Often ignored in mainstream discussion of Indian heritage and tourism, the state of Bihar is highly rooted in ancient history, political importance, and intellectual legacy. From the homeland of major religions, the centre of both colonial and post-colonial politics, and the ancient universities, Bihar holds the legacy of its vast historical significance. In this article, you will explore Bihar's origin, its journey through the ages of history, and the modern political landscape.
Origin of Bihar
“Bihar” has a strong root in Buddhism
The word “Bihar” is derived from the Pali word “Vihara,” which means monastery. At the time of the Buddhist period, Buddhism was strongly connected with various viharas or monastic institutions like Vikramshila, Odantapuri, and Nalanda, which became significant universities. One of the defining moments for the prince Siddharth Gautama, who became Gautam Buddha, took place in Bodhgaya, where he achieved enlightenment under the bodhi tree. The Mahabodhi Temple complex in Bodhgaya has now become a UNESCO World Heritage site that attracts many tourists and pilgrims from the entire world.
Ancient history - The enlightenment and provenance of civilisation
One of the strong ancient Indian kingdoms, Magadha, is now situated in the southern Bihar of the present day. It played a crucial role in Indian history from the 6th century BCE to the 4th century BCE. Some of the prominent cities from ancient Bihar are-
Nalanda: The World's earliest and oldest residential University.
Rajgir: A pivotal site for Jainism and Buddhism.
Patliputra (nowadays known as Patna): It was the capital of Magadha and one of the largest urban places in ancient history.
Birthplace of many religions
Buddhism: After attaining enlightenment under the bodhi tree of Bodhgaya, it has marked the holiest places for Buddhism.
Hinduism: The prime Hindu epics, like the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, have featured various places in Bihar.
Jainism: Jainism traces its history to the 24th Tirthankara, Mahavira, born in Vaishali, which is near Hajipur. One of the holiest cities for Jainism, Pawapuri is situated in Bihar, where the Jain temple also bears its significance for this religion.
Vikramshila and Nalanda: the key learning centres
Vikramshila University was one of the top-notch Buddhist learning centres in the past, which King Dharmapala built from the Pala dynasty.
Founded in 427 CE, Nalanda University has embraced various scholars from Korea, China, and Persia.
Both universities represent the early contribution of India to global education.
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Medieval era
Islamic reigns and resistance
Bihar witnessed Islamic rule from the 12th century onwards. Firstly, the Delhi sultanates and later the Mughals had administered various territories of Bihar. Despite this stringent rule, Bihar has still enshrined its identity through cultural resilience.
Shershah Suri is one of the prominent personalities in this era who was born in the Sasaram district of Bihar and credited with building the Grand Trunk Road, which connects various Indian cities.
Colonial period: the seeds of the Renaissance
The hub of freedom movements
1857 revolt: The initial war of independence saw a huge resistance from the Bihari soldiers.
1917 Champaran Satyagraha: conducted by Mahatma Gandhi, 1917 Champaran Satyagraha was the first and important civil disobedience action in India, which aimed to eradicate the Indigo farmers’ exploitation.
JayapakashNarayana: One of the revolutionary figures from Bihar who administered the entire revolution movements in the period of 1970.
Renaissance and Patna University
The Patna University (which came into existence in 1917) became one of the significant hubs of political and intellectual thoughts that nurtured many future politicians, poets, and freedom fighters.
Post-independence politics of Bihar
Bifurcation of the state
One of the major states of India, Jharkhand, seceded from Southern Bihar in 2000 due to the regional resistance for autonomy and administrative challenges.
Early political stability of Bihar
In the initial post-independent period, Bihar has enjoyed stable governance under the rule of the Indian National Congress, where Dr. Shri Krishna Singh became the first chief minister in the state. He led the office of the chief minister from 1887 to 1961, which made him one of the longest-serving chief ministers in India. Within this tenure, Dr Singh has focused on education, social reforms, Land reforms, and industrialisation.
The socialist movement
The fertile ground of Bihar has also looked after the anti-Congress and socialist ideologies during the period between 1960 and 1970. Powerful leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan, Karpoori Thakur and Ram ManoharLohiya have sown the seeds of grassroots resistance among the rural poor community and backwards classes. The former CM, Karpoori Thakur, has implemented the earliest action policies in India in the state education and jobs before the national level recommendation implemented by the Mandal Commission.
The JP movement
The JP movement, which is also known as the total revolution movement, became a mass political movement where Jayaprakash Narayan held the leadership. With the slogan of sampoornaKranti or the total revolution, this movement opposed the widespread unemployment, inflation, corruption, and authoritarian policies at the time of Indira Gandhi’s rule. The end result of this movement was the Janata Party, which defeated the Indian National Congress in an election in 1977. Many of today's leaders, like Nitish Kumar, SushilModi, and Lalu Prasad Yadav, have acquired prominence through this specific movement.
Rise of caste based politics
Bihar has confronted a political revolution after Lalu Prasad Yadav came into the mainstream politics of Bihar in 1990. The charismatic leader and supremo of RashtriyaJanata Dal, Lalu Prasad Yadav, concentrated on Social Justice to uplift the marginalised community and backwards castes. He served as the Chief Minister of Bihar from 1990 to 1997, and his tenure is noted with several allegations of corruption along with governance issues that also earned the name of jungle raj.
The era of Nitish Kumar
Nitish Kumar became one of the reformist leaders who took the responsibilities of Chief Minister in 2005 under the Janata Dal United with the alliance of Bhartiya Janata Party or BJP. His government has enforced visible changes in the infrastructure, especially in the context of electricity and roads, law and order, educational reform, such as distributing free bicycles to the girl students through “Mukhymantri Balika Cycle Yojana” to enhance attendance in school. Nitish Kumar highly emphasised women's empowerment, securing 50% of the seats for women in the Panchayat.
Geographical significance of Bihar
An entire landlocked state, Bihar is situated in the Eastern part of India, which shares borders with West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh. The state borders Jharkhand from the south, West Bengal from the South, Uttar Pradesh from the west, and Nepal from the North. With an area of 94,163 sq km, Bihar is the 12th largest state in India in terms of both population and territory. In addition to that, Bihar is the 4th populous state in India.
Cultural heritage of Bihar
The rich languages
Bihar is the home of rich languages like Maithili, Bhojpuri, and Magahi. Maithili is recognised of the 22 official languages of India. These languages have not only been used for communication purposes but also featured in various songs and traditions.
Madhubani art
One of the oldest art forms, Madhubani art or the Mithila art, originated from Bihar's Mithila region. It is mainly followed by the traditional women who carve this art form onto the wall which was later patronised globally.
The festivals
Chhath puja: It is the unique festival of Bihar where the devotee offers gratitude to Lord Surya for providing the light and life for all the living beings.
Sonepurmela: This fair is famous as the largest cattle fair across Asia. It is also denoted as Harihar Kshetra Melathat is held annually and shows the representation of grand cattle which is the pride of Bihar.
Jitiya and Samachakeva: These are the regional festivals that celebrate family, nature and also feminine power.
The interesting and lesser-known facts about Bihar
The oldest functional Temple across the world
The Mundeshwari Devi Temple, located in Kaimur district of Bihar, is said to be the oldest functional Hindu temple in the world. The main reason for achieving this special status is that the devotional rituals have been going on nonstop without any pause. Pilgrims visit this temple throughout the year, but the huge devotees gather on some auspicious festivals like Shivratri and Ramnavami.
The birthplace of many Legends
Bihar has begat many national icons that are mentioned below.
Ramdhari Singh Dinkar: Renowned Hindi Poet, freedom fighter, and essayist.
Dr Rajendra Prasad: The first President of independent India, who is also known as an eminent Indian politician, Journalist, lawyer, and scholar.
South Asia's first female doctor
Belonging to the Bhagalpur district in Bihar, Kadambini Ganguly was the first female doctor of Western medicine not only from India but the entire South Asia. Her eye-opening lectures have encouraged the Calcutta Medical College to open its doors for females. Besides, she was also the first woman speaker in the Indian National Congress.
World's longest free Wi-Fi zone
In this digital era, the capital city of Bihar, Patna, has set a record for hosting the longest free Wi-Fi zone across the world. It is stretched approximately 20 km between the National Institute of Technology (the Eastern end of Ashok Rajpath) and Danapur (specifically at the Western end of Patna).
The highest number of IAS officers belongs to Bihar
Despite the various modifications in the exam pattern along with the emerging career trends, Bihar always remains a dominant state in the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission), which is deemed to be one of the toughest examinations in India and the world. As of January 2024, of the 5542 IAS officers in India, approximately 500 officers came from Bihar, which reflects the roots of IAS officers in this state.
Conclusion
The state of Bihar is beyond the story of Buddhism. From Bodhgaya to Nalanda and Vaishali, this state has cultivated the teachings and footprint of Buddha for a long time. This article will ignite your mind by allowing you to grasp the various knowledge from ancient times to modern times, including geographical knowledge, historical information, and cultural heritage.