Can’t Sell Milk Forever: First Generation Entrepreneurs in Bihar

First generation entrepreneurs say they want the government to incentivise new business ventures.

“Bihar has water and youth in abundance. Reject Jungle Raj and vote for development” – this was Prime Minister Modi’s counter offer to Nitish Kumar’s seven-point youth-focused agenda that promises free wi-fi and student loans. In a development-driven election campaign, neither of the two alliances can afford to be complacent about appealing to Bihar’s under-30 voter.

We met some first-generation entrepreneurs in Patna who came back after Lalu’s “Jungle Raj” was over, but won’t settle for anything less than what they rightfully deserve.

These weavers don’t even make Rs 30 a day, but their silk sarees sell online for more than Rs 30,000.
— Shanit Vidyarthi, Fashion designer & Entrepreneur

33-year-old Shanit Vidyarthi is a fashion designer and entrepreneur who left a cushy job in Mumbai to slug it out with the silk weavers of Banka, Bihar. “It’s a dying art”, he says explaining how big online portals, and not the state government, are helping uplift artisans.

The younger generation is not interested in learning the art from their fathers. It’s only shown them what poverty looks like. They would rather go to another city and earn a livelihood by doing odd-jobs as opposed to sitting at home and weaving.
— Shanit Vidyarthi

In addition to his day job, Shanit also helps the local guitar club conduct voter awareness programmes in colleges and universities.

I’ve seen “Jungle Raj” while growing up. But I’ve also seen how little this government has been able to do to create an environment conducive to industry.
— Shanit Vidyarthi

Shanit is part of a motley crew who returned home and are trying to make it count.

25-year-old Kislay Khan worked for a construction company but decided to come back to Patna to open a bowling alley. “When we were growing up, there was no place to hang out”, says Kislay who wanted to start a place where young people can feel safe and unwind.

The bowling alley, Kislay concedes could not have been possible 10 years ago, but the young entrepreneur is not ready to settle for less.

I want a government that allows me to buy a decent smartphone online. In Bihar you cannot purchase anything above Rs 10,000 through an online retailer because the state government has imposed a sales tax which retailers are not ready to cough up.
— Kislay Khan, Co-owner, Forks n Pins

Monotony of a 9-to-5 job led Kislay’s business partner, Chayan Kunder, who was an IT professional in Brazil, to return to Patna. “The city was so deprived”, he says and “and people my age were either going abroad or elsewhere in India”.

According to me, the biggest problem is the brain drain. The government should show leniency towards young entrepreneurs in terms of taxation and the permissions that we need to do this stuff.
— Chayan Kunder, Co-owner, Forks n Pins

For full coverage of Bihar Polls 2015, click here.