``Patriotic'' Biharis are out on the streets to protest against the move, declaring they are ready to shed their last drop of blood to ``protect'' the state. A large number of memoranda have been shot off to President K.R. Narayanan requesting him to intervene and save Bihar from the BJP Government's ``bifurcation conspiracy''.

However, in their clamour, the opponents of Jharkhand are encouraging the very voices that they are trying to drown out. For the state's tribals, who live a hand-to-mouth existence on a land which feedsthe rest of Bihar, this is just one more example of the callousness and neglect they have seen for years. And which had sparked the demand for a separate Jharkhand state.

Bihar has been guilty of treating Jharkhand almost like a neo colony. As outsiders came and settled down in this mineral-rich region in south Bihar, the native tribals were pushed to the fringes. According to a latest survey, the tribals, who were once a majority in the area, now comprise just 30 per cent of the population.

Besides being left out economically, the region has also gone unrepresented in the state's politics. During the past 50 years, there has been only one chief minister from Jharkhand, K.B. Sahay, whose reign anyway was too short to leave any impact on the region.

However, in the same time, Jharkhand has had more than its share of financial scandals. All the major scams which the state has seen -- fodder, bitumen, land, medicine -- happened here. In fact, money from the region has always shaped the political destiny ofBihar. During the time of Indira Gandhi, there were reports that crores of rupees were being sent out to Delhi from here.

On the cultural front, attempts have been made in the past to annul the Wilkinson Rule governing tribal lifestyle and administration.Convinced that they are being milked dry by Bihar, Jharkhand tribals dispute claims of politicians that the state would become a pauper if it loses the mineral-rich south. The malaise afflicting Bihar, as they point out, has more to do with political mismanagement than anything else. Even in the tribal region, barring the TISCO group, Bokaro steel plant and a few other factories, almost all industries have either closed down or become sick over the years. The most glaring example is of Heavy Electric Corporation. Once a thriving company, it is now struggling. Successive governments have failed to save these units.

If Jharkhand's loss does put it back industrially, the rest of Bihar can make up through agriculture. Land in central and north Bihar is bestsuited for agriculture, though again lack of irrigation facilities and measures to check drainage of flood water has reduced its potential. According to the Government's own figures, during the past 50 years, only 15 lakh hectares of the total 64 lakh hectares in the state have been brought under irrigation. Nearly, 18 big irrigation projects have been lying incomplete for years.Just after Independence, Bihar was the leader in sugar production in the country. But over the years, the politicians have let this go to waste too, and now all the 20 sugar mills in the state have either turned sick or closed down.

It is estimated that Bihar needs almost Rs 2,000 crore to get them back on track.

With such a score sheet before them, Jharkhandis take the protests of opponents with a pinch of salt. Samata Party leader and Union Railways Minister Nitish Kumar, in fact, feels bifurcation would be a boon in disguise for Bihar, prodding the state to boost its own economy.

The general feeling is that Laloo and theother big critic of Jharkhand state Jagannath Mishra are raising the bogey of ``pauperisation'' to swing north and central Bihar behind them. Mishra, after all, has been the chief minister twice and Laloo too has been at the helm for effectively as much time. Neither has done much to revive Bihar's economy.

Their claim that they support Greater Jharkhand and not the Vananchal that the BJP Government is offering also does not convince many. ``Greater Jharkhand'' would include, besides the 18 tribal districts of Bihar, Adivasi areas from Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal. If the Union Government does try to include these areas, a separate state would take much longer to see the light of day, some say it would be almost impossible. Jharkhandis believe that is exactly Laloo and Mishra's idea.

For their part, both the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the people of Jharkhand are satisfied with the proposed Vananchal. Now if only Bihar's politicians would let them have a state of their own.