war of worlds

The recently concluded Bihar elections showcased a bitter battle between two political arch enemies namely the BJP and the so called "Grand Alliance" as projected by the former chief minister Mr Nitish Kumar and his allies.It also brought the two local politicians into friendship who were enemies earlier ,as they fought a common enemy as perceived by them.What was interesting as i noted was the way the tone of the political drama turned into during the last days of the campaigning namely the "development" mantra of the BJP vs the "identity" slogans of the members of the grand alliance. Casteism and the identity associated with it is deeply embedded in the Bihar culture and the BJP touched a raw nerve by questioning the "DNA" of their former chief minister.Mr Nitish retorted back by asking the people whose rule they want in Bihar "a Bihari or a Bahari?"!The response of the crowd was unanimous and it showed in the verdict which they gave to the party which is ruling the center.

As i watched the sentiment of the Bihari people in identifying themselves to their caste and their identity as a Bihari ,they were willing to overlook the development platform offered by the opposite forces.Being somebody who worked in the areas of health and development in Bihar for few years i could identify with this rhetoric of the people and share the burden of various people who come outside from Bihar to provide them development and health.It was difficult to be "one among them" and they never really accepted us as one of them even after receiving the goods.Only a handful recognize the work done by the various people who work for the betterment of Bihar from outside.

Its not surprising to face rejection from the people whom we serve but it also throws an important question to people like us how do we serve them?The early missionaries who did pioneering work in cross cultural missions studied the people whom they are going to serve and even went to the extent of adopting their local practices and customs to be one among them.They did not want to create a platform from where they can deliver their goods but they wanted to live among them as one of them first and from that vantage point they tried to see what can be done to serve the society.They understood very well that people are not going to trust them easily and they counted the cost before entering into a commitment to serve.This is not the case in current mission hospitals.The hospitals and structures just act as a fortress in preventing  the people from identifying themselves with the society.It is all too essential to help people count the cost of what they commit to do without the fear of people failing to commit to the cause after the counting!

I as a health professional who want to serve the people want to stand on a platform ( a hospital/health establishment) and try to serve the people blind to the needs and sentiments of the local people.Consequently whatever mantra i chant will fall on deaf ears unless i strike a similar chord with them in terms of what they need really from me.Most often i am deluded thinking that it is my skill which was needed most to them(though it is very important) overlooking the fact that people are primarily wondering "what kind of person are you" rather than "what kind of professional skills you have".I do not want to get my life dirty by living among them but try to serve them from a pedestal which is despised by the Biharis.Any one who does not share their grief ,anger,ignorance and joy cannot be a Bihari and he will just remain as a Bahari to the local people.The challenge is how can i get down from my platform and be "one among them" and serve them.Can there be a confluence of identities as we serve one another?Can i truly fall in love with the people i serve or just deliver the goods like an impersonal ATM machine?till then community life will be just a
pipe dream

God have mercy on me!