Patna: 22 March 2025 :: Let’s Inspire Bihar grandly celebrated its 4th foundation day as Viksit Bihar Sankalp Mahasabha on 22nd March 2025 in the premises of Bapu Sabhagar, Patna. The event proved to be historic in many ways as it witnessed participation of more than 10,000+ committed changemakers from all across the state that included public intellectuals, educationists, spiritual leaders, University students, youth volunteers, entrepreneurs and social activists from all districts of Bihar, from all across the Country and even abroad. Prashant Kumar, an entrepreneur flew specially from London to participate in this historic event. Many of the eminent personalities present on the podium termed the Let’s Inspire Bihar campaign as the biggest non-political public movement of the State so far. The kind of mass gathering this movement is attracting day by day, surprised even some of the speakers on the stage.
‘Let’s Inspire Bihar’ campaign whose stated objective is to return to State’s civilizational root of education, egalitarianism & entrepreneurship, is a public movement started by Bihar’s hugely popular Senior IPS Officer Vikas Vaibhav. The campaign has been able to connect more than 1,85,000+ committed changemakers so far since its formation 4 years ago, who have pledged to rise above narrow divisions of caste, creed, religion, gender or ideologies in order to contribute towards building a developed Bihar within developed India by 2047.
This campaign officially started on 22nd of March, 2021, in Taramandal auditorium, Patna, where its vision & mission was declared by Mr. Vaibhav himself in the presence of a huge youth gathering. However, the idea for it first emanated in Vaibhav’s mind on 12th of January, 2021 on the occasion of Swami Vivekanand Jayanti. During his conversation with young minds from all across Bihar, assembled to listen to him at this occasion in Patna, he felt the need to start this movement. This was the day when a seed was sown in Bihar’s intellectually fertile landscape to revive the land’s lost glory. The idea started creating impact with a clear message that change can only happen if common people are ready to embark on the journey to inspire and get inspired in the process. Since this day, its journey has been as energizing as the idea itself.
Vikas Vaibhav, patron of the movement, carrying a visible ecstasy and pride at his face remarked from the podium “It is a proud moment for the entire LIB family which started with a vision & mission to inspire Bihar premised on the potentiality of its rich cultural history and illustrious heritage, and which has till now connected close to 2 lakhs people to this campaign.” He said, “Around 3 months ago, Bharat Mandapam in Delhi witnessed a major event of the Let’s Inspire Bihar campaign, the pledge and effect of which reverberated through the Country at large, in which we also presented a detailed roadmap for the development of Bihar. After Bharat Mandapam, when I now see the Bapu Sabhagar packed to its full strength with thousands of committed individuals, my heart becomes hopeful.”
Addressing the jam-packed audience of Bapu Sabhagar, Mr. Vaibhav further declared, “Now I can say that a new revolution has taken birth in Bihar, the seed for it has been sown. And this revolution is different from earlier revolutions that this Country has witnessed. The revolution of 1857 was for gaining independence, the revolution of 1975 was for a systematic change in the society but this revolution is a revolution of different kind altogether. This is for bringing a groundbreaking change in the field of education, entrepreneurship and egalitarianism. It does not have any express or implied political purpose whatsoever. Its aim is to make India a developed Country, which is not possible without a developed Bihar, and therefore developing India through developing Bihar is its prime motto. Mr. Vaibhav cited a recent report that reveals that Bihar’s per capita income is lowest of all the Indian states, which is Rs.5028/- per person per month, while Sikkim’s per capita income is Rs.48000/- per person per month and that of the Tamilnadu is Rs.32000/- per month per person. By explaining that Bihar’s current rate of annual development is 14.5%, and if it continues at this pace only, in next 10 years the per capita income of Bihar is expected to be Rs.20,000/-, Vaibhav asked the audience, “Do you want Bihar to develop at this pace? Will we be able to bring development in Bihar at this speed?” The audience collectively responded, “No”.
The hugely popular IPS officer of 2003 batch Vaibhav further added, “When this campaign was being started, I too had a little doubt about its success. But today more than 2000 programs have taken place under the organisational banner all across the Country, and particularly in every district of Bihar. He said, “This journey will be long, all of you will have to keep patience and work with a great degree of courage, conviction, integrity, passion and perseverance.” Vaibhav further said, “Many people keep asking me why don’t you join politics, so many questions were raised during the previous Lok Sabha elections about my intention to join politics, but I have been very clear in my approach and thought process since the very beginning. I tell them that if change could come through politics, I will be the first person to join it. But I know that change will not come through politics, it will come through a societal awakening, through a systematic change by working on education, entrepreneurship and egalitarianism, by rising above narrow divisions of caste, religion and ideologies. In the current societal set up indulging in caste politics for political parties may be a compulsion but that is not the case with us, we don’t have such compulsion, we should strive to rise above these narrow divisions which are hindering our state’s progress. The Bihari word today has become a symbol of abuse and ridicule, and thus the challenges ahead are not easy, but we can overcome the situation by our collective determination.
The patron of the Let’s Inspire Bihar movement Mr. Vaibhav further remarked, “I have also seen many worst things in the State including paper leaks, forced marriage, because of which my father used to instruct me not to come home during vacation period because he feared that I may be subjected to forced marriage. And it is during these vacation time spent in IIT, Kanpur, that I read our ancient philosophy and came to know our ancestors’ sight and vision. And then I realised that what we had been and what we have become. It gave me an immense pain to think about the elephantine gap in the vision of our past and present. Because of this sordid state of affairs my father used to forbid me to join IPS and work in Bihar. He wanted me to go abroad, but I was determined to bring change in Bihar, which I am making efforts for to the best of my capacity. For last 4 years, leaving behind my family and everything else, I have been roaming through villages and cities of Bihar, not just Bihar but throughout the Country addressing Bihari diaspora, because I know that the change is not easy. One has to make sacrifices for bringing change, which I am making for the State of Bihar, for our generations to come, because whole of Bihar is my family. Mr. Vaibhav also emotionally discussed about a recent tough phase he had to face two years ago, possibly hinting towards his dissension with one of his senior officers, when he was internally disturbed. He said that he was kept in Waiting for posting for 4 months, and during these 4 months, he did not receive a single penny as salary, resulting in ad hoc financial hardship when his father came to his rescue and gave him 2 lakhs to clear home loans.
Vaibhav further said, “Bihar is now in a take-off stage. It is time for the State to take a giant leap in the sky. No one can now stop its development if we take a collective commitment to contribute for its progress. He mentioned about the excellent work being done by Gargi chapter of the Let’s Inspire Bihar in the field of education. He said that 24 centres of education are running in different districts of Bihar out of which 19 centres are being run by women. The pace with which women are connecting to the campaign is very encouraging. He also gave his personal number to everyone asking people to add more and more new people to the campaign. He said that when I worked as field police officer in different district my gate was open for common public round the clock and everybody had access to my personal number. Today again I am giving you all my personal number with a request to add more people to the campaign. He requested everybody to make a ‘Jan-Jan ka Abhiyan’. He further added that the dream of the campaign is to establish 5 start ups in each district of Bihar by the end of 2028, out of which two start ups have already started its operation – one in Saran and another in Begusarai. He explained to the audience that it is not possible to give jobs to 9 crores of people without bringing an entrepreneurial revolution. He happily discussed about Sakhi Bahinpa – an organisation with more than 40,000+ women members joining hands with Let’s Inspire Bihar to contribute towards the State’s progress.
He also discussed a recent episode where a person on social media discouraged other people from joining the Let’s Inspire Bihar campaign considering the caste of its patron. He said that initially he became sad by reading this comment, but when he read other replies to this comment, many people criticized the said person for his poisonous mentality. This gradually developing culture of rising in protest against such mentality is the triumph of the Let’s Inspire Bihar campaign, Mr. Vaibhav remarked. He said that caste was there in the ancient society as well, but this kind of dangerous casteism was not there. Had it been the case, the Magadh empire would not have seen the rise of the Nand dynasty, who were considered to be from the lower sections of the society. Vaibhav said that honest and committed people are in all caste, they are in every section of the society, and they are connecting to this campaign because they have a shared dream of seeing Bihar getting developed in their own lifetimes. He urged the audience to remember the illustrious heritage of Mithila where stalwarts like Maharshi Yagnakaya and Gargi happened, of Champaran where Maharshi Valmiki happened and which made Mahatma Gandhi what the world today knows him for, of Saran where Dr. Rajendra Prasad happened, to Ang Bhumi from where in order to invite an Acharya the whole of Tibet had donated gold.
Vikas Vaibhav concluded his speech with a pledge in Hindi which roughly translates as:
Pledge:
I pledge to make every possible effort toward building the brightest future for Bihar.
For the development of Bihar in a developed India, I will rise above differences of caste, community, gender, and ideology to inspire everyone to bring a revolution in education and entrepreneurship in Bihar.
In the ongoing movement for the revival of my ancestors’ land, I will dedicate my selfless contribution and, to strengthen the movement, I will become a source of inspiration—through my character, conduct, and behavior—just like my illustrious forefathers.
I will spread the inspiration embedded in Bihar’s cultural, literary, and spiritual heritage.
Come, let us unite to inspire Bihar!
Jai Hind!
Distinguished Guests: Among the distinguished guests were Gopal Narayan Singh, the former Rajyasabha MP and Vice Chancellor of Gopal Narayan Singh University, Rohtas, Paramhans Swami Agmanand Ji Maharaj, a spiritual leader, Syed Shamael Ahmad, National President of the Private Schools and Children Welfare Association, Sujit Nayan, Superintending Archaeologist of the Archaeological Survey of India; B.K Sudarshan, Educationist, Swami Sanjay ji, a spiritual leader, Prashant Kumar, a London-based entrepreneur, Kamruddin Ansari, National General Secretary, Pasmanda Muslim Mahaj, Preeti Bala, Chief Coordinator, Gargi chapter, Omika Dubey, Managing partner, Giakaa Capital, Birendra Paswan, MLA, Akhilesh Singh, an educationist from Rohtas, S.B Rai, Director of B.D Public School, Patna, Manish Kashyap, Social Activist, MQ Syed, CMD, Exhicon Group, Lav Kumar Singh, Social Activist, Renu Paswan, Social Activist, Shyam Narayan Oraon, Social Activist, Gajendra Yadav, popular environmentalist from Bagaha, Guru Rahman, well-known teacher of Bihar, Rahul Kumar Singh, Chief Coordinator of the campaign, Mohan Kumar Jha, Chief Coordinator, Entrepreneurship chapter, O.P Singh, Chief Advisor, Entrepreneurship chapter, Wing Commander U.K Tripathi, Dr. Shyama Roy, Principal, ANS College, Barh, G.M Ansari, Coordinator, Rohtas chapter and Madan Singh, Social activist, among other eminent personalities.
Members from almost every chapter of the Let’s Inspire Bihar team were present during the event. The list included Anup Narayan Singh from Saran, Er. Kumar Rahul from Patna, Kaustubh from Patna, Rajvardhan from Patna, Vikash Kumar from Patna, Aamir Ahmed from Patna, Sonu Thakur from Vaishali, Satish Gandhi from Patna, Vicky Sahni from Patna, Yash Upadhyay from Sasaram, Aashish Ranjan from Patna, Jyoti Jha, Rahul Singh from Sasaram, Rohit Raj from Arwal among others. The event was organized in the leadership of Engineer Kumar Rahul, and a dedicated team of volunteers comprising individuals from every nook and corner of the State. Anchoring was done by Anup Narayan Singh and Sheeran Iram.
Panel Discussion: There was a panel discussion on Media and its role in the development of Bihar. Many veteran journalists from Bihar participated in the panel discussion that included senior journalists Braj Mohan Singh, Gyaneshwar, Kanhaiya Bhelari, Kumar Prabodh, Swayam Prakash, Amitabh Ojha, Kaushalendra Priyadarshi, Jitendra Jyoti, Santosh Singh, Shiv Pujan Jha and Mritunjay Sharma.
Award ceremony: A total of 439 volunteers from the Let’s Inspire Bihar team were given award by Vikas Vaibhav, acknowledging their contribution to the campaign, and for the kind of dedication they are working with on ground to bring positive change in the Stater of Bihar. These volunteers comprised of individuals not just from almost all the districts of Bihar but also from metropolitan chapters of LIB such as Mumbai chapter, Bangalore Chapter, Hyderabad chapter etc.
