Bihar
Geographical Area : 99 200
Population in 2001 : 8 29 98 509
Estimated population in 2025 : 11 30 81 000
Provisional Numbers in Census 2011
Bihar population as percentage of India : 8.58%
Population in 2011 : 10 38 04 637
Males 5 41 85 347
Females 4 96 19 290
Sex ratio : 916
Under 6 Sex ratio : 933
Number of Districts : 38
Number of habitated villages : 39 015
Capital
Patna
Principal Language
Hindi
History and Geography
Bihar finds mention in the Vedas, Puranas, epics, etc., and was
the main scene of activities of Buddha, and 24 Jain Tirthankars.
Great rulers of the State before the Christian era were Bimbisar,
Udayin, who founded the city of Pataliputra. Chandragupta Maurya
and Emperor Ashoka and Maurya dynasty, the Sungs and the Kanvas.
Then came the Kushan rulers followed by Chandragupta Vikramaditya
of the Gupta dynasty. Muslim rulers made in-roads into the territory
during medieval period. The first conqueror of Bihar was Mohammed-
bin-Bakhtiar Khalji. The Tughluqs and then the Mughals followed
the Khaljis.
One of the major states of the Indian Union, Bihar is bounded on
the north by Nepal, on the east by West Bengal, on west by Uttar
Pradesh and on the south by Jharkhand. Bihar has a number of rivers,
the most important of which is the Ganga. The other rivers are the
Sone, Poonpoon, Falgu, Karmanasa, Durgawati, Kosi, Gandak, Ghaghara,
etc.
Agriculture
Bihar has a total geographical area of about 93.60 lakh hectare,
out of which only 56.03 lakh hectare is the net cultivated area
and gross cultivated area being 79.46 lakh hectare. About 33.51
lakh hectare net area and 43.86 lakh hectare gross area receive
irrigation from different sources. Principal food crops are paddy,
wheat, maize and pulses. Main cash crops are sugarcane, potato,
tobacco, oilseeds, onion, chillies, jute and roselle. Bihar has
notified forest area of 6,764.14 sq. km, which is 7.1 per cent of
its geographical area.
Industries
Major Industries are: Railway Wagon Plants of Bharat Wagon Limited
at Muzaffarpur and Mokamah; Oil Refinery of Indian Oil Corporation
at Barauni; Fertilizer Manufacturing Plant of HPCL at Barauni and
PPCL at Amjhor; Cotton Spinning Mills at Siwan, Pandaul, Bhagalpur,
Mokamah and Gaya; 13 sugar mills in private sector and 15 in the
public sector located in south and north Bihar with a total crushing
capacity of 45,000 TPD. In addition, distilleries at Gopalganj,
West Champaran, Bhagalpur and Riga (in Sitamarhi district); Finished
Leather Industry in West Champaran, Muzaffarpur and Barauni; Jute
Mills at Katihar and Samastipur; Medicine Manufacturing Unit at
Hajipur; Food Processing Units as also Vanaspati Manufacturing Units
at Aurangabad and Patna; besides Kalyanpur Cement Limited at Banjari,
are notable in the industrial map of Bihar.
Irrigation
Bihar has an irrigation potential of 28.63 lakh hectares. It is
created through major and medium irrigation schemes and 48.97 lakh
hectares through minor irrigation schemes.
Transport
Roads: Up to March 2008, Bihar had 45721.059 km of pucca roads including
3734.38 km of national highways and 3766.029 km of state highways,
7992.65 km of major District Roads, 2828.00 km. of other District
Roads and 27400 km. of Rural Roads.
Railways: Bihar has a fairly good railway network. There is a railway
bridge at Mokamaha in north Bihar. A few railway routes connecting
important places like Muzaffarpur-Samastipur-Barauni-Katihar and
Muzaffarpur-Chapra-Siwan have been converted into broad gauge. The
main rail junctions are at Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Katihar and
Samastipur, etc.
Aviation: There is an international airport at Patna, besides landing
grounds in all major districts of the State.
Tourist Centres
Important places of tourist interest are Rajgir, Nalanda, Vaishali,
Pawapuri (where Lord Mahavira breathed his last and attained Nirvana),
Bodh Gaya, Vikramshila (ruins of Buddhist University of higher learning),
Gaya, Patna (ancient city of Patliputra), Sasaram (tomb of Shershah
Suri) and Madhubani (known for its famous Madhubani Paintings).
Mundeshwari Mandir (Kaimur), Rohtras Garh Fort (Rohtas), Jain Pilgrim
Place, Kundalpur (Nalanda), Bihar School of Yoga (Munger), Manersharif
Patna, Rural Tourist Place Nepura (Nalanda), Kesaria Stupa (East
Champaran), Barabar Hills (Jehanabad) and Lauria Nandangarh are
also important tourist places.
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