The audience at The Telegraph Bihar Debate 2011 at Maurya on Thursday in Patna. Telegraph picture

The Telegraph spoke to a cross-section among hundreds who flocked Maurya on Thursday for The Telegraph Bihar Debate 2011. They simply loved the war of words over the relevance of caste system in Bihar politics.

Excerpts:

Ashok Kumar Choudhary, chief information commissioner, Bihar State Information Commission

Why at the debate: To know what others feel about this issue. The topic of the debate was very relevant.

Highest scorer: Nitish Kumar.

Last word: I must congratulate The Telegraph for organising the event. The topic was excellent, so were the speakers. The topic, in fact, reflected the mood of the people of Bihar who no longer want to be identified by their castes. Rather, they are more comfortable with their identity as a Bihari. More such events should be organised in future.

 

Brother Felix, principal, Loyola High School

Why at debate: The topic was something new for me. I was surprised that the debate was held on caste system.

Highest scorer: Ali Anwar.

Last word: The Telegraph Bihar Debate 2011 was the first of its kind. The topic was carefully chosen. The speakers stood up to the challenge, some with facts and figures and others with wit and humour. I can say there is a palpable sense of pride among the Biharis today. And to a great extent, Biharis are no longer voting on caste lines. They have learnt to cast their votes.

 

Asha Singh, principal, Arvind Mahila College

Why at debate: The topic was very relevant in the present scenario.

Highest scorer: Nalini Singh

Last word: Whoever was speaking — right from the first speaker to the last one — carried forward their points easily and smoothly, without hurting anyone. Generally, politicians go rough but that was not the situation at the event and the debate did not see any hot discussions. The event was a healthy one and was carried out very positively in an intellectual manner.

 

Avinash Kumar, student, NIT, Patna

Why at debate: The topic was relevant. The speakers were intellectual and experienced.

Highest scorer: Nalini Singh

Last word: Such debates are a must for smooth functioning of democracy. I learnt a lot from all the speakers and acquired new information from them.

 

Dr Ajit Pradhan, doctor

Why at debate: Very interesting and relevant topic. I really wanted to hear what the accomplished speakers had to say on the issue and this was a good forum to discuss something like this.

Highest scorer: Nalini Singh

Last word: I heard all the speakers but I still believe that caste-system is so ingrained in Indian politics that it will continue to rule the roost. Politicians have been exploiting caste feeling of people and they will continue to do that. The scenario in Bihar is only a temporary phase, which will pass.

K.K. Srivastva, director, BIT, Patna

Why at debate: To listen to war of words because the topic was very interesting and relevant. Moreover, for the first time one could hear such distinguished persons ranging from chief minister Nitish Kumar to Abul Bari Siddiqui at open forum.

Highest scorer: Nitish Kumar

Last word: I must first congratulate The Telegraph for organising such a debate, which is new to Patna. The gathering was huge but there was no chaos. People from various fields were present at the debate. The selection of speakers was excellent. Besides Nitish Kumar, other speakers spoke brilliantly.

O.P. Sah, president of Bihar Chamber of Commerce

Why at debate: Sheer curiosity to listen the views of eminent personalities on a topic, which is quite important.

Highest scorer: Nitish Kumar

Last word: It was an excellent and lively debate. After hearing the arguments of all the speakers it is clear that caste is no longer relevant in Bihar. Rather, development has overtaken the caste factor in the state.