I was at a wedding in Delhi. 10 Biharis at my table. I asked: “Do you follow ‘bihar news today’?” Nine said no. One said “Sometimes, but I regret it.”
Bihar has a reputation. The news made it.
“Bihar news today” is full of:
Floods
Crime
Corruption
Power cuts
Migration
I assumed Biharis living outside Bihar would be hungry for news from home. I was wrong.
What the 9 Biharis told me
Person 1 (engineer, 32): “I stopped watching. It made me depressed. My parents are in Bihar. They are fine. The news made it sound like they are drowning.”
Person 2 (teacher, 45): “I watch once a week. Just for the weather. The rest is drama.”
Person 3 (business owner, 50): “I haven’t watched in 10 years. My business is here. My family is there. I call them. That’s my news.”
Person 4 (student, 22): “My parents told me not to watch. They said ‘news Bihar nahi hai.’ (News is not Bihar.)”
Person 5 (housewife, 40): “I used to watch. I got scared for my brother. Then I visited him. Everything was normal. I stopped watching.”
Person 6 (driver, 35): “News dikhata hai kya bikta hai. Mera Bihar nahi bikta.” (News shows what sells. My Bihar doesn’t sell.)
Person 7 (doctor, 55): “I tell my patients: stop watching news. Your blood pressure will improve.”
Person 8 (shopkeeper, 48): “Bihar ke bare mein janne ke liye wahan jaao. News mat dekho.” (To know Bihar, go there. Don’t watch news.)
Person 9 (retired, 65): “I have seen Bihar change. More roads. More schools. More hospitals. News never shows that. So I stopped.”
The one who still watches
The 10th person said: “I watch sometimes. But I regret it. Every time I watch, I feel like Bihar is falling apart. Then I call my mother. She says ‘Sab theek hai, beta.’ (Everything is fine.)”
“So now I call her first. Then I decide if I want to watch. Most days, I don’t.”
What they all agreed on
All 10 agreed on one thing: “Bihar news today” is not for Biharis. It’s for non-Biharis who want to feel superior.
A Bihari knows the ground truth. A non-Bihari only knows the headlines.
What the news doesn’t show
None of the 10 had ever seen these stories in “bihar news today”:
A village that became open defecation free
A young woman who became an IAS officer from a small town
A farmer who tripled his income with new techniques
A school that sends 100% of its students to college