Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at 38,202 sq mi (99,200 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 the humid West Bengal in the east and the sub humid Uttar Pradesh in the west which provides it with a transitional position in respect of climate, economy and culture. 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, whilst the majority of the people speak one of the Bihari languages — Angika, Bhojpuri, Magadhi, Maithili, and Bajjika.
Ancient Bihar (which consisted of Anga (East Bihar and some parts of Bengal), Videha/Mithila (north-eastern Bihar and some parts of northern Bengal), Magadha (South Bihar) and Vaishali (Bihar)) 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 equalisation 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.
Bihar lies mid-way between the humid West Bengal in the east and the sub humid Uttar Pradesh in the west which provides it with a transitional position in respect of climate, economy and culture. 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, whilst the majority of the people speak one of the Bihari languages — Angika, Bhojpuri, Magadhi, Maithili, and Bajjika.
Ancient Bihar (which consisted of Anga (East Bihar and some parts of Bengal), Videha/Mithila (north-eastern Bihar and some parts of northern Bengal), Magadha (South Bihar) and Vaishali (Bihar)) 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 equalisation 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.