Bihar
Areaa: 173,877 sq km
Capital: Patna
Language: Hindi
Districts: 52
The name 'Bihar' is a corrupt form of 'Vihara' which means a Buddhist monastery. Bihar, squ-eezed in between West Bengal, Orissa, MP and UP, reaches up to the Himalayas in the north and is completely landlocked. Bihar is bounded on the north by Nepal, on the south by Orissa, on the east by W. Bengal and on the west by MP and UP.
Physiography:
Bihar gets the worst of the cold and the worst of the heat and plenty of floods.Northern portion of Bihar is almost entirely a level tract, while the south is wooded and hilly. North Bihar is extremely fertile, the land being watered by the rivers Sarayu, Gandak and Ganga. Southern Bihar, especially in and around the districts of Chota Nagpur and Santhal Parganas, is thickly wooded and consists of a succession of hills.
History:
Bihar has a very ancient, glorious and colourful history. Bihar was the home state of the Mauryan emperors. Under Asoka the Great, Magadha and its capital Pataliputra became famous all over the world. With the death of Asoka, its fortunes declined. However, under the Gupta emperors it regained its lost glories.
Under the Sultans of Delhi, and later under the Mughal emperors, Bihar was reduced to the status of a province. Its only claim was that it lay on the route from Bengal to Delhi.When Sher Shah, a Behari himself, drove out Humayun and occupied the throne of Delhi, Bihar once again shot into limelight. Sher Shah founded the city of Patna, on the site of the ancient capital Pataliputra and gave the country an efficient administraton.
Bihar enjoyed a period of peace and stability under Akbar the Great and the later Mughals.With the decline of the Mogul empire, Bihar passed into the hands of Nawabs of Bengal.
The British wrested the country from the Nawab of Bengal, by the decisive battle at Buxar in Bihar (1764). Under the British, Bihar was first a part of the Bengal Presidency.
In 1911, Bihar along with Orissa, was separated from the Presidency of Bengal. In 1936, Bihar and Orissa became separate provinces.Administration: In population Bihar is the second biggest state, next only to U. P.The Legislature consists of two houses—the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. For the development of the tribal region, Bihar government signed an agreement with the Centre on Sept.26,1994,to set up a General Council for 18 districts of the state falling in the Jharkhand region.
In July '97, Bihar assembly recommended to the Centre creation of a Jharkhand state.
In June '98, the government decided to create the Vananchal state, a new name for Jharkhand. Bihar will lose several mineral-rich districts in this exercise.
Districts
- Patna
- Nalanda
- Nawada
- Gaya
- Aurangabad
- Rohtas
- Bhojpur
- Saran
- Siwan
- Gopalganj
- Paschimi Champaran
- Purbi Champaran
- Sitamarhi
- Muzaffarpur
- Vaishali
- Begusarai
- Samastipur
- Darbhanga
- Madhubani
- Koshi
- Madhepura
- Purnia
- Katihar
- Khagaria
- Bhagalpur
- Deoghar
- Godda
- Sahebganj
- Dhanbad
- Giridih
- Hazaribagh
- Palamu
- Ranchi
- Gumla
- Lohardaga
- Jahanabad
- Dumka
- Purbi Singhbhum
- Pashchimi Singhbhum
- Araria
- Kishanganj
- Banka
- Jamui
- Supaul
- Bhabhua
- Buxar
- Garhwa
- Bokaro
- Chatra
- Shekhpura
- Pakur
- Koderma *
Economy:
Bihar has 115 lakh hectares of cultivated land out of a total of 174 lakh ha. Presently only 85 lakh hectares of land are being cultivated. The principal foodgrain crops are rice, wheat, maize and pulses. Main cash crops are sugarcane, oilseeds, tobacco, jute and potato. Forest covers about 19 per cent of the total area.
Important forest products are timber, kendu leaves, lac, gum and sal seed. Bihar has a number of rivers; the most important is the Ganga.In minerals Bihar is the richest state in India (40% of total production). It is the sole producer of coking coal, pyrites and uranium and the leading producer of coal and mica.Industries based on iron ore, coal, etc, are spread out around Jamshedpur, Bokaro, etc.
The target of providing 40 litres of drinking water to each person every day by the end of the century has been set. Leprosy is to be eradicated by the year 2000. Efforts are under way to convert the hutments of the poor in to concrete houses. One member of each family living under the poverty line is to be assured job for at least 100 days of the year.
Universities:
- B.N. Mandal University, Madhepura, Pin: 852 113
- Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University, Muzaffarpur, Pin: 842 001
- Birla institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, Pin: 835 215
- Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, Pin: 834 006
- Hindi Vidyapeeth, Deeghar (Deemed), ; Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad (Deemed), Pin: 826 004
- Jai Prakash Vishwavidyalaya, Chapra, Pin: 841 301
- Kameshwara Singh Darbhangha Sanskrit University, Darbhangha, Pin: 846 008
- Lalit Narayan Mithila University, Darbhangha, Pin: 846 008
- Magadh University, Bodh Gaya, Pin: 824 234
- Nalanda Open University, Patna, Pin: 800 001
- Patna University, Patna, Pin: 800 005
- Rajendra Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur, Pin: 848 125
- Ranchi University, Ranchi, Pin: 834 008; Siddhu Kanhu University, Dumka, Pin: 814 101
- Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University, Dumka
- Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University, Bhagalpur, Pin: 812 007
- Veer Kunwar Singh University, Arrah, Pin: 802 301
- Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribagh, Pin: 825 3001
- The Maulana Mazharul 'Varsity has been set up for the development of Arabic and Persian.
Tourist Centres:
Rajigir, Bodh Gaya, Jamshe-dpur, Bokaro, Nalanda, Patna, Ranchi, Sasaram, Vaishali, Hazaribagh, Betla, Bhim- bandh, etc. Bodh Gaya, near Gaya in Bihar, is a Budhdhist centre of pilgrimage. It contains the famous ancient temple near the Bodhi Tree under which Buddha got enlightenment.
There are airports at Patna, Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Gaya. Tourism has been given the status of an industry. Flood toll in the year reached 300. Jamshedpur and Bokaro are steel towns. Nalanda was one of the great seats of learning in ancient India and contains the ruins of many Buddhist temples and monasteries.
Patna, the capital, stands on the site of the ancient city of Pataliputra. Sasaram is famous on account of the magnificent tomb of Sher Shah Suri, Emperor of Delhi. Hazaribagh and Betla have national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Vaishali was the seat of ancient Lichavi Republic. Patna airport has been renamed Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narayan airport in Aug. 2000.
Labels: Bihar