Children take part in Bihar Divas celebrations in Doha. Telegraph picture

The state’s centenary celebrations have brought solidarity among people of Bihari diaspora all across the globe. After the recent celebrations in Canada and Michigan in the US, hundreds of non-resident Biharis living in Qatar gathered at the sprawling hall of Al Ghazal Club in Doha on April 13 to celebrate Bihar Divas 2012.

The event was organised by the Qatar Chapter of Indian Association of Bihar and Jharkhand (IABJ) and Bihar Foundation — a socio-cultural organisation affiliated to Indian Cultural Centre, under the aegis of the embassy of India. During the event, 100 candles were lighted to mark the 100 glorious years of Bihar, followed by a cultural programme “Ek Sham Bihar Ke Naam”. Members of Kainat Foundation recited the state anthem and the state prayer song at the event.

Nadir Abdul Salam, a well-known child artiste in the Gulf countries, sang a few songs, followed by Bhojpuri folk dance, songs, and skits by other child artistes. The annual magazine of Bihar foundation, Unnati (Progress), edited by Mahfuz Hasan and Aqueel Ahmed, was also released on the occasion.

Shakil Ahmed Kakvi, the chairman of Bihar Foundation, Qatar Chapter, said: “The motive behind organising the event was to bring all the people of Bihari origin on one platform, where they can forget all other identities except for one of being ‘Bihari’. We feel proud of the glorious past of Bihar and its present stature. Bihar is making a significant contribution to the progress of the country and all Biharis are proud of it.”

Kakvi had visited Patna with several youngsters of Bihar origin from Qatar to participate in the three-days Bihar Divas celebrations from March 22.

Chief guest of the Bihar Divas celebrations at Al Ghazal Club, M.R. Qureshi, first secretary of embassy of India at Qatar, said: “Bihar has a glorious past and the efforts of IABJ along with Bihar Foundation is laudable in Qatar. We assure all support for community developmental programmes in Qatar.”

Other dignitaries present at the event included Dedy Saiful Hadi, Indonesian ambassador to Qatar and Faisal Al Hudawi, community programmes coordinator in the public relations department at ministry of interior, Qatar.

Meanwhile, Bihar’s tourism minister Sunil Kumar ‘Pintu’ and minister of food and consumer protection Shayam Rajak addressed the gathering over telephone. During the telephonic address, both the ministers assured that the demand of IABJ to start direct flights from Gulf countries to Bihar would be conveyed to chief minister Nitish Kumar.

Earlier, a business delegation from Qatar arrived in the state capital on February 14 and met Nitish, his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi and tourism minister Pintu.

M.S. Bukhari, one of the delegates to Bihar, said: “Bihar is on the path to progress and it is visible everywhere, whether it is infrastructure, law and order or business activities.”