India, Dec. 1 -- There is something irresistibly powerful about the soil of Bihar - its social fabric, value systems, and milieu. Bihar has long been a land of revolutions - ideological, political, and social - that have shaped not only its destiny but also that of India. Yet, as the state emerges from one of its most defining assembly elections in decades, the paradox could not be starker: a land blessed with fertile soil, abundant water, a youthful population, and a legacy of scholarship remains trapped in economic morass. The saga of a state infinitely rich in potential yet persistently poor in economic outcomes continues to confound economists and policymakers. Over the past two decades, another conundrum has emerged: Bihar has record...