In Bihar, landgrab does not spare a Bharat Ratna's birthplace
Its the house in Dumraon, some 110 km from here, where shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan was born and lived for the first six-seven years of his life. Over time, sundry Chief Ministers have promised to preserve the house and develop the town, one of Bihar's oldest municipalities but to no avail.
Now, a musician, a poet and two theatre activists have petitioned the Bihar government against efforts by anti-social elements to usurp the property and the considerably large grounds around it and said that an ‘anganwadi’ day-care centre for children is being forcibly run from the house. The action came after Subhan Khan, the caretaker of the house, complained to the police that attempts were being made to usurp the property. Pramod Kumar, a district official in Dumraon, said a probe is underway and legal action would soon be taken against the guilty. "Bismillah Khan's ancestral house is a heritage property for the country and its people. It should be protected by the government," Gajender Narain Singh, a musician and a Padma Shri recipient, told IANS.
Well-known Hindi poet Alok Dhanwa, the president of the Sangeet Natak Academy here, said the government must promptly initiate action against those involved in the attempted landgrab. "It is shameful and unfortunate that some people have reportedly tried to capture Bismillah Khan's his ancestral house. We will protest against this," Dhanwa told IANS.
Theatre activists Anish Ankur and Jai Prakash said the attempt to take over the property exposed the fact that it has remained neglected for years despite top leaders of Bihar repeatedly promising to develop it.
"It is not acceptable that a house which should be treated as a heritage property is under attack," Ankur said. Local residents in Dumraon, a part of the Buxur Lok Sabha constituency, admitted that Bismillah Khan - recipient of the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian honour - was not given due respect in his hometown.