This document provides an overview of Bihar, a state in eastern India. Some key points: - Bihar has a population of over 100 million and relies heavily on agriculture, with rice as a main crop. - Literacy rates have improved but still lag behind the national average. Efforts are being made to strengthen education. - The state has significant historical and religious sites but has struggled with poverty and lack of development. - Under current leadership, Bihar has experienced economic growth over 10% annually by focusing on infrastructure, irrigation, and technology. However, challenges around education, healthcare, and rural development remain.

1. Bihar
A progressive State of India

2. Bihar Overview 2015
 Contemporary Bihar actually came into
being through a state Reorganization Bill
in 2000 that separated Jharkhand from
Bihar.
 Bihar has farming as main method of
subsistence; some ICT based industry.
 87.5 percent of its population lives in rural
areas.
 Literacy of 63.82 per cent in 2011.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. Bihar
 Bihar has alluvial soil, replenished by flood
waters, suitable for agriculture.
 Bihar has a forest area of 7 percent.
 Forest cover is divided as dry deciduous,
wet deciduous and sub Himalayan and
Terai forest. There is scope for enhancing
the forests.

6. Population and Land
 Bihar has a population of 104 million.
 It is a majority male population(52.6%)
 The total area of land is 94,163 sq. km
 This is divided into two main regions: the
North Ganga Plain and the South Ganga
Plain
 Further divided there are 38 districts
 Capital city is Patna.

7. Population and Other
Statistics
 Per capita income was Rs. 28317 in 2012-13
 Density: 880 people per sq. mile
 Birth rate: 30.9 per 1000
 Death rate: 7.9 per 1000
 Population grew 28.4% from 1991-2001
 Rural development has three actors i.e.
officials, elected representatives and
villagers.

8. Bihar Economy
 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.

9. Geography
 Upper northeast corner of
India, right before it gets
squeezed between Bhutan
and Bangladesh.
 Many important rivers pass
through Bihar.
 In the southern foothills of
the Himalaya Mountain
Range, touching Nepal.
Bihar is the tan state within
the red shape.

11. Indo-Gangetic Plain
 One of the most
notable features of
Bihar is its location in
the Indo-Gangetic
Plain.
 This plain is very
fertile, making it ideal
for an agrarian
society.

12. Recent History
 Bihar was located in the northeast of the country,
on the border with Nepal and was India’s third
most populous state.
 Most of its residents were scattered across
45,000 villages, where many cultivated the plain
that surrounded the Ganges River.
 Migration of workers in search of livelihood was
common.

13. Ancient History
 Historically Bihar had been a major center
of learning
 Originated from the time of Buddha or
even earlier
 Home of one of the earliest universities,
Nalanda, which dates back to the 5th
century
 Vikramshia, which is another university is
located there as well

14. Education: Medieval History
During medieval period, education
was lost.
Believed that marauding armies of
the invaders destroyed the
centers of learning.

15. Education
 Has an overall literacy of 63.82%
 Male literacy rate of 73.39%
 Female literacy rate of 53.57%
 Only 21% of all primary school teachers have
completed the matriculation
 Because of the law of affirmative action that
reserves jobs and education for people of
backward classes, students from Bihar are
performing well in respect to better economically
well off states in India

16. Education
 During 1970s and 1980s government
took control over private schools
 Because government was ill-equipped
the standards of the schools began to fall
 However, government did not take over
schools ran by Christian missionaries,
and these schools still provided quality
education

17. Education
 Central government runs a
number of Kendriya
Vidyalayas (Central Schools)
 Jawahar Navodaya Schools
were made by the late Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi for
rural children
 Have been successful in
providing quality education
to the weaker sections of the
society

18. Literacy rate from 1951 to 2011[99]
Year Total
1961 21.95
1971 23.17
1981 32.32
1991 37.49
2001 47.53
2011 63.82

19. Education (In Earlier times)
 Modern Bihar had an inadequate educational
infrastructure which places a huge impact
between supply and demand
 The growing population had made the situation
even worse, and had led to a “flooding” of the
student population to other states in order to
obtain better education and jobs.
 Only 51% of the children enrolled in primary
school actually attended, 59% of those who do
attend did not have textbooks, and 13% of the
children in Bihar were not enrolled at all.

20. Economy
Bihar lagged behind in the overall progress of
India till recently.
 Per capita GDP: Rs. 4000 per month in Bihar vs.
national average of Rs.12000 per month.
 Nearly 10% more people living below the
poverty line than the average for India
Reasons for slow development
 Inadequate investment in infrastructure,
irrigation, and technology.
 CM Nitish Kumar tried to change this from 2005.

21. Bihar

22. Economy: Agriculture
 2 crop seasons: Kharif
& Rabi
 Major crops:
– Rice
– Sugar
– Tobacco
– Wheat
– Jute
 Other minor crops:
– Chilli
– Mango
– Oil Seeds

23. Agro-products in Bihar
 Bihar has significant levels of production of mango,
guava, litchi, pineapple, brinjal, cauliflower, bhindi, and
cabbage. Despite the state's leading role in food
production, investment in irrigation and other agriculture
facilities has been inadequate.
 Historically, the sugar and vegetable oil industries were
flourishing sectors of Bihar. Until the mid-1950s, 25% of
India's sugar output was from Bihar. Dalmianagar was a
large agro-industrial town.

24. There were attempts to industrialise 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 certain
central government policies (like the Freight Settlement
Policy) which neutralised the strategic advantages of
Bihar. Barauni is still one of the few old industrialised
towns in the state. Hajipur, near Patna, remains a major
industrial town in the Bihar, linked to the capital city
through the Ganges bridge and good road infrastructure

25. Economy: Agriculture

26. Economy: Mineral Production
 Very little due to the division of southern
Bihar into the separate state of Jharkhand
 Most mineral production takes place in
Jharkhand
 Some Minerals Produced
– Coal
– Bauxite
– Dolomite

27. Economy: Mineral Production

28. Economy: Attempts at
Industrialization
 Oil refinery in Barauni
 Motor scooter plant at
Fatuha
 Power plant at
Muzaffarpur
 Attempt to bring in
I C T in Bihar recently.

29. Polity
 Bicameral Legislature
– Upper-house Legislative Council
– Lower-house Legislative Assembly
 Governor appointed by president of India
– Head of state
 Real executive power rests with Chief Minister
 7 administrative divisions and 39 divisions
 Each division has a divisional commissioner
 District magistrate and collector in each
division
 Sub divisional officer in each of the 76
subdivisions

30. Polity (cont’d)
 High court at Patna
– Chief justice and several other justices
– District courts and sub divisional courts, and village
councils
 Currently 2 main political formations
– NDA
 Janata Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party
– Rashtriya Janata Dal
 Indian National Congress

31. Past Polity
 1995 – Lalu Prasad Yadav became chief minister
– Corruption charges forced his resignation but
anointed his wife CM through proxy
– Led to deterioration of administration_ it is said.
 2005 and 2010
– In 2005, the RJD [Lalu] was voted out of power and
replaced by a coalition headed by his former ally,
Nitish Kumar. In 2010 also his group won 206 out of
243.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.

32. By 2012, Bihar had earned acclaim for its technology-
related gains, and the government of India recognized the
turnaround through e-governance awards. Still, significant
limitations remained: lack of integration among information
and communications systems prevented proper
coordination across departments. Lack of electricity and
Internet connectivity in many areas prevented citizens from
taking full advantage of the services.

33. Trained as an engineer, Nitish Kumar believed in
the power of technology to improve governance.
As India’s minister of railways from 2001 to 2004,
he had initiated an online ticketing process for the
100 million people who traveled by train each
year. His emphasis on ICT as a tool for
administrative reform built on broader technology
shifts taking place in India.

34. 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 customised short-term training programs at an
affordable cost. The center 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

35. Recent Educational Development
Bihar, had female literacy at 53.3%. The
government has established educational
institutions to improve this.
Bihar has a National Institute of Technology (NIT)
in Patna and an Indian Institute of Technology
(IIT) in Patna. A recent survey by Pratham rated
the absorption of their teaching by the Bihar
children better than those in other states.

36. Said by ‘Aspiring minds’
The best talent pool of engineers is in Delhi,
Bihar and Jharkhand says the National
Employability Report of Engg Graduates, 2014
by Aspiring Minds, which makes Bihar one of the
top three states producing best Engg Graduates
in terms of Quality and Employability.

37. Culture of Bihar: Festivals
 Chhath
– Worship of the Sun
God
 Teej
– Worship of Goddess
Parvati

38. Bihar has contributed to Indian (Hindustani) classical
music. Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan was from Bihar,
who, however, left Bihar at an early age. Dhrupad singers
like the Malliks (of the Darbhanga Gharana), and the
Mishras (of the Bettiah Gharana), who were patronised by
the Zamindars of Darbhanga and Bettiah respectively, have
produced masters like Ram Chatur Mallik, Abhay Narayan
Mallik, and Indra Kishore Mishra. While not as well-known
as those of the Dagar school of Dhrupad, these masters
have kept the Dhrupad tradition in perhaps the purest

39. Status of Women
 Women must
have a dowry
before they get
married.
 A woman's
possessions go to
her husband, and
then upon her
death, to her
children.
•A woman in Bihar
has very few
possessions, usually
no education, and
very little autonomy.

40. Bihar Cultural
 Religion also played a much more
important role (long ago) e.g., Buddha,
Mahavira
 Construction of major architectural works
is more common—specifically temples and
shrines
 Advancement of leisure and arts
 Further stratification of the social classes

41. Ideology: Three Main Religions
(not always followed) in Bihar
 Hinduism
 Buddhism
 Jainism
 Opportunism!

42. Ideology: Hinduism
 The third largest religion in the world with
diverse sects.
 Five Basic Tenets:
– Dharma (ethics or duties)
– Samsara (the continuing cycle of rebirth)
– Karma (action and reaction)
– Moksha (liberation from samsara)
– Yogas (paths or practices)

43. Ideology: Buddhism
 Governed by the teachings of Siddhartha
Gautama known as Buddha
– Rebirth
– Karma
– The Four Noble Truths
 There is suffering
 There is a cause of suffering
 There is the cessation of suffering
 There is a way leading to the cessation of suffering
 Often described as a way of life instead of a
religion.

44. Ideology: Jainism
 Founded in the 6th century B.C. in ancient
Bihar.
 Three main tenets:
– Ahimsa (non- violence): Towards both humans and
animals. Leads to the propagation of vegetarianism
– Aparigraha (non- attachment): Freeing the soul
through the disregard of material objects.
– Anekantwad (relativity): No absolute truth. Everything
is possible.

47. People now tend to vote more for issues such as
 good governance,
 improvement in the material conditions of people
 betterment of and universal access to health and
educational facilities and
 universal provisions of basic amenities.
Structurally, the population of Bihar constitutes of castes
which are durable mode of social identity and have become
the basis for socio-political organisation.

48. Kinship: Kinship Groups
Ahirs
 Endogamous/ exogamous clans
 Marriages arranged
 Marriage of first cousins prohibited
 Wed at time of marriage
 Bride moves into household of husband’s family
 Extended family
 Divorce allowed but requires approval of the
caste’s council

49. Mundas
 Endogamous/Exogamous
 Don’t marry before the boy can build a
plow and the girl can weave and spin
 Marriages negotiated and depend on
consent of involved parties
 Bride-price paid in both cash and goods
 Take up residence in husband’s fathers
house
 Nuclear family preferred

50. Oraons
 Village and clan exogamy
 Patrilineal extended family
 5-7 members
 Arranged marriages most common
 Bride price paid
 Divorce rare as marriage is seen as
lifelong undertaking

51. Social Stratification: Bihar’s Caste System
 India’s Caste System: describes the social stratification and social
restrictions in society, “in which social classes are defined by
thousands of endogamous hereditary groups, often termed as jātis
or castes”.
 “The Indian Constitution has outlawed caste-based discrimination,
and caste barriers have mostly broken down in large cities.
However, it still persist in rural areas of the country, and in various
forms, does continue to play a major role in Indian society and
politics”.

52. Dominant Castes of Bihar
 Different Castes: Brahman, Bhumihar, Rajput,
Banias and Kayastha are the dominant castes
 Kayasthas and Banias are the two important
caste groups in the cities and towns.
 The Brahmans and Kshatriyas belong to the
same racial stock, but the Kshatriyas “are more
mixed because of their marriage with various
stocks of people”.

53.  The Kayasthas are prominent in all modern professional
occupations and are generally given the status of elite
castes.
 The Banias predominate in trade and commerce.
 Bhumihars are regarded as a caste different from the
Brahmans and Rajputs. However members of all these
caste groups have occupied prominent positions in the
educational and political life of the state.
Kayasthas Banias
Bhumihars, Rajputs or
Brahmans

54. Lower Castes of Bihar
 The lower castes consist of the Koiri,
Kurmi, Kahar, and the Ahir
 There are many Caste rivalries and
prejudices because of narrow-mindedness;
however, modern day education systems
and efforts the enlightened youth, “are
gradually doing away with the prejudices”.

55.  The Ahirs (Yadavas), Kurmis and Koiris are land-owning castes, and
they live in the plains of Bihar.
 The Ahirs or Yadavas are agricultural caste. Cattle-raising is their
hereditary occupation, and most are settled cultivators. Some still
roam about selling milk and ghee.
 Koiris are agriculturists. They are distinguished from Kurmis and
other purely cultivating castes by their skill in growing vegetables
and other special cash crops. They work as market-gardeners in the
neighborhoods of the big towns. Many Koiris are rich land owners
that still hold occupancy rights.
Ahirs = raise cattle Koiris

56. Most notable castes of Bihar
 The most notable castes are Bhumij, Chamar (Mochi),
Dhobi, Dom, Dusadh, Musahar, Nat and Pasi.
 Their means of livelihood is hard manual labor or menial
labor.
 About 92 percent of the total population of these castes
lives in the village while those in the towns and cities are
slum-dwellers who work on pavements (much like our
homeless). Although education is free for them, the vast
majority of them still illiterate.

57.  The Musahars are field laborers whose wages are paid in
cash or in kind according to the traditional custom in the
villages.
 The Dusadhs are of aboriginal descent. A large number
of them serve as watchmen. They are also employed as
village messengers, grooms, elephant drivers and wood
cutters and porters.
 The Dhanuks are servant class found in every place
where there are high caste Hindus. They perform menial
household duties along with their family. Some Dhanuks
are also cultivators while the females act as maid
servants.
Musahars Dusadhs Dhanuks

58. Caste System Today
 Prejudice against the lower castes is gradually
disappearing in Bihar.
 In the country districts, the influence of Zamindar (land
lords) families is still considerable, but their influence is
based more on their position as landlords than as
persons of title.
 The middle class is made up of professionals that for the
most part have done away with caste prejudices.
 Marriage is somewhat different: though inter-caste
marriages are now relatively common in India, many
Indians still consider caste a major criterion for
matrimonial choices.
 Biharis still prefer to go in for arranged marriages in their
own community and caste.

59. Bihar: Music
 Folksongs dealing
with everyday life
– sohar - performed
during childbirth
– sumangali - associated
with wedding
– ropnigeet - performed
during the season of
sowing paddy
– katnigeet - performed
during the paddy
harvesting season

60. Governance in Bihar
Nitish vs Lalu
Change of regime

61. Tejashwi Yadav will not resign -
Lalu Prasad
 On July 7, Lalu and Tejashwi Yadav were
named in a corruption case by the CBI
which searched their Patna home.
 Nitish Kumar stressed that his "zero-
tolerance to corruption" policy is
unwavering, and amply hinted that
Tejashwi Yadav should rise to the
occasion by opting out of the government,
which was not accepted.

62. Nitish Kumar Quits After Lalu Yadav Rules
Out Tejashwi's Resignation-2017
 July,26, 2017- PATNA: Nitish Kumar has
quit as Chief Minister of Bihar, ending the
two-year-long political experiment that
was branded as a game-changing Maha-
gathbandhan or Grand Alliance which
included his party, Lalu Yadav and the
Congress. [ CoNitLal ].

63. A new government with BJP
support-2017
 26/July/ NEW DELHI: Nitish Kumar met
Bihar Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi on
Wednesday night to stake claim to form
government with the support of the BJP,
hours after he dramatically resigned as
Chief Minister, ending his Grand Alliance
with Lalu Yadav's RJD and the Congress.

64. Mr. N. Kumar will take oath as the C M of a new
government with Sushil Modi as his deputy.
 "We have submitted a letter with support of 132
legislators. We have been given the time of 10
am today for swearing in," Mr Sushil Modi told
reporters after the midnight meeting with the
Governor. Mr Sushil Modi, and legislators of both
parties had accompanied Mr Kumar for the
meeting, which lasted for nearly two hours.

65. Works Cited
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_caste_system
 http://www.country-studies.com/india/veiling-and-the-seclusion-of-
women.html
 http://orion.oac.uci.edu/~pranjan/bihar.pdf
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bihar
 http://www.bihar.org.in/economy/
 “Bihar.” Encyclopedia Britannica.
 Nolan, Patrick. Human Societies. Paradigm Publishers. Boulder, CO. 2004
 http://www.webindia123.com/bihar
 http://gov.bih.nic.in/Profile/CensusStats-01.htm
 http://www.infochangeindia.org/bookandreportsst96.jsp
 http://www.newkerala.com/states-of-india/bihar.php