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.
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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