Bihar

Bihar is a State situated in the Eastern part of the India but it is also considered commonly as part of Northern India also. It is one of the largest State of India with an area of 94,163 km2 (36,357 sq mi). The River Ganges flows the entire region of Bihar. The Indian State of Bihar is the combination of three distinct regions namely: Magadh, Mithila and Bhojpur. The Capital City of Bihar- Patna is the largest city of this region. Bihar in total comprises of 38 districts. Though Bihar was formed in 1912 but it gained its statehood in 26 January 1950. The official and main languages of this State are Hindi and Urdu.

Information About Bihar
Established	22-Mar-12
Area	94,163 km2
Density	1,102/km2
Total Population (2011)	103,804,637
Males Population	54,278,157
Females Population	49,821,295
Districts	38
Capital	Patna
Largest City	Patna
High Court	Patna High Court
Rivers	Kosi, Ganga, Mahananda River, Budhi Gandak, Kamala River, Ghaghara River and Falgu River etc.
Forests & National Park	Valmiki National Park, Rajgir Wildlife Sanctuary, Kanwar Lake Bird Sanctuary, Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary
Languages	Angika, Maithili, Bhojpuri and Magahi
State Animal	Gaur
State Bird	House sparrow
State Tree	Sacred fig
State Flower	Bauhinia variegata
Literacy Rate (2011)	63.80%
Females per 1000 males	916
Lok Sabha constituencies	40
Assembly constituency	243
Official Website	gov.bih.nic.in
Time zone	UTC+05:30

History

Bihar has a rich historical legacy which dates back to the ancient times during the Neolithic age (2500- 1345 BC) in Bihar’s Saran district as per archaeological records. It is also mentioned in Puranas, Vedas, Ramayana and Mahabharata. Bihar was also part of one of the 16 Mahajanapadas in ancient India and was in great pomp and glory during the rule of ancient Indian Kings such as Bimbisara, Ajatshatru, Sishunaga, Nanda Dynasty, Mauryan Kings such as Chandragupta Maurya, Bindusara, Ashoka and the Gupta Empire. Bihar was also the place known to be the originating place for the birth of two great religions of the world- Jainism and Buddhism. Moreover, it was also the centre of higher learning during the ancient times as the students from all parts of world and India used to come to attain higher education from the Universities of Nalanda and Vikramshila. During the medieval times it was under the Muslim rule. After coming of Britain’s East India Company, Bihar remained as part of the Bengal Presidency and it was only during 1912 it carved out of Bengal to be a separate Indian State along with Orissa. During Pre and Post-Independence of India, Bihar saw various historical upheavals like the Champaran Satyagraha, Kisan Sabha and many more such risings.

Geography

The geographical background of Bihar is such that the Ganges divides Bihar into two unequal halves and flows through the middle from west to east. Mountains are inclined towards the landforms, climate, hydrology and culture of Bihar. The Central part of Bihar is filled with various small hills especially the Rajgir hills. Moreover, to the south of Bihar lies the Chota Nagpur Plateau this is now a part of Jharkhand since in the year 2000 Jharkhand got separated from Bihar. The land of Bihar is also covered with good forest area with 7.2 % of geographical area of Bihar. There are patch of moist deciduous forests in the Himalayan ranges of Someshwar and Dun in Champaran district. Moreover, Sal forests and various types of trees consist of the rich forest cover of Bihar.

Demographics

According to 2011 Census, Bihar is the third most populous State of India and its population figure is 104,099,452 with 54,278,157 male and 49,821,295 female populations. Most of the people in Bihar live in village and it has been counted that almost 90 % of its population resides in rural areas. The approximate sex ratio here is 918 females per 1000 males and around 60% of population comprises of youths below 25 years of age.

Economy

Bihar’s economy is expanded from Agriculture, Industry and Services. It is the fastest growing state in terms of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) with a growth rate of 17.06% in financial year of 2014-15. The economic sectors comprises of 22% in agriculture, 5% in Industrial sectors and 73% in service sectors. But a large number of populations are engaged in agriculture making Bihar the leading producer of vegetables and second largest producer of fruits in India. The main agricultural products produced in Bihar are litchi, guava, mango, pineapple, brinjal, lady’s finger, cauliflower, cabbage, rice, wheat and sugarcane. Bihar is also the hub of booming Information Technology and Brewery Industries. Here both domestic and foreign brewery firms have set up their production units in Patna and Muzaffarpur which includes United Breweries Group, Danish Brewery Company Carlsberg Group and Cobra Beer. Moreover, service related industries like Patna based Security and Intelligence Services (SIS) India Limited is doing quite good and it also has been conglomerated with American Company United Technologies Corporation (UTC) for Australian guard and mobile patrol services business of this American firm.

Tourism

Bihar is an attractive tourist destination well known for its monuments and relics of ancient and medieval times. Every year 24 million tourists visit Bihar since it has much to offer like the Tomb of Sher Shah Suri, Barabar Caves- the oldest rock cut caves, Vikramshila Monastery, Buddha Smriti Park, ruins of the ancient city of Vaishali, Bodhi Tree and the Mahabodhi Temple. Takht Sri Patna Sahib was built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in honour of Guru Gobind Singh Ji who was born in Patna. Other worth visiting destinations are Dharbhanga monuments, Religious place of Gaya, Valmiki National Park, Bhimbandh Wildlife Sanctuary, Karkat Waterfall, Pataliputra, Rohtashgarh Fort, Sasaram Fort, etc. During the ancient times peoples from all over the world used to come in Bihar for educational tourism since it was the home of two prominent ancient Universities- Nalanda and Vikramshila University.

Sports

The popular sports played in Bihar are Cricket, Football, Hockey, Swimming, Wrestling, Volley Ball, etc. These sports were patronized by various eminent sports venues in Bihar consisting of Nalanda International Cricket Stadium, Rajendra Stadium, Basawan Singh Indoor Stadium, etc. The eminent sports personalities Bihar has produced so far are Sriram Jha & Arvind Kumar Sinha (Indian Chess Grand Master), Shivnath Singh (Athletic), Saba Karim (Cricketer) and other noted sports personalities.

Transportation

A wide connectivity of roads, waterways, air transport and railway connects this State with rest part of India. Buses and other road transports ply in Bihar along with good road connectivity of NH-2/31/28/37/98 and many more roads. Bihar is also well-connected via air since it has 3 operational airports: Bihar has three operational airports: Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport, Patna; Gaya Airport; and Purnea Airport.In case of Inland waterways, the Ganges is navigable throughout the year and it has been used since ancient times. It also has good railway networks too.

Culture

Languages and literary has a rich heritage in Bihar. Many dialects of Hindi is being spoken here including Hindi, Urdu, Bhojpuri, Maithili, Magahi, Bajjika, Angika and Surajpuri. Magadhi and Magadhi Prakrit are ancient languages which are still being spoken by some groups of people in Bihar. It is also the home of rich Hindi literature since pillars of Hindi literature belongs from Bihar. Some of the famous authors and poets are Raja Radhika Raman Sinha, Acharya Ramlochan Saran, Ramdhari Singh ‘Dinkar’, Ram Briksh Benipuri, Phanishwar Nath ‘Renu’, etc. Some of the known bestseller English author from Bihar includes Satyapal Chandra, Amitava Kumar, etc. There are also various traditional paintings practiced in Bihar, the paintings practiced in various regions of Bihar also get it name from its place of practice. For example, Mithila Painting from Mithila region is also called popularly “Madhubani Art”. These paintings commonly associate with Mythology, Humans and their association with nature and have no empty space left while painting Madhubani Art. Another form of art is practiced in Bihar known as Manjusha Kala or Angika Art is practiced in the Anga region. Other modern schools of art in Bihar are Patna School of Painting (Patna Salaam). Bihar has produced famous Dhrupad singers like the Malliks (Darbhanga Gharana) and the Mishras (Bettiah Gharana) along with poets like Vidyapati Thakur who contributed to Maithili Music. The classical music in Bihar is a form of the Hindustani classical music having its centre at Gaya, particularly of the Tappa and Thumri varieties of music. Music maestro and Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan also belong from Bihar. Bihar also has a rich theatre culture.

Literacy and Education

Bihar has the literacy rate of 63.82% (75.7% for males and 55.1% for females). There was also 20 % growth of female literacy in past decades. Historically, Bihar was the main centre of learning and home to the ancient Universities of Nalanda (established 450 CE), Odantapura (550 CE) and Vikramshila (established 783 CE). During the British Rule, modern system of education has been introduced in Bihar with the establishment of Patna University in 1917. Other higher learning centres introduced during the British rule were Patna College (1839), Bihar School of Engineering (1900) now known as National Institute of Technology (NIT Patna), Prince of Wales Medical College (1925) now known as Patna Medical College and Hospital, Science College, Patna (1928). Other premium educational institutes were Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Patna established in 2008), AIIMS Patna, The Central University of Bihar (2009), Mahatma Gandhi Central University (2014), etc. Moreover, Bihar also has good colleges and schools for basic education.

Hospitals and Health Care

Bihar has various hospitals, blood banks, medical colleges, ambulance services, path-labs, pharmaceutical stores making Bihar a fastest growing medical hub. Some of the best hospitals are Patna Medical College and Hospital, Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (Patna), Nalanda Medical College & Hospital (Patna), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS Patna), Darbhanga Medical College & Hospital (Darbhanga), Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College & Hospital (Gaya) and many more good hospitals and health care centres.

List of Districts in Bihar

District	Headquarters	Population (2011)	Area (km²)	Density (/km²)
Araria	Araria	2,811,569	2,829	751
Arwal	Arwal	699,000	637	918
Aurangabad	Aurangabad	2,540,073	3,303	607
Banka	Banka	2,034,763	3,018	533
Begusarai	Begusarai	2,970,541	1,917	1,222
Bhagalpur	Bhagalpur	3,037,766	2,569	946
Bhojpur	Arrah	2,728,407	2,473	903
Buxar	Buxar	1,706,352	1,624	864
Darbhanga	Darbhanga	3,937,385	2,278	1,442
East Champaran	Motihari	5,099,371	3,969	991
Gaya	Gaya	4,391,418	4,978	696
Gopalganj	Gopalganj	2,562,012	2,033	1,057
Jamui	Jamui	1,760,405	3,099	451
Jehanabad	Jehanabad	1,125,313	1,569	963
Khagaria	Khagaria	1,666,886	1,486	859
Kishanganj	Kishanganj	1,690,400	1,884	687
Kaimur	Bhabua	1,626,384	3,363	382
Katihar	Katihar	3,071,029	3,056	782
Lakhisarai	Lakhisarai	1,000,912	1,229	652
Madhubani	Madhubani	4,487,379	3,501	1,020
Munger	Munger	1,367,765	1,419	800
Madhepura	Madhepura	2,001,762	1,787	853
Muzaffarpur	Muzaffarpur	4,801,062	3,173	1,180
Nalanda	Bihar Sharif	2,877,653	2,354	1,006
Nawada	Nawada	2,219,146	2,492	726
Patna	Patna	5,838,465	3,202	1,471
Purnia	Purnia	3,264,619	3,228	787
Rohtas	Sasaram	2,959,918	3,850	636
Saharsa	Saharsa	1,900,661	1,702	885
Samastipur	Samastipur	4,261,566	2,905	1,175
Sheohar	Sheohar	656,916	443	1,161
Sheikhpura	Sheikhpura	634,927	689	762
Saran	Chhapra	3,951,862	2,641	1,231
Sitamarhi	Dumra, Sitamarhi	3,423,574	2,199	1,214
Supaul	Supaul	2,229,076	2,410	724
Siwan	Siwan	3,330,464	2,219	1,221
Vaishali	Hajipur	3,495,021	2,036	1,332
West Champaran	Bettiah	3,935,042	5,229	582