Biharis are below the age of 25, giving Bihar the highest proportion of young people of any Indian state.[17] The official language is Hindi, which shares official status alongside that of Urdu. The main native languages are Maithili, Magahi and Bhojpuri. But there are several other
languages being spoken at smaller levels.
In
Maurya and Gupta dynasties, unified large parts of South Asia under a central rule.[23] Another region of Bihar, Mithila, was an early centre of learning and the centre of the Videha kingdom.[24][25]
However, since the late 1970s, Bihar has lagged far behind other Indian states in terms of social and economic development.
British East India Company.[28] The state government has, however, made significant strides in developing the state.[31] Improved governance has led to an economic revival in the state through increased investment in infrastructure,[32] better healthcare facilities, greater emphasis on education, and a reduction in crime and corruption.[33]
Etymology
The name Bihar is derived from the Sanskrit and Pali word vihāra (Devanagari: विहार), meaning 'abode" and usually referred to a Buddhist monastery. The region roughly encompassing the present state had many Buddhist vihāras, the abodes of Buddhist monks in the ancient and medieval periods.[34][35][36]
Mithila gained prominence after the establishment of the
Gautama Buddha
in 563 BCE, making it the first known republic in India.
The
Nanda dynasty ruled a vast tract stretching from Punjab to Odisha.[43]
Mauryan Empire
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 Mauryan Empire, which originated from Magadha in 321 BCE, was founded by Chandragupta Maurya, who was born in Magadha. It had its capital at Pataliputra (modern Patna). Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, who was born in Pataliputra (Patna), is often considered to be among the most accomplished rulers in world history.[44][45]
zamindari attacks on their occupancy rights. The movement intensified and spread from Bihar across the rest of India, culminating in the formation of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) at the Lucknow session of the Indian National Congress in April 1936, where Saraswati was elected as its first president.[63]
Following independence,
Bihari migrant workers have faced violence and prejudice in many parts of India, such as Maharashtra, Punjab, and Assam.[64][65]
Decades following the independence in 1947 were full of violent conflicts between the landless section of Bihari society and the landed elite who controlled the government at various level. This was an outcome of the failed land reform drive and improper implementation of the land ceiling laws that were passed by
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, which was controlled at the upper echelon by the middle peasant castes such as the Koeris and Yadavs, with Dalits and Extremely Backward Castes forming its mass support base and activists.[69][70]
Meanwhile, the 1960s saw the rise of political instability in the state with dwindling power of Indian National Congress and rise of parties like Samyukta Socialist Party. The leaders belonging to Backward Castes became vocal for their political rights. The toppling of Mahamaya Prasad Sinha government by Jagdeo Prasad hastened the end of dominance of Forward Caste backed Indian National Congress in the state.[71]
Bihar covers a total area of 94,163 km2 (36,357 sq mi), with an average elevation above sea level of 173 feet (53 m). It is land locked by
Shivalik ranges, primary Someshwar and Dun mountain, in West Champaran district are clad in a belt of moist deciduous forest
. As well as trees, this consists of brush, grasses and reeds.
Bihar lies completely in the Subtropical region of the Temperate Zone, and its climatic type is humid subtropical. Its temperature is subtropical in general, with hot summers and cold winters. Bihar has an average daily high temperature of only 26 °C with a yearly average of 26 °C. The climate is very warm, but has only a very few tropical and humid months. Several months of the year it is warm to hot at temperatures continuously above 25 °C, sometimes up to 29 °C. Due to less rain the best time for travelling is from October to April. The rainiest days occur from May to September.[77]
Gautam Buddha Wildlife Sanctuary. Many varieties of local and migratory bird species can be seen in natural wetland of Kanwar Lake Bird Sanctuary, Asia's largest oxbow lake and only Ramsar site in Bihar, and other notable wetlands of Baraila lake, Kusheshwar Nath Lake, Udaypur lake.[78]
Natural resource
Bihar is the principal holder of the country's pyrite reserves and possesses 95% of all known resources.[82]
In May 2022, a gold mine was found in the district of Jamui.[83] It accounts for more than 44% of the country's gold reserve, approximately 223 million tons.[84]
literacy rate of 70.9% (79.7% for males and 60.5% for females) in 2017 according to NSC report 2017.[87][89] According to Bihar caste survey 2023, Bihar's literacy rate grew upto 79.8%[90] (which is 18% increase from 61.18% of Census 2011) showing remarkable growth in education sector from past decades. Population increased to 130,725,310 as per the Bihar caste survey conducted in 2023.[86]
Hindi is the official language of the state and is spoken natively by 25.54% of the total population.[94] At 8.42%, Urdu is the second official language in 15 districts of the state.[95] However, the majority of the people speak one of the Bihari languages, most of which were classified as dialects of Hindi during the census. The major ones are Bhojpuri (24.86%), Maithili (12.55%) and Magahi (10.87%)[96][97]Angika and Bajjika, two other Bihari languages, are classified under other dialects of Hindi in the census. Maithili is a recognised regional language of India under the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India. Proponents have called for Bhojpuri, Magahi, Angika, and Bajjika to receive the same status.[98][99] Smaller communities of Bengali and Surjapuri speakers are found in some parts of the state, especially in the eastern districts and urban areas.[93]
Under the Constitution of India, the Governor is the head of the government of Bihar, and is appointed by the President of India. The Chief minister is the executive head of the government who, with its cabinet ministers, makes all important policy decisions. The political party or coalition of political parties having a majority in the Bihar Legislative Assembly forms the government.
The Chief Secretary is the head of the bureaucracy of the state, under whom a hierarchy of officials is drawn from the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service, Indian Forest Service, and different wings of the state civil services. The judiciary is headed by the Chief Justice of the High Court. Bihar has a high court in Patna, which has been functioning since 1916. All the branches of the government are located in the state capital, Patna.
The state is administratively divided into nine divisions and 38 districts. For the administration of urban areas, Bihar has 19
Nitish Kumar (left) with Lalu Prasad Yadav (right) discussing with former Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh (centre) about flood relief operation in Bihar.
The politics of Bihar have been based on
Forward Castes. Important figures such as Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar took a leading role in this mobilisation, and by 1990, the upper backwards– Koeri, Kurmi, Yadav became the new political elites of the state.[111]
Historically, a caste troika consisting the three communities, Kushwaha, Kurmi and Yadav also led an anti-upper caste agitation in the state of Bihar, pushing them to the prominence in the state's politics.[112]
However, the tipping point of this Backward Caste unity came in 1995 Bihar Legislative Assembly election, when the dominant OBC castes, who were at the forefront in the collective struggle against the Forward Castes, were divided into two rival political camps. While one of these camps was led by Yadavs under Janata Dal, the other camp was led by Koeri and Kurmis, who assembled under the Samata Party. According to Sanjay Kumar, this was the election in which the caste divide in the state was most evident not between the Forward and Backward Castes, but rather between two groups of Backward Castes itself. It was this election from which the Forward Castes felt completely marginalised in Bihar's electoral politics and from then onwards, no longer held any significant role in the state's politics.[113]
By 2004, The Economist magazine said that "Bihar [had] become a byword for the worst of India, of widespread and inescapable poverty, of corrupt politicians indistinguishable from mafia-dons they patronise, caste-ridden social order that has retained the worst feudal cruelties".[114] In 2005, the World Bank believed that issues faced by the state were "enormous" because of "persistent poverty, complex social stratification, unsatisfactory infrastructure and weak governance".[115]
As of 2023,[update] there are two main political formations: the
Muslim employees to pray and thereby reduce absenteeism.[120] The government has prohibited the sale and consumption of alcohol in the state since March 2016,[121] which has been linked to a drop in tourism[122] and a rise in substance abuse.[123]
Public health
Samrat Chaudhary
, J.P Nadda and other leaders of National Democratic Alliance inaugurating health projects worth ₹ 850 crore in September 2024.₹ 188 crore eye care facility and hospital established during ninth tenure of Nitish Kumar.
Bihar generally ranks among the weakest in health outcomes in comparison to other Indian states because it lacks adequate health care facilities.[124][125] While the National Health Mission, the Clinical Establishments Act of 2010, and the formation of the Empowered Action Group (EAG)[126] provide federal funds to expand and improve healthcare services, Bihar's ability to fully utilise this funding is lacking.[124][125]
Research indicates that Bihar relies on privatised hospitals to provide healthcare to the masses, with the second-highest ratio among Indian states for private to public spending and high levels of corruption.[124] These factors are associated with slower healthcare delivery and steep healthcare costs.[127][128][129][130] Corruption is enabled as Bihar lacks continuity and transparency of health reporting as required by the Clinical Establishments Act of 2010. In turn, this prevents the government from making evidence-based conclusions about policy changes and hospital effectiveness, resulting in patterns of ill-informed spending and inconsistent hiring.
When comparing Bihar to Kerala, the number of healthcare professionals (including registered nurses, auxiliary nurses, physicians and health supervisors) at each hospital are significantly lower, and remain constant over time while they steadily increase in number in Kerala.[131] According to Ministry of Health statistics, the greatest shortfalls are for physicians and specialists at 75%.[124] Bihar has only 50% of the sub-health centres, 60% of the primary health centres, and 9% of the community health centres required by the national supply-to-population standards. The number of public hospital beds in Bihar decreased between 2008 and 2015.[131] Given the high population density of the state, Bihar is significantly behind in the number of healthcare professionals that should be employed.[132][131] Despite these shortcomings, Bihar has shown gradual signs of improvement for female health workers,[124] the overall death rate, and infant, neo-natal, child and maternal mortality rates.[124]
(Euryale ferox) seeds, also known as fox nuts. It is the largest producer of these seeds in the world.
Bihar's gross state domestic product (GSDP) for the fiscal year (FY) 2024- was around ₹9,765.67 billion. By sectors, its composition is 19.9% agriculture, 21.5% industry and 58.6% services.[136][137] Bihar has one of the fastest-growing state economy in terms of GSDP, with a growth rate of 13.5% in FY 2024-25.[138] The economy of Bihar was projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.4% during 2012–2017 (the 12th Five-Year Plan). Bihar has experienced strong growth in per capita net state domestic product (NSDP). At current prices, per capita NSDP of the state grew at a CAGR of 12.91% from 2004 to 2005 to 2014–15.[139] Bihar's per capita income went up by 40.6% in FY 2014–15.[140] The state's debt was estimated at 77% of GDP by 2007.[141]
Agriculture
Main article:
Agriculture in Bihar
Among the states of India, Bihar is the fourth-largest producer of vegetables and the eighth-largest producer of fruits. About 80% of the state's population is employed in agriculture, which is above the national average.[139] The main agricultural products are litchi, guava, mango, pineapple, brinjal, lady's finger, cauliflower, cabbage, rice, wheat, sugarcane, and sunflower. Though good soil and favourable climatic conditions favour agriculture, this can be hampered by floods and soil erosion.[142] The southern parts of the state endure annual droughts, which affect crops such as paddy.[143]
Industry
Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar on a visit to a leather factory in Bela, Muzaffarpur, established during his tenure.CM Nitish Kumar inaugurated the cement grinding unit of Ambuja Cement Private limited in Warsaliganj on 3 August 2024.
Pepsi Bottling Plant
, Graphite India Limited.
Hajipur, Dalmianagar, Munger, Jamalpur and Barauni are the major industrial cities in Bihar[144][145] The capital city, Patna, is one of the better-off cities in India when measured by per capita income.[relevant?][146]
Hajipur is also known for presence of private industries like Competence Exports, which gained international recognition in 2024, when it was reported to be catering to the demand of many European countries. In 2024, Hajipur was reported to become the exporter of designer shoes for European companies. It also exported shoes for
Russian Army amidst their Ukrainian campaign.[147]
The Finance Ministry has sought to create investment opportunities for big industrial houses like
United Technologies Corporation (UTC). SIS is registered and taxed in Bihar.[150][relevant?
]
Prior to
United Breweries Limited announced it would begin production of non-alcoholic beer at its previously defunct brewery in Bihar.[152][153]
Startup
The startup ecosystem in Bihar is rapidly evolving, fuelled by a combination of entrepreneurial zeal and proactive government initiatives. The Bihar Startup Policy 2022-2027 aims to make Bihar a preferred destination for startups and entrepreneurs by leveraging local youth for inclusive growth.[154][155]
The policy offers various incentives, including interest-free seed funding up to ₹10 lakh,[156] tax exemptions, and access to incubation centers. The government has established a Startup Bihar Fund Trust (SBFT)[157] with an initial corpus of ₹500 crore[158] to provide venture capital for startups. Key sectors witnessing significant growth include agritech, healthcare, edtech, and e-commerce. With a focus on skill development, mentorship, and ease of doing business, Bihar is steadily transforming into an emerging hub for startups, driving both economic growth and employment.
Income distribution
In terms of income, the districts of Patna, Begusarai, Bhagalpur, Munger, and placed highest among the 38 districts in the state, recording the highest per capita gross district domestic product of ₹2,15,049, ₹84,279 , ₹80,471, ₹79,272 respectively, in FY 2022-23.[146]
Per Capita of major districts of Bihar (FY 2022-23)
District
GDDP Per Capita
Patna
₹2,15,049
Begusarai
₹84,279
Bhagalpur
₹80,471
Munger
₹79,272
Bihar also ranks very low in per capital income in comparison to other cities in India. Patna has per capital income of 1.85L, which is much lower than other cities like Gurugram (₹7.41L), Noida (₹6.13), Bengaluru (₹6.21L), Hyderabad (₹6.58L) and Mumbai (₹6.43).
Income disparity among social groups
Rumela Sen, a lecturer at Columbia University,
independence, they were successful in grabbing large holdings of land amidst the passage of the Zamindari abolition act of 1952.[161]
Mithila painting, a style used in the Mithila region of Bihar. Traditionally, this form was practised mainly by women, passed down generation to generation. Painting was usually done on walls during festivals, religious events, births, marriages, and other cultural milestones.[162] It was traditionally done on the plastered walls of mud huts, and is also done on cloth, handmade paper and canvas. Famous Mithila painters include Smt Bharti Dayal, Mahasundari Devi, the late Ganga Devi
, and Sita Devi.
Mithila painting is also called
Tulsi, and scenes from the royal court and social events. Generally, no space is left empty.[162]
Bhojpuri painting is a folk painting style that has flourished in the Bhojpuri region of Bihar thousands of years ago. This painting style is a type of wall painting primarily done on temple walls or on walls of the rooms of newly married couples and the main motifs are that of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Although in recent times motifs of natural objects and life and struggles of village people are also depicted to make the painting more acceptable among the common people and bring the style close to reality.[163]
Maithili film Mithila Makhaan won the
National Film Award for Best Maithili Film in 2016.[171]
The history of films entirely in Bhojpuri 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.[172]
1963's
Bollywood's Nadiya Ke Paar is another well-known Bhojpuri-language movie. 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 support a dedicated industry. Films such as Mai ("Mom", 1989, directed by Rajkumar Sharma) and Hamar Bhauji ("My Brother's Wife", 1983, directed by Kalpataru) had success at the box office. However, this trend faded during the 1990s.[173]
In 2001, Bhojpuri films regained popularity with Saiyyan Hamar ("My Sweetheart", directed by Mohan Prasad), which raised actor Ravi Kishan to prominence.[174] Several other commercially successful films followed, 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). These films did much better business in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar than mainstream Bollywood hits at the time, and were both made on extremely tight budgets.[175]Sasura Bada Paisa Wala also introduced Manoj Tiwari, formerly a well-loved folk singer, to the wider audiences of Bhojpuri cinema. The success of Ravi Kishan and Manoj Tiwari's films led to a revival in Bhojpuri cinema, and the industry began to support an awards show[176] and trade magazine Bhojpuri City.[177] The industry produces over one hundred films per year.[citation needed]
In 2019, the Maithili film Mithila Makhaan won Best Maithili Film in the 63rd National Film Awards.[178]
Bihar Sharif.[179] Hindi journalism often failed[180] until it became an official language in the state. Hindi was introduced in the law courts in Bihar in 1880.[179][181]
Urdu journalism and poetry have a long history in Bihar, with many poets such as Shaad Azimabadi, Kaif Azimabadi, Kalim Ajiz and Bismil Azimabadi. Bihar publishes many Urdu dailies, such as Qomi Tanzim and Sahara, and the monthly Voice of Bihar.[182]
The beginning of the 20th century was marked by a number of notable new publications. A monthly magazine named Bharat Ratna was started in Patna, in 1901. It was followed by Ksahtriya Hitaishi, Aryavarta from Dinapure, Udyoga, and Chaitanya Chandrika.[183]Udyog was edited by Vijyaanand Tripathy, a famous poet of the time, and Chaitanya Chandrika by Krishna Chaitanya Goswami, a literary figure of that time. The literary activity was not confined to Patna alone but to other districts of Bihar.[179][184]
Festivals
Main article:
Festivals
Chhath Puja are done in various cities, towns, and villages throughout Bihar. All of Bihar involves itself in devotion to Chhath Puja. The city is decked up in lighting decorations and thousands of colourful ghats are set up, where effigies of the goddess Chhath Maiya and her brother God Surya are displayed and worshipped at both sunset and sunrise. People of all religious backgrounds go to the bank of any river or near by a pond or lake in order to give arghya to the Sun. They carry fruits and thekuaa
along with them in soop and daura (a bowl-like structure made of bamboo) for their worship activities. Nowadays, these traditions have spread to multiple countries worldwide wherever Bihari community is present.
Durga Puja is also the biggest, most popular and widely celebrated festival in Bihar.[186] The ten-day-long colourful Hindu festival includes intense celebration across the state. Pandals are erected in various cities, towns, and villages throughout Bihar. The cities of Bihar are transformed during Durga Puja. Urban areas are decked up in lighting decorations and thousands of colourful pandals are set up where effigies of the goddess Durga and her four children are displayed and worshipped. The idols of the goddess are brought in from Kumortuli, where idol-makers work throughout the year fashioning clay models of the goddess. Since independence in 1947, Durga Puja has slowly changed into more of a glamorous carnival than that of a religious festival. Today people of diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds partake in the festivities. On Vijayadashami, the last day of the festival, the effigies are paraded through the streets with riotous pageantry before being immersed into the rivers.
Bihar is visited by many tourists from around the world,[187] In 2019, 33 million tourists visited Bihar, including more than 1 million foreign tourists.[188]
Bihar is home to two
enlightenment. Bodh Gaya (in Gaya district) is about 96km (60mi) from Patna. The Khuda Bakhsh Library, which has one of the world's largest collection of books, rare manuscripts and paintings is located in Patna
Bihar has a total of three operational airports as of 2020:
Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport in Patna, Gaya Airport in Gaya, and Darbhanga Airport in Darbhanga. All three airports have scheduled flights to major cities around India. Gaya Airport is the only international airport in Bihar, having seasonal flights to countries like Thailand, Bhutan, and Myanmar
.
Railways
Bihar has a rail network length of 3,794 km (2,357 mi) in 2020.[193] All major cities, districts and towns are well connected. Munger, Jamalpur and Bhagalpur are well connected with all major Stations of country. Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor, after completion, will pass through Kaimur, Rohtas, Aurangabad, and Gaya with a total length of 239 km (149 mi) in Bihar.[194]
Gaya-Darbhanga Expressway (access controlled highway) will be Bihar's first expressway, with a length of 189 km. It is expected to be completed by 2024.
national highways
with a total length of 5,358 km (3,329 mi).
Metro transit
Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav examining the construction of Patna Metro project, inaugurated during Kumar's tenure.
Patna will be the first city in Bihar to have mass rapid transit system. Patna Metro with network of 31 km (19 mi) length is under construction as of 2022.[196] However, it is currently delayed due to land acquisition process.[197]
Bus transit
Bihar State Road Transport Corporation (BSRTC) runs interstate, intrastate, and international route buses.[198] BSRTC has a daily ridership of around 100,000. Its fleet includes non-electric and electric buses, and AC and non-AC buses. Delhi, Ranchi, and Kathmandu in Nepal are some of the destinations served outside Bihar. Patliputra Inter-State Bus Terminal is a major bus transit hub in Bihar.[199]
Inland Waterways
National Waterways-1 runs along the Ganges river. Gaighat in Patna has a permanent terminal of inland waterways for handling cargo vessels.[200] The Ganges is navigable throughout the year, and was the principal river highway across the vast Indo-Gangetic Plain. Vessels capable of accommodating five hundred merchants were known to ply this river in the ancient period, when it served as a conduit for overseas trade. The role of the Ganges as a channel for trade was enhanced by its natural links to major rivers and streams in north and south Bihar.[201]
British rule, when Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library was established in 1891 by Sir Khan Bahadur Khuda Bakhsh which is currently one of the world's largest functioning library and boasts more than five million items. It is known for its paintings and rare manuscripts.[203]
IIT Patna, AIIMS Patna, BIT Patna and is now emerging as an educational hub.[215][216] With institutes like Super 30, Patna has emerged as a major center for engineering and civil services coaching. The major private IIT-JEE coaching institutes have opened up their branches in Bihar and this has reduced the number of students who go to, for example, Kota and Delhi
for engineering/medical coaching.
Bihar e-Governance Services & Technologies (BeST) and the government of Bihar have initiated a unique program to establish a centre of excellence called Bihar Knowledge Center, a school to equip students with the latest skills and customised short-term training programs at an affordable cost. The centre aims to attract the youth of the state to improve their technical, professional, and soft skills, to meet the current requirements of the industrial job market.[217] The National Employability Report of Engineering Graduates, 2014,[218] puts graduates from Bihar in the top 25 per cent of the country, and rates Bihar as one of the three top states at producing engineering graduates in terms of quality and employability.[219]
^"Sub-national HDI – Area Database". Global Data Lab. Institute for Management Research, Radboud University. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
^"Appendix-A: Detailed tables, Table (7): Literacy rate (in per cent) of persons of different age groups for each State/UT (persons, age-group (years): 7 & above, rural+urban (column 6))". Annual Report, Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) (July 2023 – June 2024)(PDF). National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India. 23 September 2024. pp. A-10.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
^"Table 24: gross state domestic product"(PDF). National Statistical Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India. Archived(PDF) from the original on 20 December 2022 – via Reserve Bank of India.
^Guruswamy, Mohan; Kaul, Abhishek (15 December 2003). "The Economic Strangulation of Bihar"(PDF). New Delhi, India: Centre for Policy Alternatives. p. 2. Archived from the original on 30 May 2009. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
^Bihar, Past & Present: souvenir, 13th Annual Congress of Epigraphica by P. N. Ojha, Kashi Prasad Jayaswal Research Institute
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from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.Zamindari abolition was not immediately followed by land reforms measures, as Bhumihars and Rajputs, the landowning classes dominant in the Congress, became suspicious. K B Sahay, the main architect of the land reforms, had to restrain the efforts.This worsened the conditions of non-occupancy tenants. Fixation of ceiling and distribution of surplus land could not be imple mented effectively as these laws had a number of conciliatory provisions and the landowners could keep the land under various other categories in excess of the stipulated area.
Thus, the illegal distribution of land, absentee landlordism and the system of sharecropping or bataidari on unfavorable terms, lack of employment in other sectors, absence of modernization of agri culture, lack of adequate irrigation facilities and power etc. led to brewing of discontent to an unimaginable extent. This provided the naxals a fertile ground for fighting on behalf of the poor peasants and organizing them.
. He tried to make the poor aware of their condition through a newspaper, but was balked by lack of money and response. He tried democratic protest through the torchlight procession but nothing came of it.Ever since he joined the school, the Master had been going to Ekwari, his village, on leave. As he suffered from chronic dysentery, nobody in the school suspected how the science teacher was using his leave. Towards the end of 1969, his absences on leave became more frequent. That year mysterious' incidents started occurring at Ekwari. Some day a haystack in a landlord's barn would be set on fire, another day someone's crops would be found cut. Reports of these incidents had started reaching Arrah. Soon after the Master applied for three months' leave and never returned.
. ...the number of speakers of Bihari languages are difficult to indicate because of unreliable sources. In the urban region most educated speakers of the language name Hindi as their language because this is what they use in formal contexts and believe it to be the appropriate response because of lack of awareness. The uneducated and the urban population of the region return Hindi as the generic name for their language.
. The polarisation was not on the lines of the upper and the backward caste divide, but it was around the two axes of backward caste politics. Laloo Yadav after comp- leting his term in office even with a minority government went to polls in a situation where an anti-incumbency wave was sweeping the country. The consolidated backward castes had fragmented into two blocs, one represented by the yadavs in the form of the Janata Dal and the other represented by the kurmis and koeris represented by the Samata Party. For the first time, the upper-castes felt totally marginalised in the state's politics since the support base of their natural ally, the Congress, has been completely eroded. while the BJP was unable to make much inroads among the voters.
. The big landlords of Bihar derailed land reform via delaying tactics and by refusing to comply with paperwork. They refused to submit documents for their estates despite government orders and filed thousands of court cases halting the landholding ceiling and redistribution of over 9,000 acres of land across the state of Bihar. Since administrators and politicians came mostly from the same landed gentry upper castes as the landlords, the landlords exploited their kinship ties to have government field surveys halted, amended, and ultimately aborted.
^ abCarolyn Brown Heinz, 2006, "Documenting the Image in Mithila Art", Visual Anthropology Review, Vol. 22, Issue 2, pp. 5–33
^"Durga Pooja". Festivals of Bihar. Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
Swami Sahajanand and the Peasants of Jharkhand: A View from 1941 translated and edited by Walter Hauser along with the unedited Hindi original (Manohar Publishers, paperback, 2005).
Sahajanand on Agricultural Labour and the Rural Poor translated and edited by Walter Hauser (Manohar Publishers, paperback, 2005).
Religion, Politics, and the Peasants: A Memoir of India's Freedom Movement translated and edited by Walter Hauser (Manohar Publishers, hardbound, 2003).
Pandit Yadunandan (Jadunandan) Sharma
, 1947, Bakasht Mahamari Aur Uska Achook Ilaaz (Bakasht Epidemic and its Infalliable Remedy) in Hindi, Allahabad.
Jagannath Sarkar, "Many Streams" Selected Essays by Jagannath Sarkar and Reminiscing Sketches" Compiled by Gautam Sarkar Edited by Mitali Sarkar, First Published May 2010, Navakarnataka Publications Private Limited, Bangalore.
Indradeep Sinha, 1969, Sathi ke Kisanon ka Aitihasic Sangharsha (Historic Struggle of Sathi Peasants), in Hindi, Patna.
Walter Hauser, 1961, Peasant Organisation in India: A Case Study of the Bihar Kisan Sabha, 1929–1942, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Chicago, (Forthcoming publication).
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