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On Bihar

Submitted to : Prof. Ashish Kumar Mishra

Submitted by :fw1

Bihar
 Capital of bihar

Location of Bihar in India

Country  India

Angika Region, Bhojpuri Region,

Region
Magadh Region, Mithila Region

Patna, Tirhut, Saran, Darbhanga, Kosi,

Division
Purnia, Bhagalpur, Munger, Magadha

Established 1912 (as Bihar)

Capital Patna

Largest city Patna

 Districts 38 total

Government

Government of India, Government of

 - Body
Bihar

 - Governor Devanand Konwar

Nitish Kumar
 - Chief Minister
Sushil Kumar Modi (Deputy)

 - Legislature Bicameral (243 + 75 seats)

 - Parliamentary
Bihar
constituency

 - High Court Patna High Court

Area†

 - Total 94,163 km2 (36,356.5 sq mi)

Area rank 12th

Population (2011)

 - Total 103,804,637

 - Rank 3rd

 - Density 1,102.4/km2 (2,855.2/sq mi)

Time zone IST (UTC+05:30)

UN/LOCODE INBR

ISO 3166 code IN-BR

Vehicle
BR
registration

HDI 0.449 (low)

HDI rank 28th (2005)

63.82% (28th)
Literacy 59.7% (male)
33.1% (female
 Official languages Hindi, Urdu, Maithili, Magahi.

Website gov.bih.nic.in

Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at 38,202
sq mi (94,163 km²) and 3rd largest by population. Close to 85% of the population lives in
villages. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India.

Bihar lies mid-way between West Bengal in the east and Uttar Pradesh in the west. It is bounded
by the country of Nepal to the north and by Jharkhand to the south. The Bihar plain is divided
into two parts by the river Ganges which flows through the middle from west to east. Bihar has
notified forest area of 6,764.14 km², which is 6.8% of its geographical area. Hindi and Urdu are
the official languages of the state, while the majority of the people speak Angika, Bhojpuri,
Magadhi, Maithili and Bajjika.

Ancient Bihar (which consisted of Anga, Videha/Mithila, Magadha and Vajji/Vrijji) was a centre
of power, learning and culture in ancient and classical India.From Magadha arose India's first
great empire, the Maurya empire as well as one of the world's most widely adhered-to religions,
Buddhism. Magadha empires, notably under the Maurya and Gupta dynasties, unified large parts
of South Asia under a central rule. Its capital Patna, earlier known as Pataliputra, was an
important centre of Indian civilization. Nalanda was a centre of learning established by the 5th
century CE in Bihar.

Today, Bihar lags behind the other Indian states in human, economic development terms.
Economists and social scientists claim that this is a direct result of the skewed policies of the
central government, such as the freight equalization policy, its apathy towards Bihar, lack of
Bihari sub-nationalism (resulting in no spokesperson for the state), and the Permanent Settlement
of 1793 by the British East India Company. The current state government has however made
significant strides in improving governance.

Recent turnaround of image

The improved governance has led to an economic revival in the state through increased
investment in infrastructure, better health care facilities, greater emphasis on education, and
abatement in crime and corruption. Indian and global business and economic leaders feel that
Bihar now has good opportunity to sustain its growth and thus have shown interest in investing
in the state. A recent New York Times article talks about the vastly improved law and order
situation in the state and the phenomenal economic growth shown over the course of last 5 years.
Another BBC article titled "Where 'backward' Bihar leads India "talked about how the state has
made strides in the areas of women empowerment, judicial reforms, tax reforms, and public
safety. Between 2003 and 2008, the inflow of foreign tourists saw a near-six fold rise from
61,000 to 346,000.
The Mahabodhi Temple, among the four holy sites related to the life of the Lord Buddha and UNESCO
World Heritage Site

Etymology of the name

The name Bihar is derived from the Sanskrit and Pali word Vihara (Devanagari), which means
"abode". The region roughly encompassing the present state was dotted with Buddhist vihara, the
abodes of Buddhist monks in the ancient and medieval period.

Medieval writer Minhaj al-Siraj records in the Tabakat-i-Nasiri that in 1198 AD Bakhtiyar
Khalji committed a massacre in a town now known as Sharif (about 70 km away from Bodh
Gaya). Minhaj writes that the inhabitants were 100,000 Brahmins with shaven heads and all of
them were killed. Later, Bakhtiyar learned that the town was a college, and the word for 'college'
is bihar. Perhaps from this destruction came about the current usage of the word 'Vihar'.

According to the Rajopankhyana, the place is so called because Jalpeswara Siva made his
viharas, or wanderings, there.

History
Gautama Buddha undertaking extreme ascetic practices before he realised it was not necessary and his
enlightenment on the bank of river Falgu in Bodh Gaya, Bihar.

The greatest Indian empire, the Mauryan empire, originated from Magadha in 325 BC, it was
started by Chandragupta Maurya who was born in Magadha, and had its capital at Patliputra
(modern Patna). The Mauryan Emperor, Ashoka, who was born in Patliputra (Patna) is believed
to be one of the greatest rulers in the history of India and the world.[33][34] According to indologist
A.L. Basham, the author of the book The Wonder that was India,

The age in which true history appeared in India was one of great intellectual and spiritual
“ ferment. Mystics and sophists of all kinds roamed through the Ganges Valley, all advocating
some form of mental discipline and asceticism as a means to salvation; but the age of the
Buddha, when many of the best minds were abandoning their homes and professions for a life
of asceticism, was also a time of advance in commerce and politics. It produced not only
philosophers and ascetics, but also merchant princes and men of action. ”
Bihar remained an important place of power, culture and education during the next one thousand
years. The Gupta Empire, which again originated from Magadha in 240 CE, is referred to as the
Golden Age of India in science, mathematics, astronomy, religion and Indian philosophy. The
peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the pursuit of scientific and
artistic endeavors. Historians place the Gupta dynasty alongside with the Han Dynasty, Tang
Dynasty and Roman Empire as a model of a classical civilization. The capital of Gupta empire
was Pataliputra, present day Patna. The Vikramshila and Nalanda universities were among the
oldest and best centres of education in ancient India. Some writers believe the period between the
400 CE and 1000 CE saw gains by Hinduism at the expense of Buddhism.The Hindu kings gave
much grants to the Buddhist monks for building Brahmaviharas. A National Geographic edition
reads, "The essential tenets of Buddhism and Hinduism arose from similar ideas best described
in the Upanishads, a set of Hindu treatises set down in India largely between the eighth and
fourth centuries B.C."
Kalidasa's Sanskrit play Abhijñānaśākuntala is one of the Legacy of the Gupta Empire.

The Buddhism of Magadha was swept away by the Muslim invasion under Muhammad Bin
Bakhtiar Khilji, during which many of the viharas and the famed universities of Nalanda and
Vikramshila were destroyed, and thousands of Buddhist monks were massacred in 12th century
CE. In the years 1553–56 Pashtun dynasty ruler 'Adil Shah' took the reigns of North-India and
made 'Chunar' his capital. During 1557–1576, Akbar, the Mughal emperor, annexed Bihar and
Bengal to his empire.Thus, the medieval period was mostly one of anonymous provincial
existence.

The tenth and the last Guru of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh was born in Patna. After the Battle
of Buxar (1764), the British East India Company obtained the diwani rights (rights to administer,
and collect revenue or tax) for Bihar, Bengal and Orissa. The rich resources of fertile Land,
water and skilled labour had attracted the foreign entrepreneurs, specially the Dutch and
Britishers in eighteenth century. A number of Agrio based industries had been started in Bihar by
the foreign entrepreneurs. From this point, Bihar remained a part the Bengal Presidency of the
British Raj until 1912, when the province of Bihar and Orissa was carved out as a separate
province. Bihar now celebrates its birthday as Bihar Diwas on 22 March from 2010. In 1935,
certain portions of Bihar were reorganised into the separate province of Orissa.

Babu Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur and his army, as well as countless other persons from Bihar,
contributed to the India's First War of Independence (1857), also called the Sepoy Mutiny by
some historians. Resurgence in the history of Bihar came during the struggle for India's
independence.
Rajendra Prasad (Sitting left) & Anugrah Narayan Sinha (sitting right) during 1917 Satyagraha movement

It was from Bihar that Mahatma Gandhi launched his pioneering civil-disobedience movement,
Champaran Satyagraha. Brahmins in Champaran had earlier revolted against indigo cultivation
in 1914 (at Pipra) and 1916 (Turkaulia) and Pandit Raj Kumar Shukla took Mahatma Gandhi to
Champaran and the Champaran Satyagraha began. Raj Kumar Shukla drew the attention of
Mahatma Gandhi to the exploitation of the peasants by European indigo planters. Champaran
Satyagraha received the spontaneous support from many Bihari nationalists like Rajendra Prasad
who became the first President of India and Anugrah Narayan Sinha who ultimately became the
first Deputy Chief Minister cum Finance Minister of Bihar.

In the northern and central regions of Bihar, peasants movement was an important consequence
of the Freedom Movement. The Kisan Sabha movement started in Bihar under the leadership of
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati who had formed in 1929, the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha
(BPKS), in order to mobilize peasant grievances against the zamindari attacks on their
occupancy rights.Gradually the peasant movement intensified and spread across the rest of India.
All these radical developments on the peasant front culminated in the formation of the All India
Kisan Sabha (AIKS) at the Lucknow session of the Indian National Congress in April 1936 with
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati elected as its first President.This movement aimed at overthrowing
the feudal (zamindari) system instituted by the British. It was led by Swami Sahajanand
Saraswati and his followers Pandit Yamuna Karjee, Rahul Sankrityayan, Pandit Karyanand
Sharma, Baba Nagarjun and others. Pandit Yamuna Karjee along with Rahul Sankritayan and a
few others started publishing a Hindi weekly Hunkar from Bihar, in 1940. Hunkar later became
the mouthpiece of the peasant movement and the agrarian movement in Bihar and was
instrumental in spreading it.

Bihar made an immense contribution to the Freedom Struggle, with outstanding leaders like
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Sri Krishna Sinha, Dr. Anugrah Narayan
Sinha, K. B. Sahay, Brajkishore Prasad,Mulana Mazharul Haque, Jayaprakash Narayan,Thakur
Jugal Kishore Sinha, Satyendra Narayan Sinha, Ram Dulari Sinha, Basawon Singh, Rameshwar
Prasad Sinha, Yogendra Shukla, Baikuntha Shukla, Sheel Bhadra Yajee, Pandit Yamuna Karjee
and many others who worked for India's freedom relentlessly and helped in the upliftment of the
underprivileged masses. Khudiram Bose, Upendra Narayan Jha "Azad", Prafulla Chaki and
Baikuntha Shukla were active in revolutionary movement in Bihar.

On 15 January 1934, Bihar was devastated by an earthquake of magnitude 8.4. Some 30,000
people were said to have died in the quake.

The state of Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar in the year 2000. The 2005 Bihar assembly
elections ended 15 years of continuous RJD rule in the state, giving way to NDA led by Nitish
Kumar.

Geography and climate

Map of Bihar

Geography
Bihar is a vast stretch of fertile plain. It is drained by the Ganges River, including its northern
tributaries Gandak and Koshi, originating in the Nepal Himalayas and the Bagmati originating in
the Kathmandu Valley that regularly flood parts of the Bihar plains. The Ganges divides Bihar
into two unequal halves and flows through the middle from west to east. Other Ganges tributaries
are the Son River, Budhi Gandak, Chandan, Orhani and Falgu. Though the Himalayas begin at
the foothills, a short distance inside Nepal and to the north of Bihar, the mountains influence
Bihar's landforms, climate, hydrology and culture. Central parts of Bihar have some small hills,
for example the Rajgir hills. To the south is the Chota Nagpur plateau, which was part of Bihar
until 2000 but now is part of a separate state called Jharkhand.

Flora and fauna

Peepal tree (The Bodhi Tree at the Mahabodhi Temple is also Peepal tree)'

State flower of bihar Bauhinia acuminata locally knowns as Kachnaar

Bihar is the third most populated state of India with total population of 82,998,509 (43,243,795
male and 39,754,714 female). Nearly 85% of Bihar's population lives in rural areas. Almost 58%
of Biharis are below 25 years age, which is the highest in India. Density is 881. Sex Ratio is 919
females per 1000 males. Since ancient times, Bihar has attracted migrants and settlers including
Bengalis, Turks from Central Asia, Persians, Afghans and Punjabi Hindu refugees during the
Partition of British India in 1947.Bihar has a total literacy rate of 63.82% (75.7% for males
55.1% for females).
Government and administration

Bihar State Symbols [65]

Vidhansabha Building, Patna State bird India roller

The constitutional head of the Government of Bihar

is the Governor, who is appointed by the President of State animal Gaur
India. The real executive power rests with the Chief
Minister and the cabinet. The political party or the
coalition of political parties having a majority in the State flower Kanchnar
Legislative Assembly forms the Government.
State tree Peepal
The head of the bureaucracy of the State is the Chief
Secretary. Under this position, is a hierarchy of
officials drawn from the Indian Administrative
Service, Indian Police Service, and different wings
of the State Civil Services. The judiciary is headed by the Chief Justice. Bihar has a High Court
which has been functioning since 1916. All the branches of the government are located in the
state capital, Patna.

The state is divided into 09 divisions and 38 districts, for administrative purposes. The various
districts included in the divisions - Patna, Tirhut, Saran, Darbhanga, Kosi, Purnia, Bhagalpur,
Munger and Magadh Division.

Politics
Bihar was an important part of India's struggle for independence. Gandhi became the mass leader
only after the Champaran Satyagraha that he launched on the repeated request of a local leader,
Raj Kumar Shukla, and Gandhi was supported by Rajendra Prasad, Sri Krishna Sinha, Anugrah
Narayan Sinha and Brajkishore Prasad.

The first Bihar governments in 1937 and 1946 were led by two eminent leaders Sri Babu (Dr. Sri
Krishna Sinha) and Anugrah Babu (Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha) who were men of
unimpeachable integrity and great public spirit.They ran an exemplary government in
Bihar.Bihar was rated as the best administered among the states in the country at that time.

Even after independence, when India was falling into an autocratic rule during the regime of
Indira Gandhi, the main thrust to the movement to hold elections came from Bihar under the
leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan. The airport of Patna is also named after him.

This resulted in two things:

1. Bihar gained an anti-establishment image. The establishment-oriented press often projected the
state as indiscipline and anarchy.
2. As a result, the identity of Bihar, representing a glorious past, was lost. Its voice often used to
get lost in the din of regional clamor of other states, specially the linguistic states like Uttar
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, etc.

Since the regional identity was slowly getting sidelined, its place was taken up by caste based
politics, power initially being in the hands of the Bhumihar, Kayastha, Rajput and Brahmin.
After independence, the power was shared by the two great Gandhians Dr. Sri Krishna Sinha,
who later became the first Chief Minister of Bihar and Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha , who
decidedly was next to him in the cabinet and served as the first deputy chief minister cum
Finance Minister of Bihar. In the late 60s, the death of Mr. Lalit Narayan Mishra, the Indian
Railway minister (who was killed by a hand grenade attack for which Central leadership is
blamed most of the time) pronounced the end of indigenous work oriented mass leaders. For two
decades, the Congress ruled the state with the help of puppet chief ministries hand in glove with
the central government (Indira Gandhi) ignoring the welfare of the people of the state. It was at
this time that Chandrashekhar Singh became the Chief Minister. It was the time when a
prominent leader like Satyendra Narayan Sinha took sides with the Janata Party and deserted
congress from where his political roots originated, following the ideological differences with the
congress. Idealism did assert itself in the politics from time to time, viz, 1977 when a wave
defeated the entrenched Congress Party and then again in 1989 when Janata Dal came to power
on an anti corruption wave. In between, the socialist movement tried to break the stranglehold of
the status quoits under the leadership of Mahamaya Prasad Sinha and Karpoori Thakur.
Unfortunately, this could not flourish, partly due to the impractical idealism of these leaders and
partly due to the machinations of the central leaders of the Congress Party who felt threatened by
a large politically aware state. Communist Party in Bihar was formed in 1939. The Communist
movement in Bihar was led by veteran communist leaders like the venerable Pandit Karyanand
Sharma, Indradeep Sinha, Sunil Mukherjee, Jagannath Sarkar, Rahul Sankrityayan, Karyanand
Sharma and others.

Communist Party in Bihar was a formidable force. They were in the forefront of all the
progressive movements in Bihar. It was Communist Party of Bihar headed by Jagannath Sarkar
fought against the "total revolution" of Jaya Prakash Narain.

Janata Dal came to power in the state in 1990 on the back of its victory at the national stage in
1989. Lalu Prasad Yadav became Chief Minister after winning the race of legislative party
leadership by a slender margin against Ram Sundar Das, a former chief minister from the Janata
Party and close to eminent Janata Party leaders like Chandrashekhar and S N Sinha. Later, Lalu
Prasad Yadav gained popularity with the masses through a series of popular and populist
measures. The principled socialists, Nitish Kumar included, gradually left him and Lalu Prasad
Yadav by 1995, was both Chief Minister as well as the President of his party, Rashtriya Janata
Dal. He was a charismatic leader who had the people's support. But he couldn't bring the derailed
wagon of development of the state onto the track. When corruption charges got serious, he quit
the post of CM but anointed his wife as the CM and ruled through proxy. In this period, the
administration deteriorated quickly.

In 2005, as disaffection reached a crescendo among the masses including the middle classes, the
RJD was voted out of power and Lalu Prasad Yadav lost an election to a coalition headed by his
previous ally and now rival Nitish Kumar. Despite the separation of financially richer Jharkhand,
Bihar has actually seen more positive growth in recent years under his leadership.

Currently, there are two main political formations: the NDA which comprises Janata Dal,
Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal led coalition which also has the Indian
National Congress. There are myriad other political formations. Ram Vilas Paswan led Lok
Janshakti Party is a constituent of the UPA at the center. The Communist Party of India had a
strong presence in Bihar at one time, but is weakened now. The CPM and Forward Bloc have a
minor presence, along with the other extreme Left. In the 2010 state elections Bihar's current
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar led government got thunderous support from public and won 206
seats out of 243 seats. Analysts and even Nitish Kumar's political opponents credit Kumar's
excellent pro-public governance centered around development, curb on crime and corruption and
given importance of all sections of society. In past 5 years Bihar made fast progress and have
implemented many novel ideas, for which it is taken in high steam by other states of India. The
recent performance in assembly election and mature voting by people of Bihar, which also saw
for the first time in Indian electorates the highest number of female voting, is being called as
something to follow all over India to bring political maturity in the nation and improve the
quality of governance and politicians by rightfully exercising the democratic rights in true sense.
Bihar is credited to set this example. Also after coming to power again in 2010, the current
government immediately started its movement against corruption by confiscating properties of
corrupt officials and opening schools in them. Simultaneously they introduced Bihar Special
Court Act to curb crime. Amongst the eminent Bihari immigrants overseas are Dr.Gholam
Mujtaba,a Pakistani-American politician and Ambassador Rashad Hussain,an Indian-American
presently serving as United States Ambassador to the OIC (Organization of Islamic countries).
Bihar accounts for 65% of India's annual litchi production.

Farm workers in Bihar

The economy of Bihar is largely service oriented, but it also has a significant agricultural base.
The state also has a small industrial sector. As of 2008, agriculture accounted for 35%, industry
9% and service 55% of the economy of the state. Among all the sector, manufacturing sector
performed very poorly in the state between 2002–2006, with an average growth rate of 0.38%
compared to India's 7.8%. Bihar was the lowest GDP per capita in India, although there are
pockets of higher than the average per capita income.Between 1999 and 2008, GDP grew by
5.1% a year, which was below the Indian average of 7.3%. More recently, Bihar's state GDP
recorded a growth of 18% between 2006–2007, and stood at 94251 Crores Rupees ($21 billion
nominal GDP). Between a 5 year period of 2004-2009, Bihar's GDP grew at a stunning rate of
11.03%.This makes Bihar the fastest growing major state. In actual terms, Bihar state GDP was
ranked 2nd out of 28 states, ranking it next only to Gujarat.

Corruption is an import hurdle for the government to overcome according to Transparency

International India, which highlighted Bihar as the Union's most corrupt state in a 2005 report.
Despite the recent economic gains, significant challenges remain and the government has also
stated that combating corruption is now the biggest challenge the administration is faced. Bihar
has seen a sea change under the Nitish Kumar regime.
A village market

Bihar has significant levels of production of mango, guava, litchi, pineapple, brinjal, cauliflower,
bhindi, and cabbage in India.Despite the states leading role in food production, investment in
irrigation and other agriculture facilities has been inadequate in the past. Historically, the sugar
and vegetable oil industries were flourishing sectors of Bihar. Until the mid fifties, 25% of
India's sugar output was from Bihar. Dalmianagar was a large agro-industrial town. There have
been attempts to industrialize the state between 1950 and 1980: an oil refinery in Barauni, a
motor scooter plant at Fatuha, and a power plant at Muzaffarpur. However, these were forced to
shut down due to central government policy which neutralized the strategic advantages of Bihar.
Hajipur, near Patna, remains a major industrial town in the state, linked to the capital city
through the Ganges bridge and good road infrastructre.

The state's debt was estimated at 77% of GDP by 2007. The Finance Ministry has given top
priority 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, the new software park in Patna, 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 (SIS) India Limited took over the Australian guard
and mobile patrol services business of American conglomerate, United Technologies Corp
(UTC). SIS is registered and taxed in Bihar.The capital city, Patna, is one of the better off cities
in India when measured by per capita income.

Education
Historically, Bihar has been a major centre of learning, home to the ancient universities of
Nalanda (established in 450 CE), Odantapurā ( established in 550CE) and Vikramshila (established in 783
AD). Unfortunately, that tradition of learning which had its origin from the time of Buddha or
perhaps earlier, was lost during the medieval period when it is believed that marauding armies of
the invaders destroyed these centers of learning.

Bihar saw a revival of its education system during the later part of the British rule when they
established Patna University (established in 1917) which is the seventh oldest university of the
Indian subcontinent.Some other centers of high learning established by the British rule are Patna
College (established in 1839), Bihar School of Engineering (established in 1900; now known as
National Institute of Technology, Patna), Prince of Wales Medical College (established in 1925;
now Patna Medical College and Hospital), Science College, Patna (established in 1928) among
others.

After independence Bihar lost the pace in terms of establishing a centre of education. Modern
Bihar has a grossly inadequate educational infrastructure creating a huge mismatch between
demand and supply. This problem further gets compounded by the growing aspirations of the
people and an increase in population. The craving for higher education among the general
population of Bihar has led to a massive migration of the Literacy rate from 1951~2001[92]
student community from the state.
Year Total Males Females
Bihar being a comparatively less literate state in India, with
women's literacy being only 33.57%, is striving to climb as 1951 13.49 22.68 4.22
the government has established various educational
institutions. At the time of independence, women's literacy 1961 21.95 35.85 8.11
in Bihar was 4.22%. It is a pleasant surprise to find that in
1971 23.17 35.86 9.86
spite of the meagre investment on education in Bihar,
specially compared to other Indian states, the students have 1981 32.32 47.11 16.61
done very well. Famed national institutes of learning such as
IITs, IIMs, NITs and AIIMS have always have had a good 1991 37.49 51.37 21.99
representation from Bihar which is usually higher than their
proportion of the population. Bihar has a National Institute 2001 47.53 60.32 33.57
of Technology (NIT) in Patna and an Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT)in Patna. Other institutions of higher
learning, and coveted positions in the government also show a greater share than the percentage
of their population. A recent survey by Pratham rated the absorption of their teaching by the
Bihar children better than those in other states.

Bihar established several new education institutes between 2006-2008. BIT Mesra started its
Patna extension center in September 2006. On 8 August 2008, IIT was inaugurated in Patna with
students from all over India. National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research
(NIPER) is being set up in Hajipur. On 4 August 2008, National Institute of Fashion Technology
Patna was established as 9th such institute of fashion technology in India. Chanakya National
Law University a law university and Chandragupt Institute of Management a management
institute was established in later half of 2008.Steps to revive the ancient Nalanda University as
Nalanda International University is being taken for which countries like Japan, Korea and China
have also taken initiatives. The Aryabhatt Knowledge University is almost framed to start in
Patna this year to deal with technical & medical studies & research. The A.N. Sinha Institute of
Social Studies is a premier research institute in the state.
Bihar is pioneer in the field of yoga with its internationally renowned institute Bihar School of
Yoga in Munger.

Bihar e-Governance Services & Technologies (BeST) and the Government of Bihar have
initiated a unique program to establish a center of excellence called Bihar Knowledge Center, a
finishing school to equip students with the latest skills and customized short-term training
programs at an affordable cost. The center aims to attract every youth of the state to hone up
their technical, professional and soft skills and prepare them for the present industry
requirement/job market.

Culture
Besides usual rural handicrafts like hand-painted wall hangings, wooden stools,
miniatures in paper and leaves, stone pottery, bamboo, leather goods and appliqué
work, Bihar is famous for its Madhubani paintings. These works of art often adorn city
homes and are also exported. A strict monopoly of women of Mithila, Madhubani
artists work with natural colors on paper and cloth, making works that narrate
mythological and religious events.
Ancient designs in bright colors can still be seen on the mud walls in the districts of
Saharsa, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Darbhanga, Samastipur, and Bhagalpur and of course
Madhubani the trade centre for this unique art.
Since most of the people are Hindu, traditional festivals like Holi, Saraswati Puja,
Durga Puja or Dussehra, Deepwali and Bhaiya Dooj are all celebrated. But Chaath
dedicated to Sun God is one festival that is unique to the place. The festival begins on
the fourth day of the month of Kartik Shukhla Paksha(second fortnight of Kartik). This
will correspond to late October to mid November depending on the year. It is one of the
holiest festivals for Biharis and extends to four days.
Bihar has a very old tradition of beautiful folk songs sung during important family
occasions such as marriage, birth ceremonies. They are sung mainly in group settings
without the help of too many musical instruments though dholak and occasionally tabla
and harmonium are used.
Bihar also has a tradition of lively Holi songs known as Phagua filled with fun rhythms.
During the 19th century when the condition of Bihar worsened under the British
misrule many Biharis had to migrate as apprenticed labourers to West Indian Islands,
Fiji and Mauritius. During this time many sad plays and songs called Biraha became
 very popular in the Bhojpur area. Dramas on that theme continue to be popular in the
theatres of Patna.
Theatre is another form in which the Bihari culture expresses itself. Some forms of
theatre with rich traditions are Reshma-Chuharmal, Bihula-Bisahari, Bahura-GOrin,
Raja-Salhesh, Sama-Chakeva and Dom-Kach.These originate in the Anga area of
Bihar.

Language and literature

Hindi and Urdu are the official languages of the state (recently Maithili is also included as one of
the official languages of the state, although the usage of the language for official purposes is
negligible), while the majority of the people speak one of the Bihari languages - Bhojpuri or
Magadhi. Presently Bihari languages are considered one of the five subgroups of Hindi;
however, Maithili was declared a separate language. However, these are considered to be derived
from the language of the erstwhile Magadha state - Magadhi Prakrit, along with Bengali,
Assamese, and Oriya. Bihari Hindi, a slang form of Standard Hindi, is used as a lingua franca
and many speak it as their first language throughout the state. A small minority also speak
Bengali, mainly in big districts or along the border area with West Bengal. Many Bengali
speakers are people from West Bengal or Hindu people from erstwhile East Pakistan who
immigrated during the Partition of India in 1947. Though Urdu and Bihari languages may relate
to each other, however they are different in many ways. Few words in Bihari language sounds
same as they are spoken in Urdu; e.g. Sulf-nazuk in Bihari is Sinf-e-Nazuk in Urdu. Also,
masculine and feminine words are often not clear in Bihari language as these are in Urdu.

In spite of the large number of speakers of Bihari languages, they have not been constitutionally
recognized in India. Hindi is the language used for educational and official matters in
Bihar.These languages were legally absorbed under the subordinate label of 'HINDI' in the 1961
Census. Such state and national politics have created conditions for language endangerment.

The first success for spreading Hindi occurred in Bihar in 1881, when Hindi displaced Urdu as
the sole official language of the province. In this struggle between competing Hindi and Urdu,
the potential claims of the three large mother tongues in the region - Magahi, Bhojpuri and
Maithili were ignored. After independence Hindi was again given the sole official status through
the Bihar Official Language Act, 1950. Urdu became the second official language in the
undivided State of Bihar on 16 August 1989.
Nagarjun, known as People's poet

The relationship of Maithili community with Bhojpuri and Magahi communities – the immediate
neighbors have been neither very pleasant nor very hostile. Maithili has been the only one among
them which has been trying to constantly deny superimposition of Hindi over her identity. As of
now Maithili is a separate language that uses Devanagari as the writing script rather than its own
script Mithilakshar due to lack of the development of the printing press and also due to
ignorance. The other two have given up their claims and have resigned to accept the status of
dialects of Hindi.

Bihar has produced a number of writers and scholars, including Mahamahopadhyaya Pandit Ram
Avatar Sharma, Dr.Bhagwati Sharan Mishra,R. K. Sinha, Raja Radhika Raman Singh, Shiva
Pujan Sahay, Divakar Prasad Vidyarthy, Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar', Ram Briksh Benipuri,
Phanishwar Nath 'Renu', Pandit Nalin Vilochan Sharma, Gopal Singh "Nepali", Baba Nagarjun,
Mridula Sinha, and Pankaj Rag. Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan, the great writer and Buddhist
scholar, was born in U.P. but spent his life in the land of Lord Buddha, i.e., Bihar. Hrishikesh
Sulabh is the prominent writer of the new generation. He is short story writer, playwright and
theatre critic. Arun Kamal and Aalok Dhanwa are the well-known poets. Different regional
languages also have produced some prominent poets and authors. Sharat Chandra
Chattopadhyay, who is among the greatest writers in Bangla, resided for some time in Bihar. Of
late, the latest Indian writer in English, Upamanyu Chatterjee also hails from Patna in Bihar.
Devaki Nandan Khatri, who rose to fame at the beginning of the 20th century on account of his
novels such as Chandrakanta and Chandrakanta Santati, was born in Muzaffarpur, Bihar.
Vidyapati Thakur is the most renowned poet of Maithili (c. 14-15th century).

Interestingly, the first Indian author in English was a Bihari, Deen Mohammad. Among the
contemporary writers in English Amitava Kumar, Tabish Khair and Siddharth Choudhary are
important names. Siddharth Choudhary has been shortlisted for 2009 Man Asian Literary Prize
for his book Day Scholar. Bihar has also made important contributions to Urdu literature. Shad
Azimabadai, Nasikh, Jamil Mazhari and Mazhar Imam as eminent poets; Suhail Azimabadi,
Akhtar Orenivi, Shaukat Hayat and Shamoel Ahmed as short story writers; and Paigham Afaqui
(novel Makaan), Abdus Samad (novel Do Gaz Zameen), Husainul Haque (novel Farat), Ilyas
Ahmed Gaddi (novel Fire Area) enjoy special place in global literature.
The literary and cultural movement Bhookhi Peedhi, or 'Hungry generation', was launched from
Bihar's capital in November 1961 by two brothers, Samir Roychoudhury and Malay Roy
Choudhury. The movement impacted most of the Indian languages of the time.

Urdu is second government language in Bihar which is the mother tongue of Muslims who form
about 17% of state's population. Near 25% people in Bihar read and write Urdu. Bihar has
produced many Urdu scholars, such as Shaad Azimabadi, Jamil Maz'hari, Khuda Baksh Khan,
Maulana Shabnam Kamali, Bismil Azimabadi (poet known for the patriotic ghazal "Sarfaroshi ki
tamanna ab hamare dil mein hai"), Kaif Azimabadi, Rasikh Azimabadi, and in these days, Kalim
Aajiz.

Arts and crafts

Madhubani painting

Madhubani painting is a style of Indian painting practiced in the Mithila region of Bihar.
Tradition states that this style of painting originated at the time of the Ramayana, when King
Janak commissioned artists to do paintings at the time of marriage of his daughter, Sita, to Lord
Ram. The painting was traditionally done on freshly plastered mud wall of huts, but now it is
also done on cloth, hand-made paper and canvas. Madhubani painting mostly depict nature and
Hindu religious motifs, and the themes generally revolve around Hindu deities like Krishna,
Ram, Shiva, Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. Natural objects like the sun, the moon, and
religious plants like tulsi are also widely painted, along with scenes from the royal court and
social events like weddings. Generally no space is left empty. Traditionally, painting was one of
the skills that was passed down from generation to generation in the families of the Mithila
Region, mainly by women. The painting was usually done on walls during festivals, religious
events, and other milestones of the life-cycle such as birth, Upanayanam (Sacred thread
ceremony), and marriage.
Manjusha Kala or Angika Art is an art form of Anga region of Bihar. Notably artist Jahar
Dasgupta born in Jamshedpur, Bihar which is presently under state Jharkhand.

A painting of the city of Patna, on the River Ganges, Patna School of Painting

Patna School of Painting or Patna Qalaam, some times also called Company painting, offshoot
of the well-know Mughal Miniature School of Painting flourished in Bihar during early 18th to
mid 20th century. The practitioners of this art form were descendants of Hindu artisans of
Mughal painting who facing persecution from the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb found refuge, via
Murshidabad, in Patna during late 18th century. They shared the characteristics of the Mughal
painters, but unlike them (whose subjects included only royalty and court scenes), the Patna
painters also started painting bazaar scenes. The paintings were executed in watercolours on
paper and on mica. Favourite subjects were scenes of Indian daily life, local rulers, and sets of
festivals and ceremonies. Most successful were the studies of natural life, but the style was
generally of a hybrid and undistinguished quality. It is this school of painting that formed the
nucleus for the formation of the Patna Art School under the leadership of Shri Radha Mohan.
College of Arts and Crafts, Patna is an important centre of fine arts in Bihar.

Artisans selling their work near GPO Patna.

The artisans of Bihar have been very skillful in creating articles using local materials. Basket,
cups and saucers made from bamboo-strips or cane reed are painted in vivid colors are
commonly found in Bihari homes. A special container woven out of Sikki Grass in the north, the
"pauti", is a sentimental gift that accompanies a bride when she leaves her home after her
wedding. The weavers of Bihar have been practicing their trade for centuries. Among their
products in common use are the cotton dhurries and curtains. They are produced by artisans in
central Bihar, particularly in the Patna and Biharsharif areas. These colourful sheets, with motifs
of Buddhist artifacts, pictures of birds, animals, and/or flowers, gently wafting in the air through
doors and windows, blown by a cool summer breeze, used to be one of the most soothing sights
as one approached a home or an office. Bhagalpur is well known for its seri-culture, manufacture
of silk yarn and weaving them into lovely products. It is known as the tussah or tusser silk.

Performing arts

Magahi folk singers

Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan, from Dumraon, Bihar

Bihar has contributed to the Indian (Hindustani) classical music and has produced musicians like
Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan, who later migrated out of Bihar. Dhrupad singers like the
Malliks (Darbhanga Gharana) and the Mishras (Bettiah Gharana), who were patronised by the
Zamindars of Darbhanga and Bettiah respectively, have produced maestros like Ram Chatur
Mallik, Abhay Narayan Mallick, Indra Kishore Mishra.

Perhaps, not well acknowledged and commercialised as those from the Dagar school of Dhrupad,
they have kept the Dhrupad tradition in perhaps the purest forms. Gaya was another centre of
excellence in classical music, particularly of the Tappa and Thumri variety. Pandit Govardhan
Mishra, son of the Ram Prasad Mishra, himself, an accomplished singer, is perhaps the finest
living exponent of Tappa singing in India today, according to Padmashri Gajendra Narayan
Singh, former Chairman of Bihar Sangeet Natak Academy. Gajendra Narayan Singh also writes
in his latest book "surile Logon Ki Sangat" that Champanagar, Banaili was another major centre
of classical music. Rajkumar Shyamanand Sinha of Champanagar Banaili estate was a great
patron of music and himself, was one of the finest exponents of classical vocal music in Bihar in
his time. Gajendra Narayan Singh in his other book "Swar Gandh" has written that "Kumar
Shyamanand Singh of Banaili estate had such expertise in singing that many great singers
including Kesarbai Kerkar were convinced about his prowess in singing. After listening to
Bandishes from Kumar Saheb, Pandit Jasraj was moved to tears and lamented that alas! he could
have such ability himself".

Bihar has a very old tradition of beautiful folk songs, sung during important family occasions,
such as marriage, birth ceremonies, festivals, etc. and the most famous folk singer has been
Padma Shri Sharda Sinha. They are sung mainly in group settings without the help of many
musical instruments like Dholak, Bansuri and occasionally Tabla and Harmonium are used.
Bihar also has a tradition of lively Holi songs known as 'Phagua', filled with fun rhythms. During
the 19th century, when the condition of Bihar worsened under the British misrule, many Biharis
had to migrate as indentured laborers to West Indian islands, Fiji, and Mauritius. During this
time many sad plays and songs called biraha became very popular, in the Bhojpur area. Dramas
on that theme continue to be popular in the theaters of Patna.

Dance forms of Bihar are another expression of rich traditions and ethnic identity. There are
several folk dance forms that can keep one enthralled, such as dhobi nach, jhumarnach, manjhi,
gondnach, jitiyanach, more morni, dom-domin, bhuiababa, rah baba, kathghorwa nach, jat jatin,
launda nach, bamar nach, jharni, jhijhia, natua nach, bidapad nach, sohrai nach, and gond nach.

Theatre is another form in which the Bihari culture expresses itself. Some forms of theater with
rich traditions are Bidesia, Reshma-Chuharmal, Bihula-Bisahari, Bahura-Gorin, Raja Salhesh,
Sama Chakeva, and Dom Kach. These theater forms originate in the Anga region of Bihar.

Cuisine

The cuisine of Bihar for the Hindu upper and middle classes is predominantly vegetarian, but
eating non-vegetarian food is also popular. However, people discourage eating meat daily and
many Hindu don't eat meat during Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The Muslims in Bihar
however do generally eat meat as well as vegetables. In Bihar people generally eat boiled rice
and daal etc. and no Roti during lunch and Roti is eaten in night with vegetables. The traditional
cooking medium is mustard oil. Khichdi, a broth of rice and lentils seasoned with spices and
served with several accompanying items, constitutes the mid-day meal for most Hindu Biharis on
Saturdays. The favourite dish among Biharis is litti-chokha. Litti is made up of dough stuffed
with sattu (ground powder coming from roasted brown chickpeas) then boiled in water. It is then
fried in oil, but little oil is used since it has been pre-boiled. The other way of cooking Litti is
grilling it on red hot coal. Chokha is made of mashed potatoes, fried onions, salt, cilantro, and
carrom seeds. Litti is also accompanied with ghee and channa (small brown chickpeas with
onions and masala).

Chitba and Pitthow which are prepared basically from rice, are special foods of the Anga region.
Tilba and Chewda of Katarni rice are also special preparations of Anga. Kadhi bari is a popular
favorite and consists of fried soft dumplings made of besan (gram flour) that are cooked in a
spicy gravy of yoghurt and besan. This dish goes very well with plain rice.

Bihar offers a large variety of sweet delicacies which, unlike those from Bengal, are mostly dry.
These include Anarasa, Belgrami-Udvant nagar ke Belgrami, Chena Murki, Motichoor ke
Laddoo-Maner ka Laddoo, Kala Jamun, Kesaria Peda, Khaja, Khurma, Khubi ki Lai, Laktho,
Parwal ki Mithai, Pua & Mal Pua, Thekua, Murabba and Tilkut. Tilkut and Anarsa from Gaya is
world famous and Lai from Dhanarua is also famous. Gurahi Laddu is also famous from Bhabua.
Many of these originate in towns in the vicinity of Patna. Several other traditional salted snacks
and savories popular in Bihar are Chiwra, Dhuska, Litti, Makhana and Sattu. Khaja from Silaw,
Nalanda is very famous in whole of state.

There is a distinctive Bihari flavor to the non-vegetarian cuisine as well, although some of the
names of the dishes may be the same as those found in other parts of North India. There is a very
popular non-vegetarian dish called Tash, made by frying marinated mutton and eaten with
Chewra, the flattened rice. This particular dish is popular in Motihari and Bettiah. Fish Curry
cooked in mustard paste with Rice maaach-bhaat is also a popular dish in non-vegetarian
Maithili homes.

Islamic culture and food, with Bihari flavor are also part of Bihar's unique confluence of
cultures. Famous food items include Biharee Kabab, Shami Kabab, Nargisi Kufte, Shabdeg,
Yakhnee Biryanee, Motton Biryani, Shaljum Gosht, Baqer Khani, Kuleecha, Naan Rootee,
Sawee ka Zarda, Qemamee Sawee, Gajar ka Halwa, Ande ka ZfraniHalwa, etc.

Religion

Religion in Bihar

Religion Percent

Hinduism    83%

Islam    16%

   1%
Other
Buddha's statue at Bodh Gaya's temple

Vishnupadh Temple, Gaya, Bihar

Gautam Buddha attained Enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, a town located in the modern day district
of Gaya in Bihar. Vardhamana Mahavira, the 24th and the last Tirthankara of Jainism, was born
in Vaishali around sixth century BC.

A typical Hindu Brahmin household would begin the day with the blowing of a conch shell at
dawn.

In rural Bihar, religion is the main component of popular culture. Shrines are located everywhere
- even at the foot of trees, roadsides, etc., religious symbols or images of deities can be found in
the most obscure or the most public places. From the dashboard of a dilapidated taxi to the plush
office of a top executive, holy symbols or idols have their place.

There are many variations on the festival theme. While some are celebrated all over the state,
others are observed only in certain areas. However Bihar is so diverse that different regions and
religions have something to celebrate at some time or the other during the year. So festivals take
place round the year. Many of these are officially recognized by the days on which they take
place being proclaimed as government holidays.

Bihar Regiment

One of the battle cry of the Bihar Regiment, consisting of 17 battalions, is "Jai Bajrang Bali"
(Victory to Lord Hanuman).

Festivals

Chhath, also called Dala Chhath - is an ancient and major festival in Bihar, and is celebrated
twice a year: once in the summers, called the Chaiti Chhath, and once around a week after
Deepawali, called the Kartik Chhath. The latter is more popular because winters are the usual
festive season in North India, and Chhath being an arduous observance requiring the worshippers
to fast without water for more than 24 hours, is easier to do in the Indian winters. Chhath is the
worship of the Sun God. Wherever people from Bihar have migrated, they have taken with them
the tradition of Chhath. This is a ritual bathing festival that follows a period of abstenance and
ritual segregation of the worshiper from the main household for two days. On the eve of Chhath,
houses are scrupulously cleaned and so are the surroundings. The ritual bathing and worship of
the Sun God takes place, performed twice: once in the evening and once on the crack of the
dawn, usually on the banks of a flowing river, or a common large water body. The occasion is
almost a carnival, and besides every worshipper, usually women, who are mostly the main ladies
of the household, there are numerous participants and onlookers, all willing to help and receive
the blessings of the worshiper. Ritual rendition of regional folk songs, carried on through oral
transmission from mothers and mothers-in-law to daughters and daughters-in-law, are sung on
this occasion for several days on the go. These songs are a great mirror of the culture, social
structure, mythology and history of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. Chhath being celebrated at
the crack of the dawn is a beautiful, elating spiritual experience connecting the modern Indian to
his ancient cultural roots. Chhath is believed to be started by Karna, the king of Anga Desh
(modern Bhagalpur region of Bihar).

Among ritual observances, the month-long Shravani Mela, held along a 108-kilometre route
linking the towns of Sultanganj and Deoghar (now in Jharkhand state), is of great significance.
Shravani Mela is organised every year in the Hindu month of Shravan, that is the lunar month of
July–August. Pilgrims, known as Kanwarias, wear saffron coloured clothes and collect water
from a sacred Ghat (river bank) at Sultanganj, walking the 108 km stretch barefooted to the town
of Deoghar to bathe a sacred Shiva–Linga. The observance draws thousands of people to the
town of Deoghar from all over India.

Teej and Chitragupta Puja are other local festivals celebrated with fervor in Bihar. Bihula-Bishai
Puja is celebrated in the Anga region of Bihar. The Sonepur cattle fair is a month long event
starting approximately half a month after Deepawali and is considered the largest cattle fair in
Asia. It is held on the banks of the Gandak River in the town of Sonepur. The constraints of the
changing times and new laws governing the sale of animals and prohibiting the trafficking in
exotic birds and beasts have eroded the once-upon-a-time magic of the fair.

Apart from Chhath, all major festivals of India are celebrated in Bihar, such as Makar Sankranti,
Saraswati Puja, Holi, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha (often called Eid-ul-Zuha in the Indian
Subcontinent), Muharram, Ram Navami, Rath yatra, Rakshabandhan, Maha Shivaratri, Durga
Puja is celebrated with a grandeur akin to the neighbouring state of Bengal, Diwali, Kali
Puja/Shyama Puja/Nisha Puja is celebrated in the Mithilanchal portion, Kojagra is also
celebrated in the Mithilanchal region, Laxmi Puja, Christmas, Mahavir Jayanti, Buddha Purnima,
Chitragupta Puja, Gurpurab and several other local festivals as well.

Cinema

Bihar has a robust cinema industry for the Bhojpuri language. There are some small Maithili,
Angika and Magadhi film industry. First Bhojpuri Film was Ganga Jamuna released in
1961."Lagi nahin chute ram" was the all-time superhit Bhojpuri film which was released against
"Mugle Azam" but was a superhit in all the eastern and northern sector. Bollywood's Nadiya Ke
Paar is among the most famous Bhojpuri language movie. The first Maithili movie was
Kanyadan released in 1965, of which a significant portion was made in the Maithili language.
Bhaiyaa a Magadhi film was released in 1961.Bhojpuri's history begins in 1962 with the well-
received film Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo ("Mother Ganges, I will offer you a yellow
sari"), which was directed by Kundan Kumar.Throughout the following decades, films were
produced only in fits and starts. Films such as Bidesiya ("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 tentatively make up an industry. Films
such as Mai ("Mom", 1989, directed by Rajkumar Sharma) and Hamar Bhauji ("My Brother's
Wife", 1983, directed by Kalpataru) continued to have at least sporadic success at the box office.
However, this trend faded out by the end of the decade, and by 1990, the nascent industry
seemed to be completely finished.

The industry took off again in 2001 with the super hit Saiyyan Hamar ("My Sweetheart",
directed by Mohan Prasad), which shot the hero of that film, Ravi Kissan, to superstardom.This
success was quickly followed by several other remarkably successful films, 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). In a measure of the
Bhojpuri film industry's rise, both of these did much better business in the states of Uttar Pradesh
and Bihar than mainstream Bollywood hits at the time, and both films, made on extremely tight
budgets, earned back more than ten times their production costs.Sasura Bada Paisa Wala also
introduced Manoj Tiwari, formerly a well-loved folk singer, to the wider audiences of Bhojpuri
cinema. In 2008, he and Ravi Kissan are still the leading actors of Bhojpuri films, and their fees
increase with their fame. The extremely rapid success of their films has led to dramatic increases
in Bhojpuri cinema's visibility, and the industry now supports an awards show and a trade
magazine, Bhojpuri City,which chronicles the production and release of what are now over one
hundred films per year. Many of the major stars of mainstream Bollywood cinema, including
Amitabh Bachchan, have also recently worked in Bhojpuri films

Media
Biharbandhu was the first Hindi newspaper published from Bihar. It was started in 1872 by
Madan Mohan Bhatta, a Maharashtrian Brahman settled in Biharsharif. Hindi journalism in
Bihar, and specially Patna, could make little headway initially. It was mainly due to lack of
respect for Hindi among the people at large. Many Hindi journals took birth and after a lapse of
time vanished. Many journals were shelved even in the embryo. But once Hindi enlisted the
official support, it started making a dent into the remote areas in Bihar. Hindi journalism also
acquired wisdom and maturity and its longevity was prolonged. Hindi was introduced in the law
courts in Bihar in 1880.

Urdu journalism and poetry has a glorious past in Bihar. Many poets belong to Bihar such as
Shaad Azimabadi, Kaif Azimabadi, Kalim Ajiz and many more. Shanurahman, a world famous
radio announcer, is from Bihar. Many Urdu dailies such as Qomi Tanzim and Sahara publish
from Bihar at this time. There is a monthly Urdu magazine called "VOICE OF BIHAR" - which
is the first of its kind and becoming popular among the Urdu speaking people.

The beginning of the twentieth century was marked by a number of notable new publications. A
monthly magazine named Bharat Ratna was started from Patna in 1901. It was followed by
Ksahtriya Hitaishi, Aryavarta from Dinapure, Patna, 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 figures of that time. The literary activity was not
confined to Patna alone but to many districts of Bihar.

Magahi Parishad, established in Patna in 1952, pioneered Magadhi journalism in Bihar. It started
the monthly journal, Magadhi, which was later renamed Bihan.

DD Bihar and ETV Bihar are the television channels dedicated to Bihar. Recently a dedicated
Bhojpuri channel, Mahuaa TV has been launched. followed by Hamar TV and Maurya TV.

Hindustan, Dainik Jagran, Aaj, Nayee Baat and Prabhat Khabar are some of the popular Hindi
news papers of Bihar. National English dailies like The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The
Telegraph and The Economic Times have readers in the urban regions.
Transportation

Streamers and dredgers at Gai Ghat, Patna.

Bihar has two operational airports: Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport, Patna, and the Gaya Airport,
Gaya. The Patna airport is categorized as a restricted international airport, with customs facilities
to receive international chartered flights.

It is also known as the most dangerous airport in India with a runway span of just around 6000 ft
making landing of large planes like 747 and 777 impossible. Only small jets like A320, 737 etc.
can land with full brakes,flaps and reverse thrust.

The Gaya Airport is an international airport connected to Colombo, Singapore, Bangkok, Paro
and more.

Bihar is well-connected by railway lines to the rest of India. Most of the towns are
interconnected, and they also are directly connected to Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai. Patna, Gaya,
Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Katihar, Barauni and Chhapra are Bihar's best-connected
railway stations.

The state has a vast network of National and State highways. East-West corridor goes through
the cities of Bihar (Muzaffarpur-Darbhanga-Purnia NH57) 4-6 lanes.

For Buddhist pilgrims, the best option for travel to Bihar is to reach Patna or Gaya, either by air
or train, and then travel to Bodh Gaya, Nalanda, Rajgir and Vaishali.

The Ganges – navigable throughout the year – was the principal river highway across the vast
north Indo-Gangetic Plain. Vessels capable of accommodating five hundred merchants were
known to ply this river in the ancient period; it served as a conduit for overseas trade, as goods
were carried from Pataliputra (later Patna) and Champa (later Bhagalpur) out to the seas and to
ports in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. The role of Ganges as a channel for trade was enhanced
by its natural links - it embraces all the major rivers and streams in both north and south Bihar.
In recent times Inland Waterways Authority of India has declared the Ganges between Allahabad
and Haldia to be a national inland waterway and has taken steps to restore its navigability.

Tourism

Trolley ride in Rajgir

Remains of the ancient city of Vaishali

Bihar is one of the oldest inhabited places in the world, with a history spanning 3,000 years. The
rich culture and heritage of Bihar is evident from the innumerable ancient monuments spread
throughout the state. Bihar is visited by scores of tourists from all over the world,with around
6,000,000 (6 million) tourists visiting Bihar every year.

In earlier days, tourism in the region was purely based educational tourism, as Bihar was home
of some prominent ancient universities like Nalanda University & Vikramaśīla University.

Bihar is one of the most sacred place for various religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism,
Sikhism and Islam.

Mahabodhi Temple, a Buddhist shrine and UNESCO World Heritage Site is also situated in
Bihar. Mahatma Gandhi Setu, Patna, is the second longest river bridge in the world.