Down into the last decades of the 20th century, Bihar remained India’s poorest state and one under the neopatrimonial domination of its upper landowning castes – a well-nigh hopeless case for development in the view of most outside observers. But in the 1990s, a fresh leader gained a new dignity for the Backward castes, even as the state’s poverty and corruption continued unabated. And then in the mid-2000s, another Backward leader was able to combine this societal uplift with a remarkable level of economic development. This paper endeavors to make a case that Nepal, long suffering under conditions similar to those hobbling Bihar until recently, might follow a similar two-stage path of dignity and then development. Current political turbulence in Bihar threatens to make the model less attractive, a factor that should enhance the discussion.
