The Criminalisation of Politics in Bihar: From Colonial Roots to Contemporary Chaos

 By Chandra Prakash Jha, Senior Journalist

The criminalisation of politics in Bihar began almost immediately after the province was carved out of the Bengal Presidency in 1912 under British Raj. The division of Bengal—first in 1905 and again in 1912—was partly motivated by religious lines to curb the freedom movement in India. Once Bihar emerged as a separate entity with 31 districts, the nexus between crime and politics intensified, reaching its zenith during Lalu Prasad Yadav's rule. He founded the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and provided protection to notorious criminals, such as Mohammad Shahabuddin from Siwan district, who was implicated in the murder of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students' union leader Chandrashekhar Prasad (alias Chandu). Electoral violence—before, during, and after polls—has been a norm in Bihar since pre-independence days.

The root causes lie in abject poverty and unemployment. True land reforms have never been implemented, sparking class wars in regions like Bhojpur district and areas along the Ganges and Kosi river tributaries. The armed conflicts in Bhojpur during the 1970s exemplified this struggle, often mislabelled as caste wars. In reality, participants were largely from suppressed Other Backward Classes (OBCs), who gained prominence after the Mandal Commission's recommendations for job reservations in government services. Bihar's society remains dominated by upper castes—Brahmins, Rajputs, Bhumihars, and others.

Pre-election protocols require licensed firearm holders to deposit weapons at police stations, but enforcement in Bihar is lax. Though Munger hosts the sole gun factory, illegal arms proliferate, sold openly to criminals. Goons routinely snatch licensed guns from army personnel and paramilitary forces like the Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) travelling on trains such as the Assam Mail (from New Delhi via Barauni Junction to Guwahati). These are then resold in criminal hideouts, often with police connivance.

This year's Bihar assembly elections highlighted the crisis. Dular Chand Yadav, a history-sheeter and candidate from Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraj Party, was killed in Mokama by gang members linked to another history-sheeter, Anant Singh of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United). Yadav was campaigning for Jan Suraj's Piyush Priyadarshi when the attack occurred—a double murder that sparked protests. Demonstrators blocked roads for days, demanding action against lawlessness. In response, Patna police launched 'Operation Jakheera', arresting 10 criminals, seizing weapons from four, and declaring one history-sheeter dead. However, the 'deceased' was later found alive; his wife exposed the farce by visiting the police station.

Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Leader of the Opposition and son of former Chief Ministers Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi, accused the 20-year National Democratic Alliance (NDA) rule—comprising BJP and JDU—of failing to establish a single factory. Anant Singh faces murder charges involving four other criminals and is accused of orchestrating Dular Chand Yadav's killing. FIRs were lodged at Mokama police station by workers from both Jan Suraj and JDU. A former MLA, Singh is a hardened criminal who, after parole release, assumed control of his elder brother Dilip Singh's operations. Dilip was so feared that locals called him 'Bade Sarkar'.

Dular Chand Yadav started as a young Communist Party of India (CPI) member in Mokama's Tal area. Lalu Prasad Yadav recruited him post-becoming Chief Minister. In 1991, Lalu—then CM—personally escorted Nitish Kumar with a large entourage to Yadav's home in Tal, tasking him with ensuring Nitish's Lok Sabha victory from Barh. Nitish won convincingly. Yadav himself was no stranger to crime, having been jailed around 32 times for serious offences.

The Mokama incident escalated tensions. Anant Singh filed a counter-FIR after cross-firing between gangs in Tal, on the Ganges banks. Relatives of Piyush Priyadarshi lodged an FIR against five, including Singh and his nephews Ranbir and Karmvir Singh, alleging gang members fired illegal weapons first, then crushed Yadav under a vehicle. No arrests followed. Patna's Senior Superintendent Kartikeya Sharma described a clash in Tartar village, noting both Yadav and Singh were history-sheeters with murder and arms cases. Singh dismissed allegations as a political conspiracy by RJD leader Suraj Bhan Singh, claiming Jan Suraj supporters attacked his vehicle post-campaigning.

Eyewitnesses reported a midday clash on Thursday near Khushalchak village: stones and bricks first, then indiscriminate firing. Police camped in the area, but fear gripped residents. The violence underscored that even Jan Suraj harbours elements fuelling chaos.

Deepankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary of CPI (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Jungle Raj' narrative, arguing 'Bulldozer and Criminal Raj' now prevails. He cited the October 30 recovery of Siwan sub-inspector Aniruddh's body in Darunda and Yadav's murder the same evening as evidence of an alarming criminal alliance protected by the BJP-JDU ruling coalition. He urged voters to defeat it.

Mohammad Shahabuddin, Lalu's protégé, epitomised this era. An RJD executive member and former Siwan MLA/MP (elected from jail in 2004 Lok Sabha polls amid nine JDU worker killings), he kidnapped for ransom and murdered rivals, including Chandu and 15 CPI activists. After killing CPI(ML) activist Chote Lal Gupta, the Election Commission barred him from contests; a court sentenced him to life. He died of cancer in Delhi's Deendayal Hospital in May 2021, aged 53, survived by wife Hena Shahab.

Anecdotes abound: Shahabuddin once held a kidnap victim at his government-allotted Patna residence, demanding ransom. Lalu, tipped off, arrived with an empty suitcase, swapped it for the cash-filled one, and left—Shahabuddin silent. Another victim, an engineer kidnapped under Lalu's rule, was ransomed heavily. I met him at Tapovan Hydel Electricity Corporation (NTPC's unit) in Mana village on the India-China border—a lock-free hamlet where the Saraswati River emerges before vanishing into Gujarat's Rann of Kutch. He begged anonymity but vowed his family would never return to Bihar. Such was the terror of that not-so-distant past.