From Zero Bihar reaches 100: Hindustan shares a dream to take it beyond

Bihar has long been known as the land which gave the world "zero", Gautama Buddha's message of peace, the foundation of structured education with Nalanda and the seat of culture. It led the creation of modern thought.

The recognition of Bihar's contribution to society and the modern world led Hindustan to create a programme on the occasion of completion of 100 years of Bihar's formation. Bihar completes 100 years on March 22, 2012.

With a stable and progressive government at the helm for the second time, citizens are nursing a dream of a modern and developed state. Unknown to most, at several places the seeds of change have been sown and have taken root as well. For the pools of transformation to become an ocean of development in Bihar, it is critical for the good work to be shared with the citizens of the state. With that objective in mind, Hindustan embarked on a grassroots campaign to unearth 100 "quiet reformers" who are working tirelessly for the betterment of society and life in the state. The zeal of these "gems of Bihar" deserves to be lauded and should not be a quiet endeavour.

Over the last 25 years in Bihar, Hindustan has been a partner and a witness to the state's transformation story. Hindustan kicked off a campaign in December, 2011 with the mission to first locate 100 individuals and then reveal their stories to the citizens of the state. These real stories of hope and inspiration have a tremendous role in communicating the importance of "naya zazariya", initiative and responsibility of citizens to make their own future brighter. A multi-pronged strategy was used which involved communication through the newspaper and an appeal to readers to nominate deserving initiatives that they knew of in one of 8 categories:

Education

Women Empowerment

Communal Harmony

Self-reliance

At the same event, eminent panelists like the Chief Minister of Bihar, Mr Nitish Kumar, Mrs Shobhana Bhartia (Chairperson, HT Media), Mr NK Singh (MP, Rajya Sabha), Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal (MD & Group Chairman, Bharti Enterprises) and Dr Rukmini Banerji (Director, Pratham) will participate in a dialogue on insights for growth and development in Bihar.