CALCUTTA: The full story of Bihar’s Congress Government, of its acts of omission and commission and of the atrocities committed by millions of its henchmen, remains untold. But a tour around Calcutta and my [the Dawn Special Representative’s] talks with refugees from Bihar impressed upon me the fundamental truth that the untold story is, after all, more effective than the overtold story of Noakhali happenings to which Mr. Gandhi was obviously referring when he declared to his audience at Sirirampur: “I find myself in the midst of exaggerations and falsity, I am unable to discover the truth.”

Wherever I have gone, I have found deep sympathy for Bihari sufferers. This is in striking contrast to India-wide unreal sympathy extended to mock refugees of Noakhali who quit their ancestral homes more due to exaggerations of the fourth estate than due to any real danger of fresh tragic events. I am deeply impressed by this contrast between the tragedy of Bihar and the tragi-comedy of Noakhali when some refugees refused to disclose facts about conversions and abductions. They said: “…Our honour demands that such shameful atrocities should not be broadcast to the world. Let us suffer in silence.”

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2021