Bihar

Bihar (/bᵻˈhɑːr/; Hindustani pronunciation: [bɪˈɦaːr]) is a state in East India. It is the 13th largest state of India, with an area of 94,163 km² (36,357 sq mi). The third largest state of India by population, it is also contiguous with Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Bengal to the east, with Jharkhand to the south. The Bihar plain is split by the river Ganges which flows from west to east.

On November 15, 2000, southern Bihar was ceded to form the new state of Jharkhand. Close to 85% of the population lives in villages. Additionally, almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, giving Bihar the highest proportion of young people compared to any other state in India. The official languages of the state are Hindi and Urdu. Other languages commonly used within the state include Bhojpuri, Maithili, Magahi, Bajjika, and Angika (Maithili being the only one of these to be publicly accepted by the government).

In ancient and classical India, Bihar was considered a centre of power, learning, and culture. From Magadha arose India's first empire, the Maurya empire, as well as one of the world's most widely adhered-to religions, Buddhism. Magadha empires, notably under the Maurya and Gupta dynasties, unified large parts of South Asia under a central rule.

Bihar (disambiguation)

Bihar is a state in India.

Bihar may also refer to:

See also

Bihar County

Bihar was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary and a county of Partium (in the 17th century, when it was under the rule of the Princes of Transylvania). Its territory is now mostly in northwestern Romania, where it is administered as Bihor County, and a smaller part in eastern Hungary. The capital of the county was Nagyvárad (now Oradea in Romania).

Geography

Bihar County was situated along the upper courses of the rivers Körös, Sebes-Körös, Fekete-Körös and Berettyó). The medieval county also included Kalotaszeg region (now Țara Călatei in Romania). The total territory of the medieval county was around 10,000 km² (3,900 sq mi).

After 1876, Bihar county shared borders with the Hungarian counties Békés, Hajdú, Szabolcs, Szatmár, Szilágy, Kolozs, Torda-Aranyos and Arad. The western half of the county is in the Pannonian plain, while the eastern half is part of the Apuseni mountains. Its area was 10,657 km² (4,115 sq mi) around 1910.

History

Origins