BIHAR A progressive State of India

overview

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.

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.

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.

Bihar

Bihar has alluvial soil, replenished by flood

waters, suitable for agriculture.

Often a governing elite that controlled both

the political and the economic aspects of

life.

Trade (and migration) is increasingly

important.

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

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.

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.

Geogr

Bihar is the tan state within the red shape.

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.

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.

Recent History

Located in the northeast of the country, on the

border with Nepal, Bihar was India’s third most

populous state.

Historically, it was the base of an agrarian movement that championed the rights of peasant farmers. Most of its residents were scattered across 45,000 villages, where many cultivated the plain that surrounded the Ganges River.

Bihar was the country’s poorest state, and more than half the population subsisted on less than the equivalent of one US dollar a day.

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

Education: Medieval History

During medieval period, education

was lost.

Believed that marauding armies of the invaders destroyed the

centers of learning.

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

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

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

Literacy rate from 1951 to 2011[99]

Year

1961

Total

21.95

1971

23.17

1981

32.32

1991

37.49

2001

47.53

2011

63.82

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.

Economy

Bihar lagged behind in the overall progress of India.

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.

Economy: Agriculture

2 crop seasons: Kharif & Rabi

Major crops: – Rice

– Sugar

– Tobacco

– Wheat

– Jute

Other minor crops: – Chilli – Mango

– Oil Seeds

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.

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

Economy: Agriculture

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

Economy: Mineral Production

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.

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

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

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

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.

By 2012, Bihar had earned acclaim for its technology-

related gains, and the government of India recognized the

turnaround through e-governance awards. Kumar’s efforts

earned him the nickname Sushasan Babu, or Mr. Good

Governance.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Culture of Bihar: Festivals

Chhath

– Worship of the Sun God

Teej

– Worship of Goddess Parvati

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 perhaps not as well-

known as those of the Dagar school of Dhrupad, these

masters have kept the Dhrupad tradition in perhaps the

purest

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.

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

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