Visitors at the stall. Picture by J Prakash

Patna, March 22: The stage has been set for Bihar to hit the shot that will get it a century.

But even as they get ready to march into the future, the residents of the state cannot help remembering their past. To highlight the contribution of the Bengali-speaking community of the state, Bihar State Minorities Commission has set up a stall in Gandhi Maidan.

Several write-ups and journals — that recall the kinship between Bihar and Bengal — are being displayed at the stall. The writings of famous Bengali authors like Bibhutibhushan Muhopadhyay, Satinath Bhaduri and Banaphool (pseudonym for Balaichand Mukhopadhyay), whose stories have inspired films like Bhuvan Shome and Chupke Chupke, are also available at the stall.

“Bihar Divas is a very proud occasion for every Bihari. Through this stall, we want to send out the message that the Bengali-speaking residents of the state are also Biharis at heart. They should not be treated as outsiders,” said Dilip Kumar Sinha, the vice-chairman of Bihar State Minorities Commission.

Sinha added: “These examples of the contribution made by Bengalis towards the development of the state will strengthen the spirit of kinship even more. We also want to convey the importance of Bengali as a language. It should not be over looked.”

The contribution of the Bengali-speaking community to the development of the state cannot be overemphasised. Bihar was carved out of Bengal in 1912 but long before the bifurcation, a mutual exchange of culture has taken place. The first vice-chancellor of Patna University Romolla Nandi was also a Bengali. Also the former curator of Patna Museum, Sushil Chandra Palit, another Bengali resident of the state, established the first library of Patna —Hemchandra Pathagaar. Guru Prasad Sen, a famous Patna lawyer, started Bihar Herald, the first English newspaper of the state, in 1875.

The commission has also planned a street play based on the growth story of Bihar till now and the contributions of the Bengalis in it.