Bihar History

The history of Bihar is one of the most varied in India. Bihar was called Magadha in the ancient times. Its capital Patna was known as Pataliputra at that time. Bihar the ancient land of Buddha, has witnessed a golden period of the Indian history. The state finds a mention in the Vedas, Puranas, and epics. The main activities of Buddha and 24th Jain Tirthankar took place in this state. Magadha was the center of power, learning, and culture in India for 1000 years. India's first empire, the Maurya empire as well as one of the world's greatest pacifist religion, Buddhism arose from the region that now makes modern Bihar. Magadha empires, notably under the Maurya and Gupta dynasties, unified large parts of South Asia under a central rule.

Ancient History
The classical Gupta dynasty of Bihar, was known to have been a period of great culture and learning inside India. The Gupta period is known today as the Golden Age of India. Post the Gupta period, Bihar played a very small role in Indian affairs, until the emergence of the Suri dynasty during the Islamic period in the 1540s. After the fall of the Suri dynasty in 1556, Bihar again became a marginal player in India and was the staging post for the Bengal Presidency from the 1750s and up to the war of 1857-58. In 1935, Bihar was carved out as a separate provience in the British Indian Empire. Since 1947, Bihar has been a state in the Indian Union.

The history of Bihar is very ancient. In fact, it extends to the very dawn of human civilization. Earliest myths and legends of Hinduism the Sanatana (Eternal) Dharma - are associated withBihar. Sita, the consort of Lord Rama, and daughter of King Janak of Videha was a princess of Bihar. The author of the Hindu epic, The Ramayana, Maharishi Valmiki, lived in Ancient Bihar.

Medieval Period
The Mughals established a prosperous atmosphere in Bihar. With the downfall of the Mughals, the Nawabs from Bengal exercised their rule. The East India Company established its sway over Bihar after the Battle of Buxar in 1764. The different British attitudes and practices towards the people led to migration to lands like Africa, South East Asia etc. Under the British, Bihar was first a part of Bengal Presidency. In 1911 the two states of Orissa and Bihar were separated from Bengal. In 1936,they became separate provinces. A part of Bihar comprising mainly forest tracks of Chhotanagpur plateau and Santhal paragana, the homeland of the tribals became a separate state Jharkhand on November 15th, 2000.

Modern Period
After the Battle of Buxar in 1765, the British East India Company obtained the Diwani Rights (rights to administer and collect revenue, or tax administration / collection) for Bihar, Bengal and Orissa. From this point onwards, Bihar remained a part the Bengal Presidency of the British Raj until 1912, when Bihar was carved out as a separate Province. In 1935, certain portions of Bihar were reorganised into the separate province of Orissa. Again, in 2000, 18 administrative districts of Bihar were separated to form the state of Jharkhand. Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur and his army, as well as countless other persons from Bihar, contributed to the Indian rebellion of 1857, also called the Sepoy Mutiny by some historians.

Bihar`s contribution in the freedom struggle has been immense with outstanding leaders like Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, Bihar Bibhuti, Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Jayaprakash Narayan, Satyendra Narayan Sinha, Basawon Singh, Yogendra Shukla, Sheel Bhadra Yajee and many others who worked for India`s freedom relentlessly and helped in the upliftment of the underprivileged masses. Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki were also active in revolutionary movement in Bihar.