on Punjab chief minister, Prakash Singh Badal, who met the PM to plead for mercy for a man convicted by the Supreme Court. “Is this what regionalism or sub-nationalism suggest?”

He said a Bihari can not even in his wildest imagination think about sub-nationalism as the state had produced founder of three religions: Guru Govind, Buddha and Mahavir. Their followers are found not only in Punjab, Maharashtra and Gujarat but all over the world.

Nirupam, who is originally from Bihar, walked away with a lot of applause when he said that as an original Bihari he always wanted the state to get its due. But how can the state government raise the dangerous bogey of sub-nationalism to achieve the goal. After all Bihar had spent only 48 per cent of its allotted amount, yet the state government is treading a dangerous path for political end. He rejected the comparison of Japan by stating that the country developed because there was only nationalism and not regionalism.

Former bureaucrat and now Janata Dal (United) MP, N K Singh, strongly argued for sub-nationalism, which according to him, is essential for the development of the state. He said the identity can be more perceived than described. He deliberately provoked Ravi Shankar Prasad by stating that the next speaker is a legal luminary who may argue a lot against sub-nationalism.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ravi Shankar Prasad was not going to remain silent. He went hammer and tongs against the concept of sub-nationalism, which rather ironically is being strongly propagated by Nitish Kumar led NDA government in Bihar. He said regional identity is no guarantee for good governance. 

Just a bit of good governance in itself helped the present government catch the national imagination. There is no need to whip up sub-nationalism. Unlike in the past the national media is paying full attention to the present government.

Stating that Sher Shah Suri was the first Bihari to rule Delhi he said Bihar was  never starved of identity.

The two-hour long debate exploded the myth that Indian politicians lack debating skill. In fact they argued their points in somewhat better way than the two IAS and a former bureaucrat, who became a parliamentarian after retirement.

It also showed that those championing the cause of sub-nationalism lacked thrust in their arguments.

What is strange is that the debate was too much between politicians and bureaucrats. Gopa was the only academic, but even she was from outside the state.

Sankarshan Thakur, Roving Editor of the daily, who chaired the debate, was the only journalist who spoke on the occasion.

Later he asked the audience to give their opinion by raising their hands. The House rejected the motion.

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