Ringing In New Year 2006 with Thomas Friedman and....Bihar

I went to a friend's place for New Year's Eve where a copy of Thomas Friedman's book on globalization - "The World is Flat" made me reflect on my earlier blog on the same.

Unfortunately, one of the valleys of India is a state called Bihar.

I had started a weblog on Outsourcing - The Viewpoint from India two years ago with an article as to how Bihar (one of India's poorest states) could threaten Mumbai in the Outsourcing game in the future.

Indeed, not only the world was flat. (to use Friedman's words). Within India too, the same flattening phenomenon was happening.

The recent elections in Bihar promised a change for the people there with a new progressive government in place.

This Bihar-flattening-Mumbai phenomenon will increase more, if Bihar can move out of it's depressive pit-of-the-bottom-valley governance and perhaps aspire for being a mountain of good governance in the future.

Alas !

The starting and startling TV news headlines at midnight 2006 in India were about a carnage in rural Bihar where a family of six (including 4 children) were burnt alive.

So, inspite of India having hogged the center of attention in the global economy during 2005, a stark reminder from backward Bihar at the start of New Year 2006.

A lot of work remains undone in helping build brand Bihar.