India

Jason Motlagh, for the Pulitzer Center
Patna, India

No stranger to hardship, northern Bihar state – India's poorest and most corrupt – is faced with some degree of flooding each year. But none in distant memory compare to this year's monsoon deluge, a symptom of climate change that has affected tens of millions, killed hundreds and exposed the extent of state neglect rooted in class politics.

Pulitzer Center Staff

Jason's first story from India ran Saturday, September 8, 2007 in Newark's Star-Ledger. His story is entitled, "Flood-ravaged Indians founder in undercurrent of class politics."

MUZAFFARPUR, India - In the six weeks since their village was swallowed by floodwaters, Chaitu Sahani and his family have watched helplessly as the government aid deliveries roll past their new home.

Along with thousands of other refugees, they now live in shoddy tarpaulin tents that stretch for miles along one of the few highways still operable in the dirt-poor northern state of Bihar.

Why the food trucks won't stop, they don't understand.

Jason Motlagh, for the Pulitzer Center
India

The Indian government has drawn criticism from some aid groups for not declaring a state of emergency in the wake of biblical monsoon floods that have affected more than 20 million in Bihar state alone. Officials maintain that that such disasters can be handled internally – and they're right.

No stranger to hardship, northern Bihar state – India's poorest and most corrupt – is faced with some degree of flooding each year. But none in distant memory compare to this year's monsoon deluge, a symptom of climate change that has affected tens of millions, killed hundreds and exposed the extent of state neglect rooted in class politics.