The History of Bihar is one of the most varied in India.
Hindu epic Ramayana.[5] The kingdom later became incorporated into the Vajjika League which had its capital in the city of Vaishali, which is also in Mithila.[6]
Magadha was the centre of Indian power, learning and culture for about a thousand years. One of India's greatest empires, the
Abhijñānaśākuntala
being the most prominent.
The present-day region of Bihar overlaps with several pre-Mauryan kingdoms and republics, including Magadha, Anga and the Vajjika League of Mithila. The latter was one of the world's earliest known republics and had existed in the region since before the birth of Mahavira (c. 599 BC).[9][10] The classical Gupta dynasty of Bihar presided over a period of cultural flourishing and learning, known today as the Golden Age of India.
The
British Indian Empire
. Since 1947 independence, Bihar has been an original state of the Indian Union.
Neolithic (10,800–3300 BC)
See also:
Timeline for Bihar
The earliest proof of human activity in Bihar is Mesolithic habitational remains at Munger.
rock paintings have been discovered in the hills of Kaimur, Nawada and Jamui. It was the first time that a Neolithic settlement was discovered in the thick of the alluvium, over the bank of the Ganges at Chirand.[12] The rock paintings depict a prehistoric lifestyle and natural environment. They depict the sun, the moon, stars, animals, plants, trees, and rivers, and it is speculated that they represent love for nature. The paintings also highlight the daily life of the early humans in Bihar, including activities like hunting, running, dancing and walking.[13] The rock paintings in Bihar are not only identical to those in central and southern India but are also akin to those in Europe and Africa. The rock paintings of Spain's Alta Mira and France's Lascaux are almost identical to those found in Bihar.[14]
Bronze Age (3300–1300 BC)
Parallel to Indus Valley Civilization
In 2017 bricks dated to the mature
Indus Valley Civilization scholar Iravatham Mahadevan represents formulas inscribed on the Indus seals and dates it to the earliest layers of excavation i-e 1100 BC.[17][18]
Rigvedic period
Sayana, Kikatas didn't perform worship, were infidels and nastikas. The leader of Kikatas has been called Pramaganda, a usurer.[22][23] It is unclear whether Kikatas were already present in Magadh during the Rigvedic period or they migrated there later.[24] Like Rigveda attributes of Kikatas, Atharvaveda also speaks about southeastern tribes like Magadhas and Angas as hostile tribe who lived on the borders of Brahmanical India.[25]Bhagvata Purana mentions about the birth of Buddha among Kikatas.[26]
Some scholars have placed the Kīkaṭa kingdom, mentioned in the Rigveda, in Bihar (Magadha) because Kikata is used as a synonym for Magadha in the later texts;[21] however, according to Michael Witzel, Kīkaṭa was situated south of Kurukshetra in eastern Rajasthan or western Madhya Pradesh.[27] The placement in Bihar is also challenged by historical geographers Mithila Sharan Pandey (who argues they must have been near Western Uttar Pradesh),[28] and O.P. Bharadwaj (who places them near the Sarasvati River),[29] and historian Ram Sharan Sharma, who believes they were probably in Haryana.[30]
Northern black polished ware
Urbanization in the Gangetic plains began with the appearance of
Videha is mentioned in both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata as comprising parts of Bihar and extending into small parts of Nepal. The Hindu goddess Sita is described as the princess of Videha, daughter of Raja Janak. The capital of Videha is believed to be either Janakpur (in Present-day Nepal),[32] or Baliraajgadh (in Present-day Madhubani district, Bihar, India).[33][34]
Expansion of the Magadha state in the 6th-4th centuries BC.
Anga Kingdom
Some sources say that
Vedic king of Anga kingdom which justifies the naming of the kingdom. The Anga tribe is believed to have been very powerful in the early vedic period. However, with the emergence of the kingdom of Magadha and Vaishali, Anga lost its importance. Karna, a friend of Duryodhana, was the king of Anga
Anga king Karna. His descendants, according to the Vayu Purana, ruled Magadha for 1000 years followed by the Pradyota dynasty, which ruled for 138 years from 799 to 684 BC[contradictory]. However, there is insufficient evidence to prove the historicity of this claim. These rulers are nonetheless mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain texts. Palaka, the son of the Avanti king Pradyota, conquered Kaushambi
In the later Vedic Age, a number of small kingdoms or city-states, dominated
Jain Tirthankara, propagated a similar theology, that was to later become Jainism.[36] However, Jain orthodoxy believes it predates all known time. The Vedas are believed to have documented a few Jain Tirthankaras and an ascetic order similar to the sramana movement.[37] The Buddha's teachings and Jainism had doctrines inclined toward asceticism and were preached in Prakrit, which helped them gain acceptance amongst the masses. They have profoundly influenced practices that Hinduism and Indian spiritual orders are associated with namely, vegetarianism, prohibition of animal slaughter and ahimsa
(non-violence).
While the geographic impact of Jainism was limited to India, Buddhist nuns and monks eventually spread the teachings of
Vikramshila University
one of the oldest residential universities were established in Bihar during this period.
According to both Buddhist texts and Jain texts, one of Pradyota tradition was that the King's son would kill his father to become the successor. During this time, it was reported that there were high crimes in Magadha. The people rose up and elected
Magadha empire (in 684 BC). Due in part to this bloody dynastic feuding, it is thought that a civil revolt led to the emergence of the Shishunaga dynasty. This empire, with its original capital in Rajgriha, later shifted to Pataliputra (both currently in the Indian state of Bihar). The Shishunaga dynasty was one of the largest empires of the Indian subcontinent
The Hariyanka dynasty king Bimbisara was responsible for expanding the boundaries of his kingdom through matrimonial alliances and conquest. The land of Kosala fell to Magadha in this way. Estimates place the territory ruled by this early dynasty at 300 leagues in diameter and encompassing 80,000 small settlements. Bimbisara is contemporary with the Buddha, and is recorded as a lay disciple. Bimbisara (543–493 BC) was imprisoned and killed by his son who became his successor, Ajatashatru (491–461 BC), under whose rule, the dynasty reached its largest extent.
Licchavi was an ancient—before the birth of
Ambapali, was famous for her beauty, and helped in large measure in making the city prosperous.[41]
Nagadasaka
.
This dynasty lasted until 424 BC when it was overthrown by the
Gautama Buddha in the 6th or 5th century BC was the founder of Buddhism, which later spread to East Asia and Southeast Asia, while Mahavira revived and propagated the ancient sramanic
, a treatise on economics, politics, foreign affairs, administration, military arts, war and religion.
Chandragupta Maurya was succeeded by his son,
Balochistan and much of what is now Afghanistan. The Empire was extended into India's central and southern regions by the emperors Chandragupta and Bindusara
, but it excluded the republic of Kalinga.
The Maurya Empire was inherited by
Ashoka. Ashoka initially sought to expand his kingdom but in the aftermath of the carnage caused during the invasion of Kalinga, he renounced bloodshed and pursued a policy of non-violence or ahimsa after converting to Buddhism. Following the conquest of Kalinga, Ashoka ended the military expansion of the empire and led the empire through more than 40 years of relative peace, harmony and prosperity. Ashoka's response to the Kalinga War is recorded in the Edicts of Ashoka,[43] one of the oldest preserved historical documents of the Indian subcontinent.[44][45][46]
According to Rock Edicts of Ashoka:
"Beloved-of-the-Gods [Ashoka], King Priyadarsi, conquered the Kalingas eight years after his coronation. 150000 were deported, 100000 were killed and many more died (from other causes). After the Kalingas had been conquered, Beloved-of-the-Gods came to feel a strong inclination towards the Dhamma, a love for the Dhamma and instruction in Dhamma. Now Beloved-of-the-Gods feels deep remorse for having conquered the Kalingas."
The Mauryan Empire under Ashoka was responsible for the proliferation of Buddhist ideals across the whole of East Asia and South-East Asia. Under Ashoka, India was a prosperous and stable empire of great economic and military power whose political influence and trade extended across Asia and into Europe. Chandragupta Maurya's embrace of Jainism increased social and religious renewal and reform across his society, while Ashoka embraced Buddhism. Ashoka sponsored the spreading of Buddhist ideals into Sri Lanka and South-East Asia. The
emblem of India. Archaeologically, the period of Mauryan rule in South Asia falls into the era of Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW). The Arthashastra, the Edicts of Ashoka and Ashokavadana
are primary sources of written records of the Mauryan times.
Ashoka was followed for 50 years by a succession of weaker kings.
Brihadrata
, the last ruler of the Mauryan dynasty, held territories that had shrunk considerably from the time of emperor Ashoka, although he still upheld the Buddhist faith.
Middle Kingdoms (230 BC – 1206 AD)
Middle Kingdom
The Gupta Empire had their capital at Pataliputra
The Pala Empire and neighbourhoods in the 9th century CE.
is considered one of the first great universities in recorded history. It was the centre of Buddhist learning and research in the world from 450 to 1193 CE. It reached its height under the
(340–293 BC), founder of the Mauryan Empire). In a breakthrough deal, Chandra Gupta I was married to a woman from Lichchhavi—the main power in Magadha.
Ashwamedha Yajna
to underline the importance of his conquest.
Kumaragupta I. Known as the Mahendraditya, he ruled until 455. Towards the end of his reign a tribe in the Narmada valley, the Pushyamitras
, rose in power to threaten the empire.
Huna, from the northwest. He repulsed a Huna attack c. 477. Skandagupta died in 487 and was succeeded by his son Narasimhagupta
Baladitya.
The Gupta Empire was one of the largest political and military empires in
The Gupta Empire had their capital at Pataliputra. The difference between the Gupta Empire's and Mauryan Empire's administration was that in the Mauryan administration power was centralised but in the Gupta administration power was more decentralised. The empire was divided into provinces and the provinces were further divided into districts. Villages were the smallest units. The kingdom covered
North-East India, south-eastern Pakistan, Odisha, northern Madhya Pradesh and eastern India with capital at Pataliputra, modern Patna. All forms of worship were carried out in Sanskrit
.
Rapid strides were made in
Pancha-Siddhantika (Pañcasiddhāntikā). Metallurgy also made rapid strides. The proof can be seen in the Iron Pillar of Vaishali[54] and near Mehrauli on the outskirts of Delhi, which was brought from Bihar.[55]
This period is also very rich in
Bhasa
were also written in this period.
In medicine, the Guptas were notable for their establishment and patronage of free hospitals. Although progress in physiology and biology was hindered by religious injunctions against contact with dead bodies, which discouraged dissection and anatomy, Indian physicians excelled in pharmacopoeia, caesarean section, bone setting, and skin grafting. Indeed, Hindu medical advances were soon adopted in the
The Gupta Empire is considered by many scholars to be the "classical age" of Hindu and Buddhist art and literature. The Rulers of the Gupta Empire were strong supporters of developments in the arts, architecture, science, and literature. The Gupta Empire circulated a large number of gold coins, called dinars, with their inscriptions. The Gupta Dynasty also left behind an effective administrative system. During times of peace, the Gupta Empire system was decentralised, with only taxation flowing to the capital at Pataliputra. During times of war, however, the government realigned and fought its invaders. The system was soon extinguished in fighting off the Hunnic Invasions.[56][57]
The Later Gupta dynasty ruled the Magadha region in eastern India between the 6th and 7th centuries AD. The Later Guptas succeeded the imperial Guptas as the rulers of Magadha, but there is no evidence connecting the two dynasties; these appear to be two distinct families.[58] The Later Guptas are so-called because the names of their rulers ended with the suffix "-gupta", which they might have adopted to portray themselves as the legitimate successors of the imperial Guptas.[59]
Pala Dynasty
The
democratic elections in South Asia since the time of the Mahā Janapadas. He reigned from 750 to 770 and consolidated his position by extending his control over all of Bengal as well as parts of Bihar. The Buddhist dynasty
lasted for four centuries (750–1120 CE).
The empire reached its peak under
Dravidas
.
The Palas created many temples and works of art as well as supported the Universities of
Muslim raiders in the 12th century.[62] With the advent of foreign aggression and eventual foreign subjugation of India, Bihar passed through very uncertain times during the medieval period. Muhammad of Ghor attacked this region of the Indian subcontinent many times. Muhammad of Ghor's armies destroyed many Buddhist structures, including the great Nalanda University.[63][11]
The Buddhism of Magadha was finally swept away by the Islamic invasion under
Vikramshila were destroyed, and thousands of Buddhist monks were massacred in the 12th century.[64][65][66][67][68][11]
Karnat dynasty
Main article:
Karnat dynasty
In 1097 AD, the Karnat dynasty of Mithila emerged on the Bihar/Nepal border area and maintained capitals in
During the late Pala period, the area of Magadha was ruled by Buddhist kings with the title of Pīṭhīpati. They were patrons of the
Mahabodhi temple and referred to themselves as magadhādipati (rulers of Magadha). They maintained a presence in the region until at least the 13th century.[70][11]
The Oiniwar dynasty emerged after the fall of the Karnats and ruled North Bihar as vassals of the Delhi Sultanate. Under the king, Shiva Singh, they did attempt to revolt against the throne in Delhi although this was eventually defeated. They were contemporaries of the Jaunpur Sultanate.[71]
After the fall of the Pala empire, the Cheros established a tribal polity that ruled some parts of southern Bihar extending into modern-day Jharkhand from the 12th century to the 16th century until Mughal rule after which they were reduced to chieftains/Zamindars.[72]
The Jaunpur Sultanate emerged in 1394 and controlled much of Western Bihar. Many coin hoards and inscriptions from the Jaunpur period have been found in Bihar. [74]
Medieval Bihar saw a period of glory lasting about six years during the rule of
Calcutta (Bengal) and ended at Peshawar, now Pakistan. The economic reforms carried out by Sher Shah, such as the introduction of the Rupee and Custom Duties, are still used in the Republic of India. He revived the city of Patna, where he built his headquarters.[75][76]
During the period of Islamic rule, much of Bihar was under the sway of local Zamindars or chieftains who maintained their armies and territories. These chieftains retained much of their power until the arrival of the British East India Company.[81]
In 1576, after the Battle of Tukaroi, Mughal Emperor Akbar conquered Bengal Sultanate and added it to his empire domain. He divided Bihar and Bengal each into one of his original twelve subahs (imperial top-level provinces; Bihar with seat at Patna) and the region passed through uneventful provincial rule during much of this period. Bihar was left under Mughal control until the Battle of Plassey in 1757.[82]
Bihar passed into the control of
Nawabs of Bengal
under British suzerainty.
Prince
Veer Kunwar Singh, during India's First War of Independence in 1857, he led a select band of armed soldiers against the troops under the command of the British East India Company
British East India Company in Bihar, Patna emerged as one of the most important commercial and trading centres of eastern India, preceded only by Kolkata
.
The first seeds of resentment against British rule emerged when
The British were able to successfully put down the revolt.
British India
The British Raj
Under the
Charles Stuart Bayley). This area was called the New Capital Area. The houses of the English residents were all at the west end at Bankipore. The greater part of the English residences were on the banks of the river, many of them being on the northern side of an open square, which formed the parade ground, and racecourse (present Gandhi Maidan). There was also the Golghar
a wondrous bell-shaped building, one hundred feet high, with a winding outer staircase leading to the top, and a small entrance door at the base, which was intended for a granary, to be filled when there was the expectation of famine. It was initially considered to be both politically and materially impracticable.
To this day, locals call the old area the City whereas the new area is called the New Capital Area. The
Indo-Saracenic influence (like Patna Museum and the state Assembly), or overt Renaissance influence like the Raj Bhawan and the High Court. Some buildings, like the General Post Office (GPO) and the Old Secretariat, bear pseudo-Renaissance influence. Some say the experience gained in building the new capital area of Patna proved very useful in building the imperial capital of New Delhi
.
The British built several educational institutions in Patna like
Bihar College of Engineering, Prince of Wales Medical College and the Bihar Veterinary College. With government patronage, the Biharis quickly seized the opportunity to make these centres flourish quickly and attain renown. In 1935, certain portions of Bihar were reorganised into the separate province of Orissa
. Patna continued as the capital of Bihar province under the British Raj.
Independence movement
Dr. Maghfoor Ahmad Ajazi and many others who worked for India's independence and worked to lift up the underprivileged masses. Khudiram Bose, Upendra Narayan Jha "Azad" and Prafulla Chaki
were also active in revolutionary movement in Bihar.
After his return from South Africa, it was from Bihar that
In India's struggle for independence, the Champaran Satyagraha marks a very important stage. Raj Kumar Shukla drew the attention of Mahatma Gandhi, who had just returned from South Africa, to the plight of the peasants suffering under an oppressive system established by European indigo planters. Besides other excesses, they were forced to cultivate indigo on 3/20 part of their holding and sell it to the planters at prices fixed by the planters. This marked Gandhi's entry into India's independence movement. On arrival at the district headquarters in Motihari, Gandhi and his team of lawyers—Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Brajkishore Prasad and Ram Navami Prasad, whom he had handpicked to participate in the satyagraha—were ordered to leave by the next available train. They refused to do this, and Gandhi was arrested. He was released and the ban order was withdrawn in the face of a "Satyagraha" threat. Gandhi conducted an open inquiry into the peasant's grievances. The Government had to appoint an inquiry committee with Gandhi as a member. This led to the abolition of the system.
Raj Kumar Shukla has been described by Gandhi in his Atmakatha, as a man whose suffering gave him the strength to rise against the odds. In his letter to Gandhi he wrote "Respected Mahatma, You hear the stories of others everyday. Today please listen to my story.... I want to draw your attention to the promise made by you in the Lucknow Congress that you would come to Champaran. The time has come for you to fulfill your promise. 1.9 million suffering people of Champaran are waiting to see you."
Gandhi reached Patna on 10 April 1917 and on 16 April he reached
Sri Krishna Sinha
, Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha and Brajkishore Prasad.
Shaheed
Sukhdev and Rajguru. Phanindranath Ghosh hitherto a key member of the Revolutionary Party had betrayed the cause by turning an approver and giving evidence, which led to his murder. Baikunth was commissioned to plan the murder of Ghosh. He carried out the killing successfully on 9 November 1932. He was arrested, tried, and convicted, and, on 14 May 1934, he was hanged in Gaya Central Jail. Karpoori Thakur also played an important role in the freedom struggle.[94]
In North and Central Bihar, a peasant movement was an important side effect of the independence movement. The Kisan Sabha movement started in Bihar under the leadership of
zamindari
system.
During the Quit India movement, in Saran district of Bihar, Chandrama Mahto received bullet injuries during a protest against the colonial authorities and was subsequently martyred on the same day. In Shahabad district, Maharaj Koeri was wounded in police firing at Behea. Ramjas Koeri was arrested, and taken into confinement, he died in prison, presumably due to brutal assault by Police.[97] Noted revolutionary Chandradeo Prasad Verma was also arrested during Quit India movement, he underwent rigorous imprisonment for two years from 1943 to 1945. After his release from imprisonment, he restarted revolutionary activities once again and plotted a conspiracy to blast Bikram Airport in Patna.[89]
Towards the end of 1946, between 30 October and 7 November, a massacre of Muslims in Bihar made
Noakhali riot, it was difficult for authorities to deal with because it was spread out over a large number of scattered villages, and the number of casualties was impossible to establish accurately: "According to a subsequent statement in the British Parliament, the death-toll amounted to 5,000. The Statesman's estimate was between 7,500 and 10,000; the Congress party admitted to 2,000; Mr. Jinnah claimed about 30,000."[98]
The first
Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister of Bihar (also in charge of Labour, Health, Agriculture and Irrigation).[99][100][101] Other ministers were inducted later. The Cabinet served as the first Bihar Government after independence in 1947. In 1950, Dr. Rajendra Prasad from Bihar became the first President of India
Upper Backward Castes were in two front confrontations with both the Dalits as well as upper castes.[109][110]
The caste wars coincided with the rise of backward caste politics against upper-caste domination in Bihar and throughout North India after the implementation of the Mandal Commission report. The most numerous and powerful backward community were the Yadavs, and the 1990s saw the rise of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) led by Lalu Prasad Yadav. This party held the Yadav/Muslim vote bank, a combination also held by the Samajwadi party, its UP counterpart. This allowed the RJD to sweep to power throughout the 1990s. His platform was one of social justice, increasing reservations for lower castes. However critics of the era have claimed it was a 'Jungle raj.'[111][112]
Contemporary period
Lalu–Rabri Yadav (1990–2005)
Shri Lalu Prasad Yadav with the students of Harvard and Wharton Schools, in New Delhi on 27 December 2006.
In 1989, in the
Vishwanath Pratap Singh. The third group drew its support from backward castes and middle peasantry, led by Charan Singh. Although Charan Singh was the leader of this faction, the actual leadership emerged after his death under the new generation of politicians like Lalu Prasad Yadav, who was a product of student politics of the 1970s.[113][102][103]
Yadav was appointed as the first
Jay Prakash Narayan. According to Seyed Hossein Zarhani, throughout his leadership period at Patna University, his image was of a popular backward caste leader who fought against upper-caste dominance.[113]
In 1975, as an activist in the campaign against
Chief Minister in 1990. Yadav's appointment as Chief Minister changed the socio-political profile of the state and in the coming years he emerged as the undisputed leader in Bihar who controlled the politics of the state earlier himself and later through his wife, Rabri Devi.[113]
Yadav followed the footsteps of his predecessors and Janta Dal under him indicated that it is the only party which is prepared to keep the backwards at the centre of the administration. Hence after assuming power, Lalu Yadav's government transferred 12 out of 13 Divisional Commissioners and 250 out of 324 Returning Officers in order to keep lower-caste people at the helm of all affairs at the local level. Many
Lalu Prasad Yadav has deliberately introduced a new style of politics, highlighting the rustic qualities of low castes of Bihar. For instance, he makes the point of speaking the Bhojpuri dialect or English with a strong Bhojpuri accent, to the horror of the upper classes. He was also adept at confronting them. One of his early slogans was, Bhurabal Hatao, (wipe out
Kayasth)). A few months after he became Chief Minister, he utilised his control of state media to describe the opposition to the Mandal as the conspiracy of the upper castes.[114]
Rise of Nitish Kumar (Post 1997)
Former Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Shri Sharad Yadav delivering his inaugural speech at Regional Seminar on National Food Agencies "Challenges of the New Millennium" in New Delhi
Ram Vilas Paswan as the Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers and Steel, addressing at "India Chem 2008" Industry meet in Mumbai on 10 June 2008.
"Ram Vilas Paswan was often seen with Mont Blanc pen, Cartier glasses and Rado prompting his critics to brand him a ‘five-star Dalit’. But in his pockets of influence in Bihar, his whirling helicopter was enough to make people chant, “Dharti Gunje Aasman, Ram Vilas Paswan.” Paswan was among the most popular faces when the social churn began in post-Emergency Bihar. In 1983, he formed the Dalit Sena, on the lines of the Schedule Caste Federation of BR Ambedkar."
— From, Remembering Ram Vilas Paswan: The champion of Dalit politics in Bihar by The Economic Times[115]
The Janata Dal had survived the splits in past when leaders like George Fernandes and Nitish Kumar defected to form Samata Party in 1994, but it remained a baseless party after the decision of Yadav to form Rashtriya Janata Dal in 1997. The second split took place before the Rabri Devi assuming power which resulted in Janata Dal having only two leaders of any consequence in it, namely Sharad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan. Paswan was regarded as the rising leader of Dalits and had the credit of winning his elections with unprecedented margins. His popularity reached the national level when he was awarded the post of Minister of Railways in the United Front government in 1996 and was subsequently made the leader of Lok Sabha. His outreach was witnessed in the western Uttar Pradesh too, when his followers organised an impressive rally at the behest of a newly floated organisation called Dalit Panthers.[116] Sharad Yadav was also a veteran socialist leader but without any massive support base. In the 1998 Parliamentary elections, the Samata Party and Janata Dal, which was in a much weaker position after the formation of RJD ended up eating each other's vote base. This made Nitish Kumar merge both the parties to form Janata Dal (United).[117]
In
CM face. The Muslims and OBCs were too divided in their opinion. A section of Muslims, which included the poor communities like Pasmanda were of the view that Lalu only strengthened upper Muslims like Shaikh, Sayyid and Pathans and they were in search of new options.[118]
Yadav also alienated other dominant backward castes like Koeri and Kurmi since his projection as the saviour of Muslims. It is argued by Sanjay Kumar that the belief that, "the dominant OBCs like the twin caste of Koeri-Kurmi will ask for share in power if he (Yadav) seeks their support while the Muslims will remain satisfied with the protection during communal riots only" made Yadav neglect them. Moreover, the divisions in both camps made the political atmosphere in the state a charged one in which many parties were fighting against each other with no visible frontiers. JD(U) and BJP were fighting against each other on some of the seats and so was the Samta Party. The result was a setback for the BJP, which in media campaigns was emerging with a massive victory. RJD emerged as the single largest party and with the political maneuvere of Lalu Yadav, Rabri Devi was sworn in as the Chief Minister again. The media largely failed to gauge the ground-level polarisation in Bihar.[118] According to Sanjay Kumar:
there can be no doubt about one thing that the upper-caste media was always anti Lalu and it was either not aware of the ground level polarisation in the Bihar, or deliberately ignored it. If the election result did not appear as a setback for RJD, it was largely because of the bleak picture painted by the media. Against this background, RJD's defeat had appeared like a victory.[118]
Even after serving imprisonment in connection with the 1997 scam, Lalu seemed to relish his role as a lower-caste jester. He argued that corruption charges against him and his family were the conspiracy of the upper-caste bureaucracy and media elites threatened by the rise of peasant cultivator castes. In 2004, Lalu's RJD had outperformed other state-based parties by winning 26 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. He was awarded the post of Union Railway minister but the rising aspirations of the extremely backward castes unleashed by him resulted in JD(U) and BJP-led coalition to defeat his party in 2005 Bihar Assembly elections. Consequently, Nitish Kumar a leader of OBC Kurmi caste was sworn in as the chief minister. During Lalu's time backward caste candidates came to dominate the Bihar assembly claiming half of the seats in it and it was the aspiration of this powerful social community which led to friction among the united backwards, leading to the rise of Nitish Kumar who made both social justice and development as his political theme.[119]
To mark the separation of Bihar from Bengal on 22 March 1912, the completion of 100 years of existence is being celebrated in the name of Bihar Shatabadi Celebration Utsav.
political crisis
over post of the chief minister during February 2015.
^Mahadevan, Iravatham (March 1999). "Murukan in the Indus script"(PDF). Journal of the Institute of Asian Studies. XVI: 3–39. Archived from the original(PDF) on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
^Tewari, Rakesh (2016). EXCAVATION AT JUAFARDIH, DISTRICT NALANDA. ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA. pp. 6–8. Layers 13 the uppermost deposit of Period I, has provided a C14 date of 1354 BCE it may thus be seen that the C14 dates of Period I and II are consistent and justifiably indicate that the conventional date bracket for NBPW requires a fresh review at least for the sites in Magadh region.
- "The extreme antiquity of Jainism as a non-vedic, indigenous Indian religion is well documented. Ancient Hindu and Buddhist scriptures refer to Jainism as an existing tradition which began long before Mahavira." Page 115
^"KING ASHOKA: His Edicts and His Times". Archived from the original on 28 October 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2006. Edicts of Ashoka, which comprise the earliest decipherable corpus of written documents from India, have survived throughout the centuries because they are written on rocks and stone pillars.
Kusumapura
(Pataliutra, a village near the city of Patna) and wrote a book called Aryabhatiya.
^Historia Religionum: Handbook for the History of Religions By C. J. Bleeker, G. Widengren page 381
^Gopal Ram, Rule Hindu Culture During and After Muslim, pp. 20, "Some invaders, like Bakhtiar Khilji, who did not know the value of books and art objects, destroyed them in large numbers and also the famous Nalanda ..."
^The Maha-Bodhi By Maha Bodhi Society, Calcutta (page 8)
^Omalley L.S.S., History of Magadha, Veena Publication, Delhi, 2005, pp. 35.
^Omalley L.S.S., History of Magadha, Veena Publication, Delhi, 2005, pp. 36, "Sher Shah on his return from Bengal, in 1541, came to Patna, then a small town dependent on Bihar, which was the seat of the local government. He was standing on the ban of the Ganges, when, after much reflection, he said to those who were standing by, "If a fort were to be built in this place, the waters of the Ganges could never flow far from it, and Patna would become one of the great towns of this country." The fort was completed. Bihar for that time was deserted, and fell to ruin; while Patna became one of the largest cities of the province. In 1620 we find Portuguese merchants at Patna; and Tavernier's account shows that a little more then a century after its foundation it was the great entrepot of Northern India "the largest town in Bengal and the most famous for trade..."
^SINGH, JAGPAL. “Karpoori Thakur: A Socialist Leader in the Hindi Belt.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 50, no. 3, 2015, pp. 54–60. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24481124. Accessed 28 July 2023.
. Retrieved 10 February 2021. It is not so as the political party led the national movement and controlled the government for almost 40 years in Bihar after Independence, it would be over-exaggeration to state that the Congress Party is a party of the upper castes.
. Retrieved 10 February 2021. The victory of the Congress Party in 1972 arrested this trend. The political domination of the upper castes under the leadership of the Brahmans returned [...] The Coalition Government of five opposition parties in 1967 was led by Mahamaya Prasad Sinha, a Kayastha leader, who had newly formed a political party called the [...] Political power in Bihar was for long the privilege of the upper castes .
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati Rachnawali (Selected works of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati) in Six volumes published by Prakashan Sansthan, Delhi
, 2003.
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.
Indradeep Sinha, 1969, Sathi ke Kisanon ka Aitihasic Sangharsha (Historic Struggle of Sathi Peasants), in Hindi, Patna.
Das Arvind N., The republic of Bihar, Penguin Books, 1992,
George A. Grierson (1885). Bihar Peasant Life. Bengal Secretariat Press, Calcutta.
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![Vaishali was the capital of Vajjika League, believed to be the world's earliest republic.[10][38][39][40]](/File:Ashoka_pillar_at_Vaishali,_Bihar,_India.jpg)
