The reality of Gutka Stereotype on Biharis, how badly they defame us on these small things

I recently had a conversation with my friends about Indian infrastructure and the overall lack of hygiene we often see—dirt at railway stations, bus stands, corners of walls, you name it. Instead of addressing the real issues, a South Indian friend of mine decided to pin all the blame on **Biharis**, as if 14 crore people are responsible for all the dirt in the country. I tried reasoning with him, explaining with **statistics** that this narrative doesn’t even make sense. Blaming an entire state for a nationwide problem is ridiculous. But instead of listening, he doubled down with his bias And then there was another guy in the group, who doesn’t even refer to Bihar by name—he calls it **"Gutka State."** That hit a nerve. It wasn’t just ignorant; it was insulting. To make it worse, a fellow Bihari from Champaran chimed in, agreeing with the stereotypes! “Haan, UP-Bihar wale hi gutka khaake idhar-udhar thookte hain aur gandagi machate hain,” he said. Hearing this from someone who should know better felt like a betrayal. I’m frustrated and angry. As a Bihari, I’ve always tried to stand up for my state, and it hurts when people reduce it to these ignorant stereotypes. We already face so much prejudice outside the state—why does it have to come from our own people too? It’s not about denying the issues but recognizing that these problems are **national**, not regional. Why is it so hard to look beyond biases and actually address the root causes instead of scapegoating? As a Bihari, I’m proud of my heritage, but moments like these make me question how much more work we have to do to change this mindset. It’s exhausting. Going more on context- Bihar ain't even in top 10 of highest gutka consumers: [https://www.reddit.com/r/IndiaSpeaks/comments/1hnozpd/gutkhapan\_masala\_consumers\_in\_india\_by\_state/?rdt=45346](https://www.reddit.com/r/IndiaSpeaks/comments/1hnozpd/gutkhapan_masala_consumers_in_india_by_state/?rdt=45346)yeh dikhane ke baad bhi yeh bkl bolte hai: since we biharis are everywhere in every state, we do this