Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

Biharis The Biharis () is a demonym given to the inhabitants of the Indian state of Bihar. Bihari people can be separated into three main Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic groups, Bhojpuris, Maithils and Magadhis. They are also further divided into a vari ...

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Maithili,

Magahi The Magahi language (), also known as Magadhi (), is a language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India, and in the Terai of Nepal. Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name deriv ...

, Bhojpuri and other

Languages of Bihar Hindi is the official language of the State of Bihar. Urdu is the second official language in 15 districts of the State. Maithili is a recognized language of the state. However, the majority of the people of Bihar speak one of the Bhojpuri lang ...

. In Ancient and Classical India, the area that is now Bihar was considered the centre of political and cultural power and as a haven of learning. From Magadha arose India's first empire, the Maurya empire, as well as one of the world's most widely adhered-to religions:

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

. Magadha empires, notably under the Maurya and

Gupta Gupta () is a common surname or last name of Indian origin. It is based on the Sanskrit word गोप्तृ ''goptṛ'', which means 'guardian' or 'protector'. According to historian R. C. Majumdar, the surname ''Gupta'' was adopted by sev ...

dynasties, unified large parts of South Asia under a central rule. Another region of Bihar, Mithila, was an early centre of learning and the centre of the

Videha Videha ( Prākrit: ; Pāli: ; Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The population of Videha, the Vaidehas, were initially organised into a monarchy but la ...

kingdom. However, since the late 1970s, Bihar has lagged far behind other Indian states in terms of social and economic development. * * * Many economists and social scientists claim that this is a direct result of the policies of the

central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or del ...

, such as the freight equalisation policy, its apathy towards Bihar, * * lack of Bihari sub-nationalism, * Ahmed Farzand and Mishra Subhash
Leaders of Bihar unite to counter Raj Thackeray
India Today, 31 October 2008 * and the Permanent Settlement of 1793 by the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

. The state government has, however, made significant strides in developing the state. Improved governance has led to an economic revival in the state through increased investment in infrastructure, better healthcare facilities, greater emphasis on education, and a reduction in crime and corruption. * *

Etymology

The name ''Bihar'' derives from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

and Pali word '' vihāra'' (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ...

: विहार), meaning "abode". The region roughly encompassing the present state had many Buddhist vihāras, the abodes of Buddhist monks in the ancient and medieval periods. Medieval writer Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani records in the '' Tabaqat-i Nasiri'' that in 1198 Bakhtiyar Khalji committed a massacre in a town identified with the word, later known as Bihar Sharif, about 70 km (43 mi) away from Bodh Gaya.

History

Ancient period

Chirand, on the northern bank of the Ganga River, in Saran district, has an archaeological record from the

Neolithic age The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

. Regions of Bihar – such as

Magadha Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was rul ...

, Mithila and Anga – are mentioned in religious texts and epics of

ancient India According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by ...

. Mithila gained prominence after the establishment of the

Videha Videha ( Prākrit: ; Pāli: ; Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The population of Videha, the Vaidehas, were initially organised into a monarchy but la ...

Kingdom. During the late Vedic period Videha became one of the major political and cultural centers of South Asia, along with Kuru and Pañcāla. The kings of the Videha Kingdom were called

Janaka Janaka is a character who appears in the Hindu epic Ramayana. He is an ancient Hindu king of Videha, which was located in the Mithila region. His name at birth was Sīradhvaja, and he had a brother named Kushadhvaja. His father's name was Hra ...

s.

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

, a daughter of one of the Janaks of Mithila is mentioned as the consort of Lord Rama, in the

Hindu epic Mahākāvya (lit. great kāvya, court epic), also known as ''sargabandha'', is a genre of Indian epic poetry in Classical Sanskrit. The genre is characterised by ornate and elaborate descriptions of scenery, love, battles and so on — in short, ev ...

''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

'', written by Valmiki. The Videha Kingdom later became incorporated into the

Vajjika League The Vajjika ( Pāli: ) or Vrijika ( Sanskrit: ) League, Confederacy, or Sangha, also called simply Vajji ( Pāli: ) or Vriji ( Sanskrit: ), was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribal league which existed during the later Iron Age period in north-east ...

which had its capital in the city of Vaishali, which is also in Mithila. Vajji had a republican form of government where the head of state was elected from the rajas. Based on the information found in texts pertaining to Jainism and Buddhism, Vajji was established as a republic by the sixth century BCE, before the birth of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

in 563 BCE, making it the first known republic in India. The

Haryanka dynasty The Haryanka dynasty was the third ruling dynasty of Magadha, an empire of ancient India, which succeeded the Pradyota dynasty and Barhadratha dynasty. Initially, the capital was Rajagriha. Later, it was shifted to Pataliputra, near the pr ...

, founded in 684 BCE, ruled Magadha from the city of Rajgriha (modern Rajgir). The two well-known kings from this dynasty were Bimbisara and his son Ajatashatru, who imprisoned his father to ascend the throne. Ajatashatru founded the city of

Pataliputra Pataliputra (IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at t ...

which later became the capital of Magadha. He declared war and conquered the

Vajjika League The Vajjika ( Pāli: ) or Vrijika ( Sanskrit: ) League, Confederacy, or Sangha, also called simply Vajji ( Pāli: ) or Vriji ( Sanskrit: ), was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribal league which existed during the later Iron Age period in north-east ...

. The Haryanka dynasty was followed by the

Shishunaga dynasty The Shaishunaga dynasty (IAST: Śaiśunāga, literally "of Shishunaga") is the fourth ruling dynasty of Magadha, an empire of ancient India. According to the Hindu ''Puranas'', this dynasty was the second ruling dynasty of Magadha, succeeding ...

. Later, the

Nanda Dynasty The Nanda dynasty ruled in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent during the fourth century BCE, and possibly during the fifth century BCE. The Nandas overthrew the Shaishunaga dynasty in the Magadha region of eastern India, and expanded ...

ruled a vast tract stretching from

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

to

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

. The Nanda dynasty was replaced by the Maurya Empire, India's first empire. The Maurya Empire and the religion of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

arose in the region that now makes up modern Bihar. The Mauryan Empire, which originated from Magadha in 325 BCE, was founded by Chandragupta Maurya, who was born in Magadha. It had its capital at

Pataliputra Pataliputra (IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at t ...

(modern Patna). Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, who was born in Pataliputra (Patna), is often considered to be among the most accomplished rulers in world history. The Gupta Empire, which originated in Magadha in 240 CE, is referred as the Golden Age of India in science, mathematics, astronomy, commerce, religion, and

Indian philosophy Indian philosophy refers to philosophical traditions of the Indian subcontinent. A traditional Hindu classification divides āstika and nāstika schools of philosophy, depending on one of three alternate criteria: whether it believes the Veda ...

. Bihar and Bengal were invaded by Rajendra Chola I of the

Chola dynasty The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BC ...

in the 11th century. Chandragupt maurya Birla mandir 6 dec 2009 (31) (cropped)

Medieval period

Buddhism in Magadha went into decline due to the invasion of Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji, during which many of the viharas were destroyed along with the universities of Nalanda and Vikramashila. Some historians believe that thousands of

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

monks were massacred during the 12th century.

D. N. Jha Dwijendra Narayan Jha (19404 February 2021) was an Indian historian who studied and wrote on ancient and medieval India He was a professor of history at Delhi University and a member of the Indian Council of Historical Research. Some of his boo ...

suggests, instead, that these incidents were the result of Buddhist–Brahmin skirmishes in a fight for supremacy. After the fall of the Pala Empire, the

Chero dynasty The Chero dynasty or Chyavana dynasty was a polity that ruled the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, corresponding to the present-day Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand, after the fall of the Pala Empire; their r ...

ruled some parts of Bihar from the 12th century until Mughal rule in the 16th century. In 1540, the great Pathan chieftain, Sher Shah Suri, took northern India from the Mughals and declared Delhi his capital. From the 11th century to the 20th century, Mithila was ruled by various indigenous dynasties. The first of these were the Karnatas, followed by the Oiniwar dynasty and Raj Darbhanga. It was during this period that the capital of Mithila was shifted to Darbhanga. The tenth and the last

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan- Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

of

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

, Guru Gobind Singh, was born in Patna in 1666. With political instability in the Mughal Empire following Aurangzeb's death in 1707, Murshid Quli Khan declared Bengal's independence and named himself Nawab of Bengal. Dr Rajendra Pd

Colonial era

After the Battle of Buxar (1764), the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

obtained the diwani rights (rights to administer and collect tax revenue) for Bihar,

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

and

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. The rich resources of fertile land, water and skilled labour had attracted the foreign imperialists, particularly the Dutch and British, in the 18th century. A number of agriculture-based industries had been started in Bihar by foreign entrepreneurs. Bihar remained a part of the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia an ...

of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

until 1912, when

Bihar and Orissa Bihar and Orissa was a province of British India, which included the present-day Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha. The territories were conquered by the British in the 18th and 19th centuries, and were governed by the then Indian Ci ...

were carved out as a separate province.

Pre- and post-Independence

Farmers in Champaran had revolted against

indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', ...

cultivation in 1914 (at

Pipra ''Pipra'' is a genus of birds in the manakin family Pipridae. Taxonomy and species list The genus ''Pipra'' was introduced by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1764. The name was used by Ancient Greek authors such as Aristotle for a smal ...

) and 1916 (Turkaulia). In April 1917, Mahatma Gandhi visited Champaran, where Raj Kumar Shukla had drawn his attention to the exploitation of the peasants by European indigo planters. The

Champaran Satyagraha The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was the first satyagraha movement led by Mahatma Gandhi in British India and is considered a historically important rebellion in the Indian independence movement. It was a farmer's uprising that took place in C ...

that followed received support from many Bihari nationalists, such as Rajendra Prasad

Krishna Sinha Shri Krishna Sinha (21 October 1887 – 31 January 1961), also known as Shri Babu, was the first chief minister of the Indian state of Bihar (1946–61). Except for the period of World War II, Sinha was the chief minister of Bihar from the time ...

and

Anugrah Narayan Sinha Anugrah Narayan Sinha (18 June 1887 – 5 July 1957), known as '' Bihar Vibhuti'', was an Indian nationalist statesman, participant in Champaran Satyagraha, Gandhian & one of the architects of modern Bihar, who was the first Deputy Chief Minist ...

. In the northern and central regions of Bihar, the Kisan Sabha (peasant movement) was an important consequence of the independence movement. It began in 1929 under the leadership of

Swami Sahajanand Saraswati Sahajanand Saraswati( real name Navrang Rai ) (22 February 1889 – 26 June 1950) was an ascetic, a nationalist and a peasant leader of India. Although born in United Province ( present-day Uttar Pradesh), his social and political activities ...

who formed the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (BPKS), to mobilise peasant grievances against the zamindari attacks on their occupancy rights. The movement intensified and spread from Bihar across the rest of India, culminating in the formation of the

All India Kisan Sabha All India Kisan Sabha ( AIKS; lit. ''All India Farmers Union'', also known as the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha), is the peasant or farmers' wing of the Communist Party of India, an important peasant movement formed by Sahajanand Saraswati in 1 ...

(AIKS) at the

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divis ...

session of the Indian National Congress in April 1936, where Saraswati was elected as its first president. Following independence, Bihari migrant workers have faced violence and prejudice in many parts of India, such as Maharashtra,

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

and

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

.

Geography

Bihar covers a total area of , with an average elevation above sea level of . It is land locked by Nepal in the north, Jharkhand in the south

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

in the east and

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...

to the west. It has three parts on the basis of physical and structural conditions: the Southern Plateau, the Shivalik Region, and Bihar's Gangetic Plain. Furthermore, the vast stretch of fertile Bihar Plain is divided by the Ganges River into two unequal parts – North Bihar and South Bihar. The Ganges flows west–east and, along with its tributaries, regularly floods parts of the Bihar plain. The main northern tributaries are the

Gandak The Gandaki River, also known as the Narayani and the Gandak, is one of the major rivers in Nepal and a left bank tributary of the Ganges in India. Its total catchment area amounts to , most of it in Nepal. In the Nepal Himalayas, it is notabl ...

and Koshi, which originate in the Nepalese Himalayas, and the Bagmati, which originates in the Kathmandu Valley. Other tributaries are the Son, Budhi Gandak, Chandan, Orhani and Phalgu. Bihar has some small hills, such as the Rajgir hills in center, Kaimur Range in south-west and Shivalik Range in North. Bihar has notified forest area of 6,764.14 km², which is 7.1 percent of its geographical area. The sub-Himalayan foothills of

Shivalik ranges Shivalik may refer to: * Siwalik Hills, a series of ranges of outer foothills of Himalaya crossing Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bhutan * ''Shivalik'' class frigate, a class of multi-role stealth frigates in service with the Indian Navy ** INS ''Sh ...

, primary Someshwar and Dun mountain, in West Champaran district are clad in a belt of moist deciduous forest. As well as trees, this consists of scrub, grass and reeds. Bihar lies completely in the Subtropical region of the Temperate Zone, and its climatic type is humid subtropical. Its temperature is subtropical in general, with hot summers and cold winters. Bihar has an average daily high temperature of only 26 °C with a yearly average of 26 °C. The climate is very warm, but has only a very few tropical and humid months. Several months of the year it is warm to hot at temperatures continuously above 25 °C, sometimes up to 29 °C. Due to less rain the best time for traveling is from October to April. The most rainy days occur from May to September.

Flora and fauna

Bihar has

reserved Forest A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

area of , which is 7.27% of its geographical area. The sub-Himalayan foothill of Someshwar and the Dun ranges in the Champaran district have belts of moist deciduous forests, mixed with shrubs, grass and reeds. High rainfall (above 1,600 mm 3 in promotes forests of Sal ('' Shorea robusta'') in these areas. Other important trees are Sal Cedrela Toona, Khair, and Semal. Deciduous forests also occur in the Saharsa and Purnia districts, with common trees including ''Shorea robusta'' (sal), Diospyros melanoxylon (kendu), ''

Boswellia serrata ''Boswellia serrata'' is a plant that produces Indian frankincense. The plant is native to much of India and the Punjab region that extends into Pakistan. Sustainability ''Boswellia serrata'' is currently at risk of being eradicated because of n ...

'' (salai), '' Terminalia tomentose'' (asan), '' Terminalia bellerica'' (bahera), '' Terminalia arjuna'' (arjun), ''

Pterocarpus marsupium ''Pterocarpus marsupium'', also known as Malabar kino, Indian kino, Vijayasar, or Venkai is a medium to large, deciduous tree that can grow up to tall. It is native to India (where it occurs in parts of the Western Ghats in the Karnataka- Ke ...

'' (paisar), and '' Madhuca indica'' (mahua). Valmiki National Park covers about of forest and is the 18th Tiger Reserve of India, ranked fourth in terms of density of tiger population. It has a diverse landscape and biodiversity in addition to sheltering the protected carnivores.

Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary is located in Bhagalpur District of Bihar, India. The sanctuary is a 60 kilometers stretch of the Ganges River from Sultanganj to Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur district. notified as Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin S ...

in

Bhagalpur Bhagalpur is a city in the Indian state of Bihar, situated on the southern banks of the river Ganges. It is the 2nd largest city of Bihar by population and also the headquarters of Bhagalpur district and Bhagalpur division. Known as the Si ...

region is a reserve for the endangered South Asian river dolphin. Other species in Bihar include leopard, bear, hyena, bison, chital and barking deer.

Crocodilia Crocodilia (or Crocodylia, both ) is an order of mostly large, predatory, semiaquatic reptiles, known as crocodilians. They first appeared 95 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period ( Cenomanian stage) and are the closest livi ...

ns including gharials and muggers as well as Gangetic turtles can be found in the river systems. Karkatgarh Waterfall on

Karmanasa River The Karmanasa River ( hi, कर्मनाशा नदी) is a tributary of the Ganges. It originates in Kaimur district of Bihar and flows through the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Along the boundary between Uttar Pradesh and B ...

is a natural habitat of the crocodilians. In 2016, the government of Bihar has accepted the proposal of the forest authorities to turn the place into a Crocodile Conservation Reserve (CCR). Other notable wildlife sanctuaries include

Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in Kaimur District and Rohtas District of Bihar. It is the largest sanctuary in the state and extended in area of in plateaued landscape of Kaimur Range. It was established in 1979. The major forest types ...

, Bhimbandh Wildlife Sanctuary and

Gautam Buddha Wildlife Sanctuary Gautam Budha Wildlife Sanctuary (also spelled Gautam Buddha) is a wildlife sanctuary located in Gaya district of Bihar state and Koderma district of Jharkhand state in east-central India. The refuge was established in 1976, and covers an area o ...

. Many varieties of local and migratory bird species can be seen in natural wetlands of Kanwar Lake Bird Sanctuary, Baraila lake, Kusheshwar Nath Lake, Udaypur lake.

Natural resource

Bihar is the principal holder of the country's pyrite resources and possesses 95% of the resources. In May 2022, a gold mine was found in the district of

Jamui Jamui is a town and a municipality in Jamui district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the district headquarter of Jamui district. Jamui was formed as a district on 21 February 1991 as a result of its separation from Munger. It is part of ...

. It accounts for more than 44% of country's gold reserve, approxing at 223 million tons.

Demographics

At the 2011 Census, Bihar was the third most populous

state of India India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

with a total population of 104,099,452. It was also India's most densely populated state, with 1,106 persons per square kilometre. The

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species dev ...

was 1090 females per 1000 males in the year 2020. Almost 58% of Bihar's population was below 25 years age, which is the highest in India. In 2021, Bihar has had an urbanisation rate of 20%. Bihar has an adult

literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

of 68.15% (78.5% for males and 57.8% for females) in 2020. According to the 2011 census, 82.7% of Bihar's population practised

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

, while 16.9% followed

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

.

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

(0.12%), Buddhism (0.02%) and Sikhism (0.02%) is minority in religion in Bihar. Most of Bihar's population belongs to Indo-Aryan-speaking ethnic groups. It also attracted

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

Hindu refugees during the Partition of British India in 1947.

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

is the official language of the state and spoken by 25.54% of the total population. At 8.42%, Urdu is the second official language in 15 districts of the state. However, the majority of the people speak one of the

Bihari languages Bihari is a group of the Indo-Aryan languages. The Bihari languages are mainly spoken in the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh and also in Nepal.Brass, Paul R. (1974). ''Language, Religion and Politics in North ...

, most of which as classified as dialects of Hindi during the census. The major ones are Bhojpuri (24.86%), Maithili (12.55%)and

Magahi The Magahi language (), also known as Magadhi (), is a language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India, and in the Terai of Nepal. Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name deriv ...

(10.87%) Maithili is a recognised regional language of India under the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India. Proponents have called Bhojpuri,

Magahi The Magahi language (), also known as Magadhi (), is a language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India, and in the Terai of Nepal. Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name deriv ...

, Angika and

Bajjika Bajjika is an Indo-Aryan language variety spoken in parts of eastern India and Nepal. It is closely related to Maithili (of which it is often considered a dialect). Territory and speakers Bajjika is spoken in the north-western part of Bihar, ...

to receive the same status. Smaller communities of

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

and

Surjapuri Surjapuri is an Eastern Indo-Aryan language spoken in Eastern India including North Bengal, West Bengal, and Banganchal of Eastern Bihar, as well as in Nepal. Among speakers in some regions, it is known as 'Deshi Bhasa'. It possesses similaritie ...

speakers are found in the parts of the state, especially in the eastern districts and urban areas.

Government and administration

Governor is the constitutional head of the government of Bihar, who is appointed by the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murm ...

. Chief minister is the executive head of the government who with its cabinet ministers makes all important decisions. The political party or coalition of political parties having a majority in the Bihar Legislative Assembly forms the government. Chief secretary is the head of the bureaucracy of the state, under whom a hierarchy of officials is drawn from the

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the Public administration, administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services ...

,

Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj. Along with the Indian Administrative Service ( ...

,

Indian Forest Service The Indian Forest Service (IFS) is one of the three All India Services of the Government of India. The other two All India Services being the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service. It was constituted in the year 1966 und ...

, and different wings of the state civil services. The judiciary is headed by the Chief Justice of the High Court. Bihar has a high court in Patna, which has been functioning since 1916. All the branches of the government are located in the state capital, Patna. The state is administratively divided into 9 divisions and 38 districts. For the administration of urban areas, Bihar has 19 municipal corporations, 89 nagar parishads (city councils), and 154 nagar panchayats (town councils).

Politics

By 2004, ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

'' magazine said that "Bihar adbecome a byword for the worst of India, of widespread and inescapable poverty, of corrupt politicians indistinguishable from mafia-dons they patronise, caste-ridden social order that has retained the worst feudal cruelties". In 2005, the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

believed that issues faced by the state were "enormous" because of "persistent poverty, complex social stratification, unsatisfactory infrastructure and weak governance". there are two main political formations: the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) which comprises

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...

(BJP, Indian People's Party), Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) and Janata Dal (United) (JDU); and a second alliance between Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD, National People's Party),

Hindustani Awam Morcha Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) ( translation: ''Indian People's Front''; abbreviated as HAM-S) is an Indian political party having presence in Bihar. HAM(S) got new symbol wok in Bihar Assembly Election 2020. Formation It was launched form ...

,

Rashtriya Lok Samta Party Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (abbreviated as RLSP; translation: ''National People's Equity Party'') was a political party in India led by Upendra Kushwaha. It was launched on 3 March 2013 and was based in the state of Bihar. The party came into ex ...

and Indian National Congress (INC). There are many other political formations. The Communist Party of India had a strong presence in Bihar at one time, which has since weakened. The

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxist–Leninist communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in terms of membership and electoral seats and one of the na ...

CPI(M) and CPM and All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) have a minor presence, along with the other extreme leftist parties.

Nitish Kumar Nitish Kumar (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician, who is serving as Chief Minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previous held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. The leader of the Janata Dal (Unit ...

has been chief minister of Bihar for 13 years between 2005 and 2020. In contrast to prior governments, which emphasised divisions of caste and religion, his political platform was based on economic development, reduction of crime and corruption, and greater social equality. Since 2010, the government confiscated the properties of corrupt officials and redeployed them as school buildings. They also introduced Bihar Special Court Act to curb crime. It also legislated a two-hour lunch break on Fridays, to enable

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

employees to pray and thereby reduce absenteeism. The government has prohibited the sale and consumption of alcohol in the state since March 2016, which has been linked to a drop in tourism and a rise in substance abuse.

Public health

Bihar generally ranks weakest in health outcomes in comparison to other Indian states. While the National Health Mission, the Clinical Establishments Act of 2010, and the formation of the Empowered Action Group (EAG) provide federal funds to expand and improve healthcare services, Bihar's ability to fully utilise this funding is lacking. Research indicates that Bihar relies on privatised hospitals to provide healthcare to the masses, with the second-highest ratio among Indian states for private to public spending and high levels of corruption. These factors are associated with slower healthcare delivery and steep healthcare costs. Corruption is enabled as Bihar lacks continuity and transparency of health reporting as required by the Clinical Establishments Act of 2010. In turn, this prevents the government from making evidence-based conclusions about policy changes and hospital effectiveness, resulting in patterns of ill-informed spending and inconsistent hiring. When comparing Bihar to

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

, the number of healthcare professionals (including registered nurses, auxiliary nurses, physicians and health supervisors) at each hospital are significantly lower, and remain constant over time while they steadily increase in number in Kerala.Government of India- Ministry of Health & Family Welfare- Health and Family Welfare Census Data, 2008–2015 According to Ministry of Health statistics, the greatest shortfalls are for physicians and specialists at 75%. Bihar has only 50% of the sub-health centres, 60% of the primary health centres, and 9% of the community health centres required by the national supply-to-population standards. The number of public hospital beds in Bihar decreased between 2008 and 2015. Given the high population density of the state, Bihar is significantly behind in the number of healthcare professionals that should be employed. Despite these shortcomings, Bihar has shown gradual signs of improvement for female health workers, death rate, and infant, neo-natal, child and maternal mortality rates.

Economy

Bihar's gross state domestic product (GSDP) for the fiscal year (FY) 2013–14 was around billion. By sectors, its composition is 22% agriculture, 5% industry and 73% services. Bihar has the fastest-growing state economy in terms of GSDP, with a growth rate of 17.06% in FY 2014–15. The economy of Bihar was projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.4% during 2012–2017 (the 12th Five-Year Plan). Bihar has experienced strong growth in per capita net state domestic product (NSDP). At current prices, per capita NSDP of the state grew at a CAGR of 12.91% from 2004 to 2005 to 2014–15. Bihar's per capita income went up by 40.6% in FY 2014–15. The state's debt was estimated at 77% of GDP by 2007.

Agriculture

Among the states of India, Bihar is the fourth-largest producer of vegetables and the eighth-largest producer of fruits. About 80% of the state's population is employed in agriculture, which is above the national average. The main agricultural products are litchi, guava, mango, pineapple, brinjal, lady's finger, cauliflower, cabbage, rice, wheat, sugarcane, and sunflower. Though good soil and favourable climatic conditions favour agriculture, this can be hampered by floods and soil erosion. The southern parts of the state endure annual droughts, which affect crops such as paddy.

Industry

Begusarai is the industrial and financial capital of Bihar. It has major industries like

Barauni Refinery Barauni Refinery is an oil refinery located in Begusarai city in the state of Bihar, operated by Indian Oil Corporation. It was the dream project of Shri krishna Sinha the first chief minister of Bihar. It was built in collaboration with the ...

, NTPC, Barauni (BTPS), Barauni Fertiliser Plant (HURL, Barauni), Sudha Dairy Plant, Pepsi Bottling Plant. Hajipur,

Dalmianagar Dalmianagar is one of the oldest and biggest industrial towns in India. It is situated at Dehri-on-Sone on the banks of the Son River in Rohtas district of Bihar. This is a city and a Municipality in Rohtas district in the state of Bihar, ...

, Munger and Barauni are the major industrial cities in Bihar The capital city, Patna, is one of the better-off cities in India when measured by per capita income. The Finance Ministry has sought to create investment opportunities for big industrial houses like Reliance Industries. Further developments have taken place in the growth of small industries, improvements in IT infrastructure, a software park in Patna, Darbhanga, Bhagalpur, and the completion of the expressway from the Purvanchal border through Bihar to Jharkhand. In August 2008, a Patna-registered company called the Security and Intelligence Services took over the Australian guard and mobile patrol services business of American conglomerate, United Technologies Corporation (UTC). SIS is registered and taxed in Bihar. Prior to prohibition, Bihar emerged as a brewery hub with numerous production units. In August 2018,

United Breweries Limited United Breweries Holdings Limited (UBHL), also called UB Group, is an Indian conglomerate headquartered in UB City, Bangalore, Karnataka. Its core business includes beverages and investments in various sectors. The company markets beer un ...

announced it would begin production of non-alcoholic beer at its previously defunct brewery in Bihar.

Income distribution

In terms of income, the districts of Patna, Munger, and Begusarai placed highest among the 38 districts in the state, recording the highest per capita gross district domestic product of 31,441, 10,087 and 9,312, respectively, in FY 2004–05.

Income disparity among social groups

Rumela Sen outlines the inequalities and backwardness prevalent in Bihar in post-independence period as a consequence of the "delaying tactics" in implementation of land reform and utilisation of kinship ties by the upper-caste landlords, who were having obstructionist attitude towards the land reform programs. The upper-caste not only dominated the administration, but also the politics in the post-independence period, and they utilised the caste ties to keep about 9000 acres of land undisturbed to the poor. Since the landlords primarily belonged to upper-caste as were the politicians and administrators, they were successful in grabbing large holdings amidst the passage of Zamindari abolition act of 1952.

Culture

Paintings

Sharmila Sharma et Rajendra Kumar Gangani 2

There are several traditional styles of painting practised in Bihar. One is Mithila painting, a style used in the Mithila region of Bihar. Traditionally, this form was practised mainly by women, passed down generation to generation. Painting was usually done on walls during festivals, religious events, births, marriages, and other cultural milestones.Carolyn Brown Heinz, 2006, "Documenting the Image in Mithila Art," Visual Anthropology Review, Vol. 22, Issue 2, pp. 5–33 It was traditionally done on the plastered walls of mud huts, and is also done on cloth, handmade paper and canvas. Famous Mithila painters include Smt Bharti Dayal,

Mahasundari Devi Mahasundari Devi (15 April 1922 – 4 July 2013) was an Indian artist and Madhubani painter. She was awarded the Tulsi Samman by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in 1995, and in 2011 she received the Padma Shri award from the Government of I ...

, the late Ganga Devi, and Sita Devi. Mithila painting is also called

Madhubani art Mithila painting is a style of painting practiced in the Mithila region of India and Nepal. Artists create these paintings using a variety of mediums, including their own fingers, or twigs, brushes, nib-pens, and matchstick. The paint is creat ...

. It mostly depicts human beings and their association with nature. Common scenes illustrate deities and Saraswati from ancient epics, celestial objects, and religious plants like Tulsi, and scenes from the royal court and social events. Generally, no space is left empty. The Patna School of Painting (''Patna Kalam''), sometimes called "Company Painting", flourished in Bihar during the early 18th to mid-20th centuries. It was an offshoot of the Mughal Miniature School of Painting. Those who practised this art form were descendants of Hindu artisans of Mughal painting. Facing persecution from the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb, these artisans found refuge, via Murshidabad, in Patna during the late 18th century. Their art shared the characteristics of the Mughal painters, expanded subject matter from court scenes to bazaar scenes, daily life and ceremonies. They used

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...

s on paper and on mica. This school of painting formed the basis for the formation of the Patna Art School under the leadership of Shri Radha Mohan. The school is an important centre of the fine arts in Bihar.

Performing arts

Bihar has produced musicians like Bharat Ratna, Ustad Bismillah Khan and

dhrupad Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music, Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampraday and also related to the South I ...

singers like the Malliks ( Darbhanga Gharana) and the Mishras (

Bettiah Bettiah is a city and administrative headquarters of West Champaran district ( Tirhut Division) - (Tirhut), near Indo-Nepal border, north-west of Patna, in Bihar state of India. History In 1244 A.D., Gangeshwar Dev, a Bhumihar Brahmin o ...

Gharana), along with poets like

Vidyapati Vidyapati ( – 1460), also known by the sobriquet ''Maithil Kavi Kokil'' (the poet cuckoo of Maithili), was a Maithili and Sanskrit polymath-poet-saint, playwright, composer, biographer, philosopher, law-theorist, writer, courtier ...

Thakur who contributed to

Maithili music Maithili Music is one of the most ancient types of music in the Indian subcontinent. It originated from Mithila, a geographical and cultural region of the Indian subcontinent bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the Ganges in the sou ...

. The classical music in Bihar is a form of

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sit ...

. Gaya is another centre of classical music, particularly of the Tappa and Thumri varieties. Pandit Govardhan Mishra – son of the Ram Prasad Mishra, himself an accomplished singer – is perhaps the finest living exponent of Tappa singing in India, according to Padma Shri Gajendra Narayan Singh, founding secretary of the Sangeet Natak Academi of Bihar. Gajendra Narayan Singh also writes, in his memoir, that Champanagar, Banaili, was another major centre of classical music. Rajkumar Shyamanand Sinha of Champanagar, Banaili princely state, was a great patron of music and was himself one of the finest exponents of classical vocal music in Bihar in his time. Singh, in another book on Indian classical music, wrote that "Kumar Shyamanand Singh of Banaili estate had such expertise in singing that many great singers including Kesarbai Kerkar acknowledged his ability. After listening to bandishes from Kumar Sahib, Pandit Jasraj was moved to tears and lamented that, alas, he did not have such ability himself." ree translation of Hindi text During the 19th century, many Biharis emigrated as indentured labourers to the West Indies,

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...

, and

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

. During this time many sad plays and songs called ''birha'' became popular in the Bhojpur region, as ''Bhojpuri Birha''. Dramas incorporating this theme continue to be popular in the theatres of Patna.

Cinema

Bihar has a robust Bhojpuri-language film industry. There is also a smaller production of

Magadhi The Magahi language (), also known as Magadhi (), is a language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India, and in the Terai of Nepal. Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name deriv ...

-, Maithili language films. The first film with Bhojpuri dialogue was '' Ganga Jamuna'', released in 1961.

Bhaiyaa Bhaiyaa is Magahi language film released in 1961 directed by Phani Majumdar. Cast * Tarun Bose as Parmanand * Vijaya Choudhury as Bindu * Gopal as Murli * Helen as Dancer / Singer at Murli's son's birthday * Padma Khanna as Chandra Ha ...

, the first

Magadhi The Magahi language (), also known as Magadhi (), is a language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India, and in the Terai of Nepal. Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name deriv ...

film, was released in 1961. The first Maithili movie was '' Kanyadan'' released in 1965. Maithili film '' Mithila Makhaan'' won the National Film Award for Best Maithili Film in 2016. The history of films entirely in Bhojpuri begins in 1962 with the well-received film ''

Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo ''Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo'' (English: O Mother Ganga I will offer you a yellow cloth) is a Bhojpuri film released in 1963 directed by Kundan Kumar. It was the first-ever Bhojpuri film, and starred Kumkum, Ashim Kumar and Nazir Hussain ...

'' ("Mother Ganges, I will offer you a yellow sari"), which was directed by Kundan Kumar. 1963's '' Lagi nahin chute ram'' was the all-time hit Bhojpuri film, and had higher attendance than '' Mughal-e-Azam'' in the eastern and northern regions of India.

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" ...

's '' Nadiya Ke Paar'' is another well-known Bhojpuri-language movie. Films such as ''

Bidesiya Bidesiya may refer to: * Bidesiya (play), a 1912 play by Bhikhari Thakur * Bidesiya (film), a 1963 film based on the play {{dab ...

'' ("Foreigner", 1963, directed by S. N. Tripathi) and '' Ganga'' ("Ganges", 1965, directed by Kundan Kumar) were profitable and popular, but in general Bhojpuri films were not commonly produced in the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1980s, enough Bhojpuri films were produced to support a dedicated industry. Films such as ''Mai'' ("Mom", 1989, directed by Rajkumar Sharma) and ''Hamar Bhauji'' ("My Brother's Wife", 1983, directed by Kalpataru) had success at the box office. However, this trend faded during the 1990s. In 2001, Bhojpuri films regained popularity with ''Saiyyan Hamar'' ("My Sweetheart", directed by Mohan Prasad), which raised actor Ravi Kishan to prominence. Several other commercially successful films followed, including ''Panditji Batai Na Biyah Kab Hoi'' ("Priest, tell me when I will marry", 2005, directed by Mohan Prasad) and ''Sasura Bada Paisa Wala'' ("My father-in-law, the rich guy", 2005). These films did much better business in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar than mainstream Bollywood hits at the time, and were both made on extremely tight budgets. ''Sasura Bada Paisa Wala'' also introduced Manoj Tiwari, formerly a well-loved folk singer, to the wider audiences of Bhojpuri cinema. The success of Ravi Kishan and Manoj Tiwari's films led to a revival in Bhojpuri cinema, and the industry began to support an awards show and trade magazine ''Bhojpuri City''. The industry produces over one hundred films per year. In 2019, Maithili film '' Mithila Makhaan'' won Best Maithili Film in the 63rd National Film Awards.

Mass media

''Biharbandhu'' was the first

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

newspaper published in Bihar. It was started in 1872 by Madan Mohan Bhatta, a Marathi

Brahman In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part X ...

who settled in Bihar Sharif. Hindi journalism often failed until it became an official language in the state. Hindi was introduced in the law courts in Bihar in 1880. Urdu journalism and poetry have a long history in Bihar, with many poets such as Shaad Azimabadi, Kaif Azimabadi, Kalim Ajiz and Bismil Azimabadi. Bihar publishes many Urdu dailies, such as ''Qomi Tanzim'' and ''Sahara'', and the monthly ''Voice of Bihar''. The beginning of the 20th century was marked by a number of notable new publications. A monthly magazine named ''Bharat Ratna'' was started in Patna, in 1901. It was followed by ''Ksahtriya Hitaishi'', ''Aryavarta from Dinapure'', ''Udyoga'', and ''Chaitanya Chandrika''. ''Udyog'' was edited by Vijyaanand Tripathy, a famous poet of the time, and ''Chaitanya Chandrika'' by Krishna Chaitanya Goswami, a literary figure of that time. The literary activity was not confined to Patna alone but to other districts of Bihar.

Festivals

Chhath Puja Chhath is an ancient Hindu festival historically native to the Indian subcontinent, more specifically, the Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh,West Bengal, Jharkhand, and the Nepalese provinces of Madhesh and Lumbini. Prayers during Chhat ...

is the biggest and most popular festival in Bihar. The four-day-long holystic Hindu festival includes intense celebration across the state.

Chhath Puja Chhath is an ancient Hindu festival historically native to the Indian subcontinent, more specifically, the Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh,West Bengal, Jharkhand, and the Nepalese provinces of Madhesh and Lumbini. Prayers during Chhat ...

are done in various cities, towns, and villages throughout Bihar. All Bihar involves itself in devotion to Chhath Puja. It is decked up in lighting decorations and thousands of colourful ghats are set up where effigies of the goddess Chhath Maiya and her brother God Surya are displayed and worshipped while sunset and sunrise. The people of each and every religion goes to the bank of any river or near by the pond or lake for giving arghya to the Sun. They carry Fruits and thekuaa along with them in Soop and Daura(a bowl like structure made up of bamboo) for the worship. Now a days it's widely spread all over the world where Bihari community lives. Durga Puja is also the biggest, most popular and widely celebrated festival in Bihar. The ten-day-long colourful Hindu festival includes intense celebration across the state. Pandals are erected in various cities, towns, and villages throughout Bihar. The cities of Bihar transforms Durga Puja. It is decked up in lighting decorations and thousands of colourful pandals are set up where effigies of the goddess Durga and her four children are displayed and worshipped. The idols of the goddess are brought in from Kumortuli, where idol-makers work throughout the year fashioning clay models of the goddess. Since independence in 1947, Durga Puja has slowly changed into more of a glamorous carnival than a religious festival. Today people of diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds partake in the festivities. On Vijayadashami, the last day of the festival, the effigies are paraded through the streets with riotous pageantry before being immersed into the rivers.

Tourism

Bihar is visited by many tourists from around the world,Statistics
on

Tourism in Bihar Bihar ( hi, Bihar, , in eastern India is one of the oldest inhabited places in the world with a history going back 3000 years. The rich culture and heritage of Bihar is evident from the innumerable ancient monuments that are dotted all over the sta ...

on

Indian Government The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

's website In 2019, 33 million tourists visited Bihar, including more than 1 million foreign tourists. Bihar is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as well as many other ancient monuments. The Mahabodhi Temple (literally: "Great Awakening Temple"), a UNESCO World Heritage site, is an ancient

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temple in Bodh Gaya, marking the location where

the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

is said to have attained enlightenment.The Khuda Bakhsh Library, which has one of the world's largest collection of books, rare manuscripts and paintings is located in Patna. Bodh Gaya (in

Gaya district } Gaya district is one of the thirty-eight districts of the Indian state of Bihar. It was officially established on 3 October 1865. The district has a common boundary with the state of Jharkhand to the south. Gaya city is both the district hea ...

) is about 96 km (60 mi) from Patna. Nalanda Mahavihara, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is among the oldest universities in the world, situated in Nalanda, Bihar. It comprises the archaeological remains of a monastic and scholastic institution dating from the third century BCE to the 13th century CE. It includes stupas, shrines, viharas (residential and educational buildings) and important art works in stucco, stone and metal. Nalanda stands out as the most ancient university of the Indian subcontinent.

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...

has recognized 72 monuments in Bihar as Monuments of National Importance. Furthermore,

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...

has recognized 30 additional monument as protected monuments in Bihar. Bihar has many places for ecotourism, which includes Valmiki National Park is famous national park and tiger reserve. Vikramshila Dolphin Sanctuary is home of endangered Gangetic Dolphin. Bihar has many wildlife sanctuary such Bhimbandh Wildlife Sanctuary,

Gautam Buddha Wildlife Sanctuary Gautam Budha Wildlife Sanctuary (also spelled Gautam Buddha) is a wildlife sanctuary located in Gaya district of Bihar state and Koderma district of Jharkhand state in east-central India. The refuge was established in 1976, and covers an area o ...

, Kaimur Sanctuary, Udaypur Wildlife Sanctuary and Pant Wildlife Sanctuary. Bihar invites many species of migratory birds at bird sanctuary like Kanwar Lake Bird Sanctuary and Nagi Dam Bird Sanctuary. Many tourists visit Bihar because of religious significance of the Bihar.

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Goddess

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

, the consort of Lord Rama, is believed to have been born in Sitamarhi in the Mithila region of modern-day Bihar.

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

attained Enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, a town located in the modern day district of Gaya in Bihar. Vasupujya, the 12th Jain Tirthankara was born in Champapuri,

Bhagalpur Bhagalpur is a city in the Indian state of Bihar, situated on the southern banks of the river Ganges. It is the 2nd largest city of Bihar by population and also the headquarters of Bhagalpur district and Bhagalpur division. Known as the Si ...

. Mahavira, the 24th and last Tirthankara of

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...

, was born in Vaishali around the sixth century BC. Śrāddha ritual performed in Pitru Paksha period considered as fruitful in the holy city of Gaya, which is seen as a special place to perform the rite, and hosts a fair during the Pitri Paksha period.

Transport

Airways

Bihar has a total of three operational airports as of 2020:

Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport Jayprakash Narayan International Airport is an international airport serving Patna, the capital of Bihar, India. It is named after the independence activist and political leader, Jayprakash Narayan. It is the 14th busiest airport in India. T ...

in Patna,

Gaya Airport Gaya Airport is an international airport serving Gaya, Bihar, India. This airport is 12 kilometres south-west of Gaya and 5 kilometres away from the temple city of Bodh Gaya, from where Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment. Overview Gaya ...

in Gaya, and Darbhanga Airport in Darbhanga. All three airports have scheduled flights to major cities around India.

Gaya Airport Gaya Airport is an international airport serving Gaya, Bihar, India. This airport is 12 kilometres south-west of Gaya and 5 kilometres away from the temple city of Bodh Gaya, from where Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment. Overview Gaya ...

is the only international airport in Bihar, having seasonal flights to countries like

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, Bhutan, and

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

.

Railways

Bihar has a rail network length of 3794 km in 2020. All major cities, districts and towns are well connected. Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor, after completion, will pass through Kaimur, Rohtas, Aurangabad, and Gaya with a total length of 239 km in Bihar.

Expressways

Gaya-Darbhanga Expressway (access controlled highway) will be Bihar's first expressway of length 189 km, expected to be completed by 2024.

State highways

Bihar has state highways with total length of 4,006 km (2,489 mi) and national highways with total length of 5,358 km (3,329 mi).

Metro transit

Patna will be the first city in Bihar to have mass rapid transit system. Patna Metro with network of 31 km length is under construction as of 2022.

Bus transit

Bihar State Road Transport Corporation Bihar State Road Transport Corporation or BSRTC is a state-owned road transportation company in Bihar with compared to other Indian states it is facing financial crisis in term of government funding, which degrade its process of expanding basic ...

(BSRTC) runs inter-state, intra-state, and international route buses. BSRTC has daily ridership of around 100,000. Its fleet includes non-electric and electric buses, AC and non-AC buses. Delhi, Ranchi, and Kathmandu in Nepal are some of the destinations served outside Bihar.

Patliputra Inter-State Bus Terminal The Pataliputra Inter-State Bus Terminal commonly known as Bairiya ISBT or Bairiya Bus Terminal Patna, located near Kumhrar in Patna is an Inter State Bus Terminal (ISBT) in Patna, Bihar, India. It is the first ISBT of Bihar. The Patna ISBT ...

is a major bus transit hub in Bihar.

Inland Waterways

National Waterways-1 runs along

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

river. Gaighat in Patna has a permanent terminal of inland waterways for handling cargo vessels. The

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

is navigable throughout the year, and was the principal river highway across the vast Indo-Gangetic Plain. Vessels capable of accommodating five hundred merchants were known to ply this river in the ancient period, when it served as a conduit for overseas trade. The role of the Ganges as a channel for trade was enhanced by its natural links to major rivers and streams in north and south Bihar.

Education

Front view of administrative building of IIT Patna

Historically, Bihar has been a major centre of learning, home to the ancient universities of Nalanda (est. 450 CE), Odantapurā (est. 550 CE) and Vikramashila (est. 783 CE). Nalanda and Vikramshila universities were destroyed by Islamic invader

Bakhtiyar Khilji Ikhtiyār al-Dīn Muḥammad Bakhtiyār Khaljī, (Pashto :اختيار الدين محمد بختيار غلزۍ, fa, اختیارالدین محمد بختیار خلجی, bn, ইখতিয়ারউদ্দীন মুহম্মদ � ...

in 1200 CE. Bihar saw a revival of its education system during the later part of the British rule, when

Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library, in Patna, Bihar, is one of the national libraries of India. It was opened to the public on the 29th of October in 1891 by HMJ Sir Khan Bahadur Khuda Bakhsh. Its collection started with 4,000 of Bakhsh's own manus ...

was established in 1891 by Sir Khan Bahadur Khuda Bakhsh which is currently one of the world's largest functioning library and boast 5 Million items. It is known for its paintings and rare manuscripts.

Patna University Patna University is a public state university in Patna, Bihar, India. It was established on 1 October 1917 during the British Raj. It is the first university in Bihar and the seventh oldest university in the Indian subcontinent in the modern ...

, the seventh oldest university of the Indian subcontinent, was established in 1917. Some other centres of high learning established under British rule are

Patna College Patna College is a constituent state aided College of Patna University which is established in 1863 during the British Raj, is one of the oldest colleges in the state of Bihar, India. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in science, ...

(est. 1839), Bihar School of Engineering (est. 1900; now known as

National Institute of Technology, Patna National Institute of Technology Patna (NIT Patna), formerly Bihar School of Engineering and Bihar College of Engineering, is a public engineering institution located in Patna in the Indian state of Bihar. It was renamed as NIT Patna, by the G ...

), Prince of Wales Medical College (est. 1925; now

Patna Medical College and Hospital Patna Medical College and Hospital (abbreviated as PMCH) was established in 1925 and originally known as Prince of Wales Medical College, is a medical college located in Patna, the state capital of Bihar, India. It is located on the southern b ...

), Science College, Patna (est. 1928),

Patna Women's College Patna Women's College, established in 1940, is a women's college in Patna, Bihar. It is affiliated to Patna University, and offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in science, arts, commerce and vocational. Accreditation Patna Women's Co ...

, Bihar Veterinary College (est. 1927), and Imperial Agriculture Research Institute (est. 1905; now Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agriculture University, Pusa). The

Patna University Patna University is a public state university in Patna, Bihar, India. It was established on 1 October 1917 during the British Raj. It is the first university in Bihar and the seventh oldest university in the Indian subcontinent in the modern ...

, one of the oldest universities in Bihar, was established in 1917, and is the seventh oldest university of the Indian subcontinent. Second oldest engineering college of India known as NIT Patna was established as survey training school in 1886 and later renamed as Bihar College of Engineering in 1932. Today, Bihar is home of 8 Institutes of National Importance: IIT Patna, IIM Bodh Gaya, AIIMS, Patna, NIT Patna, IIIT Bhagalpur, NIPER Hajipur,

Khuda bakhsh Oriental Library Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library, in Patna, Bihar, is one of the national libraries of India. It was opened to the public on the 29th of October in 1891 by HMJ Sir Khan Bahadur Khuda Bakhsh. Its collection started with 4,000 of Bakhsh's own manus ...

and Nalanda International University. In 2008, Indian Institutes of Technology Patna was inaugurated with students from all over India and same year National Institute of Fashion Technology Patna was established as the ninth such institute in India. The Indian Institute of Management Bodh Gaya was established in 2015. In March 2019, the government of Bihar has sent a proposal to centre Government to upgrade

Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital is a government medical college having hospital facilities at Darbhanga, Bihar. It was established in the year 1946. College is currently affiliated with Aryabhatta Knowledge University. History The m ...

into an AIIMS-like institution. Bihar is home of four Central universities which includes

Central University of South Bihar Central University of South Bihar (CUSB) is one of the sixteen newly established Central Universities by the Government of India under the Central Universities Act, 2009 (Section 25 of 2009). The university is located at Panchanpur, Gaya, Ind ...

, Mahatma Gandhi Central University,

Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agriculture University Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, formerly known as Rajendra Agricultural University, is a public central agriculture university and is recognised as Institute of National Importance by government of India. It is located in ...

and Nalanda University. In 2015, the central government had proposed re-establishment of Vikramshila in

Bhagalpur Bhagalpur is a city in the Indian state of Bihar, situated on the southern banks of the river Ganges. It is the 2nd largest city of Bihar by population and also the headquarters of Bhagalpur district and Bhagalpur division. Known as the Si ...

and had designated 500 crores (5 billion) for it. Bihar also has the National Institute of Fashion Technology Patna, National Law University, Patna

Institute of Hotel Management The Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition (IHMCT&AN), generally known as Institute of Hotel Management (IHM), is a multi-location public hospitality school in India. IHM is established by the Ministry of Tour ...

(IHM), Footwear Design and Development Institute, Bihta and Central Institute of Plastic Engineering & Technology (CIPET) Center. CIPET and IHM was established in Hajipur in 1994 and 1998 respectively. Aryabhatta Knowledge University was established under ''Aryabhatta Knowledge University Act, 2008 of'' Bihar Government with purpose of the development and management of educational infrastructure related to technical education, medical, management and allied professional education in Bihar. Based on 2020–21 data, Aryabhatta Knowledge University has 56

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

and Pharmacy colleges, 15 Medical colleges, 33 Educational colleges, 8

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior s ...

s, 36 Nursing colleges and 11 Vocational colleges. Chanakya National Law University and Chandragupt Institute of Management were established in the later half of 2008 and now attracts students from not just within Bihar but also students from far flung states. Nalanda International University is established in 2014 with active investment from countries such as Japan, Korea, and China. The A.N. Sinha Institute of Social Studies is a premier research institute in the state. Bihar has eight medical colleges which are funded by the government, namely

Patna Medical College and Hospital Patna Medical College and Hospital (abbreviated as PMCH) was established in 1925 and originally known as Prince of Wales Medical College, is a medical college located in Patna, the state capital of Bihar, India. It is located on the southern b ...

, Nalanda Medical College and Hospital, Vardhman Institute of Medical Sciences,

Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, an Institute under State Legislature Act (Government), was established on 19 November 1983 as an autonomous organisation on the pattern of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. It is on ...

,

Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital is a government medical college having hospital facilities at Darbhanga, Bihar. It was established in the year 1946. College is currently affiliated with Aryabhatta Knowledge University. History The m ...

, Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College and Hospital Gaya,

Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) is situated in Muzaffarpur district in the Indian state of Bihar.Established in 1970, this college is approved by MCI. About college It is affiliated with Aryabhatta Knowledge University. SKMCH ...

,

Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Bhagalpur Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, Bhagalpur is a government recognized medical college and hospital in Bhagalpur, Bihar, India. It has an approx area of 209 acres with total constructed area of 1,00,000 (in sq mtr.) approx. It ...

, Government Medical College, Bettiah and five private medical colleges

Bihta Bihta is a town and Block in Patna district, Bihar state, India. Bihta is part of Maner Assembly constituency and Pataliputra Lok Sabha constituency. It is located around west of Patna. Bihta is also an upcoming satellite town of Patna ...

, a suburb of state capital Patna, is home of institutes like IIT Patna, AIIMS, Patna, BIT, Patna and is now emerging as an education hub. With institute like Super 30, Patna has emerged as a major center for

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

and civil services coaching. The major private

IIT-JEE The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) is an engineering entrance assessment conducted for admission to various engineering colleges in India. It is constituted by two different examinations: the JEE-Main and the JEE-Advanced. The Joint Sea ...

coaching institutes have opened up their branches in Bihar and this has reduced the number of students who go to, for example, Kota and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

for engineering/medical coaching. Bihar e-Governance Services & Technologies (BeST) and the government of Bihar have initiated a unique program to establish a centre of excellence called Bihar Knowledge Center, a finishing school to equip students with the latest skills and customised short-term training programs at an affordable cost. The centre aims to attract the youth of the state to improve their technical, professional, and soft skills, to meet the current requirements of the industrial job market. The National Employability Report of Engineering Graduates, 2014, puts graduates from Bihar in the top 25 percent of the country, and rates Bihar as one of the three top states at producing engineering graduates in terms of quality and employability.

References

External links

; Government
Official site of Bihar

Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation
; General information * * {{Authority control 1912 establishments in India Hindi-speaking countries and territories States and territories established in 1912 States and union territories of India Urdu-speaking countries and territories

Etymology

History

Ancient period

Medieval period

Colonial era

Pre- and post-Independence

Geography

Flora and fauna

Natural resource

Demographics

Government and administration

Politics

Public health

Economy

Agriculture

Industry

Income distribution

Income disparity among social groups

Culture

Paintings

Performing arts

Cinema

Mass media

Festivals

Tourism

Transport

Airways

Railways

Expressways

State highways

Metro transit

Bus transit

Inland Waterways

Education

See also

References

Further reading

External links