Siwan Ke Sholay

In the cult Hindi movie Sholay, there is this famous dialogue by the villain Gabbar Singh, immortally portrayed by legendary actor Amjad Khan, where he says, "In all the villages in a five km radius, when a child starts to cry, his mother hushes him by saying, 'chup ho ja nahi to Gabbar aa jayega'!" That one sentence was eloquent enough to underline the terror Gabbar Singh inflicted upon the villagers. The state of Bihar has many such Gabbar Singhs. Chief among them is Mohammad Shahabuddin, don-in-chief. Known to be close to RJD's supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, Shahabuddin had unleashed a reign of terror in Siwan. He has more than 35 charges of murder against him. He is said to have brutally killed two brothers by drowning them in industrial sulphuric acid! When Lalu was the Chief Minister of Bihar, none dared speak against Shahabuddin. However, when Nitish Kumar became the Chief Minister of the State in 2005, his chief poll plank was the reestablishment of law and order. As a part of this drive, many underworld dons of Bihar were arrested. Shahabuddin too was thrown into jail, where he remained for 11 long years. Meanwhile, much water had flown through the Ganga in those 11 years. Nitish got drunk on hubris and broke the coalition with the BJP. The same Lalu, whose reign he had once described as 'Jungle Raj', became his poll partner. The 'Mahathugbandhan' of Nitish's JD(U) and Lalou's RJD swept the State election in 2015, with Lalu's party getting more seats. Thus started the slow but sure slide of Nitish. From a no-nonsense administrator known for his commitment to law and order, he was reduced to playing second fiddle to Lalu's son Tejasvi, who was hoisted upon the people of Bihar as the deputy Chief Minister. The lowest point of the slide was reached last week when Shahabuddin was released from Bhagalpur jail on bail, and no one from the Government even attempted to stop his release. Shahabuddin could barely disguise his contempt of Nitish when he described him as a 'CM of circumstances'. When Shahabuddin was released from jail, he got a hero's welcome. A convoy of 1,500 SUVs accompanied him on his journey to Siwan. The convoy of course did not bother with such petty things as paying the road toll tax on their journey, and no one at the toll booths dared to object. A wanted and absconding sharp-shooter and murderer openly rubbed shoulders with Shahabuddin in his victory procession, and yet the State administration did nothing. Nitish was left mumbling weakly about how everyone must respect law and order in Bihar. People in Bihar are under the reign of terror once again. The 'Gabbar Singh' of Siwan is back, but the upright 'Thakur' who had shown the courage to jail him 11 years ago, is now without hands, legs as well as without a tongue in his mouth to lash out at this travesty. What a pity!