About Bihar – History, Geography, Economy, Cultural

About Bihar

Different regions of Bihar—such as Magadha, Mithila, Anga, and Vaishali—are mentioned in different religious texts and epics of ancient India. The power centre of ancient Bihar was situated in the region of modern-day southwestern Bihar called Magadha, which remained the centre of power, learning, and culture in India for 1000 years.

The Haryanka dynasty, founded in 684 BC, ruled Magadha from the city of Rajgriha (modern Rajgir), the Haryanka dynasty was followed by the Shishunaga dynasty, and later the Nanda Dynasty ruled a vast tract stretching from Bengal to Punjab.

The Nanda dynasty was replaced by the Maurya Empire, India’s first empire. The Maurya Empire and the religion of Buddhism arose in the region that now makes up modern Bihar.

The tenth and the last Guru of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh was born in Patna. After the downfall of the Mughal Empire, Bihar came under Nawabs of Bengal.

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 Odisha.

Bihar played a very important and vital role in the Independence of India. Much revolutionary activity took place in Bihar during the movement for Indian independence, and Champaran, especially, figured largely in that movement.

MK Gandhi and many other leaders of the independence movement held marches and rallies in Bihar. Babu Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur is the most famous independence activist of Bihar.

Bihar has a diverse climate. Its temperature is subtropical in general, with hot summers and cool winters. Bihar is a vast stretch of a 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 total area covered by the state of Bihar is 94,163 km2 (36,357 sq mi). the state is located between 24°-20′-10″ N ~ 27°-31′-15″ N latitude and between 83°-19′-50″ E ~ 88°-17′-40″ E longitude. Its average elevation above sea level is 173 feet (53 m).

The Ganges divides Bihar into two unequal halves and flows through the middle from west to east. Other Ganges tributaries are the Son, Budhi Gandak, Chandan, Orhani and Phalgu. 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.

Bihar is very cold in the winter, with the lowest temperatures being in the range from 0–10 °C (32–50 °F). Winter months are December and January. It is hot in the summer, with average highs around 35–40 °C (95–104 °F).

Gross state domestic product of Bihar for the year 2013/2014 has been around 3683.37 billion INR. By sectors, its composition is:

Agriculture = 22%

Industry = 5%

Services = 73%.

The economy of Bihar is largely service-oriented, but it has a significant agricultural base. The state also has a small industrial sector. More recently, Bihar’s state GDP recorded a very high growth (in the excess of 10%), making Bihar the fastest-growing major state of India.