Know Your State ‘Bihar’ – Culture, Geography, Climate, and Govt. Policies (Part 1)

This article will be dealing with the state which has a rich cultural heritage. Moreover, it has predominant themes from the myths and legends of Hinduism. The Hindu deities such as Lord Shiva and Lord Rama form the main theme of folk paintings. The state is BIHAR. Bihar, a land of many Buddhist Monasteries is also known as ‘The Land of Buddha’.

Do you know which state is known for the enlightenment of Lord Mahavira and Buddha? Which state is known for the lip-smacking Litti Chokha?

Bihar is believed to be one of the oldest inhabited places in the country. Bihar is highly valued for its rich culture and heritage and is home to many native art forms. Before starting with the Cultural, Geographical and Political aspects, let us look at some of the State Symbols –

State Symbols

Let’s come to the first aspect of this article and i.e. –

Culture –

Bihar culture includes the Mithila Culture, Bhojpuri Culture and Magadha Culture.

Dance Forms

• Jhijia Dance – In Jhijia, the people of Bihar sing and dance to please the Lord of Rain, Indra. Rain plays a crucial role in agriculture. The village women perform this dance when there is total drought and the lands are cracked and parched.
• Jat-Jatin Dance – It is the most popular folk dance of North Bihar, especially in Mithila and Koshi region. Earlier the dance was only about the separation of lovers ‘Jat’ and ‘Jatin’ but now the play reflects on many social issues like droughts, floods, and poverty.
• Bidesia – This is the most popular folk dance of the Bihari people. It is a folk theatre dance form that is more prevalent in the Bhojpuri-speaking regions of Bihar. Bhikari Thakur is believed to be the father of this dance style. Mainly his work revolved around the themes of conflicting trends. Such as, rich and poor, upper class and lower class, urban and poor, etc. Bidesia is a dance version of Bihara songs.

Festivals

• Chatth Pooja – The Pooja is celebrated twice a year. Once in Chaitra i.e. summers and next in the month of Kartik i.e. around a week after Deepawali. Kartik Chatth is one of the most famous and celebrated at very large scale. The Chatth Pooja is dedicated to the Sun and Shashthi Devi (Chatthi Maiya). They are thanked for bestowing the bounties of life on earth and to request the granting of certain wishes. This is a festival of cleanliness. Even though it is a festival celebrated for four days, people maintain purity for even a month. Women do fast during this pooja time for family wellbeing.
• Some of the famous festivals are Sama-Chakeva, Ramnavami, Makar-Sankranti, Bihula, Madhushravani, Teej, Pitrapaksha Mela, Sonepur fair and Shravani Mela that are celebrated with great enthusiasm.

Handicraft and Clothing

• Madhubani Art – The Madhubani Painting is very exclusive to the state. It is also known as Mithila Painting. The painting is done with coloured paste made with rice powder. The painting is supposed to be indigenous. Because during the Ramayan era, Janak King asked his men to draw Madhubani painting on the walls. The paintings were to depict the marriage of Ram and Sita. But now the painting is also done on clothes, canvases, etc.
•  The traditional dress of Bihari men is Dhoti-Kurta and of women is saree. Women wear saree in “Seedha Aanchal” style. Tussar Silk Saree is the most used in Bihari costumes.
• Bhagalpur is famous for its silk industry and is considered to be one of the best silks producing centres in India, in manufacturing silk yarn and weaving them into lovely products. The silk is of a distinct and special type and is also known as Tussar Silk or Tussah Silk.

Food

• The historically rich land of Bihar is equally famous for the plethora of delicacies that feature in its cuisine. The most famous cuisine of Bihar is Litti Chokha. Litti consists of Wheat and Sattu with spices. It is round spicy balls, dipped in ghee giving it a crunchy crust. Chokha is prepared by mashing boiled vegetables (most common being potatoes, brinjal, tomatoes), adding spices and chopped onions, garlic, etc. and are served with Litti as a complimentary delicacy.
• The most commonly prepared snack of Bihar is Khajuria/Thekua. The Thekua is a mixture of Wheat Flour and Jaggery which is fried.
• The Bihari way to cook dumplings or momos is Dal Peetha. This is covered with rice flour and stuffed with lentil paste, along with spices and pickles. Another variant of this is when the lentil paste is mixed with spices and rolled into chappatis is called Dal-Puri.

Languages

• Hindi and Urdu are spoken throughout Bihar but different regions have different dialects.

• There are five dialects – Bhojpuri, Magahi, Maithili, Angika, and Vajjika (also known as Brajjika or Bajjika). 

• Most speakers of these dialects can easily understand, if not speak, standardized

  Hindi.

Let’s come to the second aspect –

GEOGRAPHY–

Bihar is a state which lies in the eastern part of India. The following points explain the geographical aspect of Bihar.

• Latitudinal Extension – 24⁰ 20’N to 27⁰31’N
• Longitudinal Extension – 83⁰ 19’E to 88⁰ 17’E
• Area – 94,163 sq. km

Rank in India – 13^th

• Population – 104,099,452

Rank in India – 3^rd

• Boundaries –
• North side – Nepal
• South side – Jharkhand
• West side – Uttar Pradesh
• East side – West Bengal
• Literacy Rate (as per 2011 census) – 63.82%
• The state is divided into 9 divisions and 38 districts.
• SOIL – The most common soil in Bihar is Gangetic Alluvium of Indo-Gangetic Plain region. Piedmont Swamp Soil is found in the north-western part of West Champaran district. Terai soil is found in the northern part of Bihar along the border of Nepal. These, along with clay soil, sand soil and loamy soil are commonly found soil types.  
• TYPES OF ROCKS –
• Dharwar Rocks – This type of rock is found in the South-eastern part of Bihar like Munger, Jamui and Nawoda.
• Vindhyan Rocks – This type of rock is found in the North-western part of Bihar like Kaimur and Rohtas district. 
• Tertiary Rocks – These are found in the Himalayan Terai region of Bihar.
• Quaternary Rocks – Found in down wrapped section between the Himalayas and Chota Nagpur Plateau.
• The physiographic division of Bihar is divided into three categories –
• Shiwalik Range
• Bihar Plain
• Southern Plateau Region
• India’s largest mountain range, the Himalayan Mountain region covers North of Bihar whereas if one goes to the South, one can find Chota Nagpur Plateau. However, it has been a part of Jharkhand, which was in Bihar until the year 2000. On 15 November 2000, Southern Bihar was ceded to form the new state of Jharkhand.
• CLIMATE – The climate of Bihar embodies the general climatic pattern of the Indian subcontinent. It shows a Continental Monsoon Climate due to considerable distance from the sea.
• The factors that regulate the climate of Bihar are the Himalayan Mountains in the North that determine the monsoon climate and Bihar that connects with the Ganga delta and Assam.
• The climate of Bihar is represented by the following seasons –

Cold Weather Season – December to February

Hot Weather Season – March to May

Southwest Monsoon – June to September

Retreating Monsoon – October to November

• Similar to most of Northern India, Bihar witnesses Thunderstorms and dusty winds in summer.
• The hot winds (Loo) of Bihar Plains blow in April and May averaging a speed of 8 to 16 km per hour.
• The rainy season begins in June. The rainiest months are July and August.
• In three particular zones, rainfall surpasses 1800 mm. The south-west monsoon winds normally retreat in early October. They are accompanied by Tropical cyclones arising in the Bay of Bengal and Typhoons from the South China Sea.

Polity is a form of civil organisation or constitution and has an organised society. So, it’s very important to understand the political structure of every state. The next aspect is –

POLITY –

The Legislature of Bihar is Bicameral i.e. it has both the Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) and Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad).

• The Vidhan Sabha consists of 243 directly elected members and the Vidhan Parishad consists of 95 members.
• At present, there are four main political parties – Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal (United), Bharatiya Janta Party and Indian National Congress. Bihar is currently ruled by Janata Dal (United) and BJP coalition.
• The High Court of Bihar is Patna High Court which is functioning since 1916 with Amreshwar Pratap Sahi as its Chief Justice.
• Appointed by the President of India, the Governor is the nominal head of the state and functions on the advice of the CM, who is the head of the Council of Ministers.
• The bureaucratic hierarchy, located in the Patna secretariat, is headed by a Chief Secretariat.
• Present CM – The present CM of Bihar is Nitish Kumar from Janata Dal (United) party. He is the present and 22^nd CM of Bihar since 2015.
•  Present Governor – Phagu Chauhan is the present and the 29^th Governor of Bihar. He is from Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP).
• Present Deputy CM – The present deputy CM is Sushil Kumar Modi who also belongs to BJP.
• The first CM was Sri Krishna Singh and his tenure was from 1952 to 1957. 
• The state is administratively divided into 9 divisions and 38 districts. Bihar has 12 municipal corporations, 49 nagar parishads (city councils) and 80 nagar panchayats (town councils).
• Zakir Hussain and the 14^th President of India Ram Nath Kovind were two governors of Bihar who went on to become the President of India.

So, here are Some of the Interesting Facts of Bihar –

• Siwan, is an important part of Bihar and is known to produce many luminaries. For example, Dr. Rajnedra Prasad who was the first President of Republic of India.
• Pawapuri is the place where Lord Mahavira, the renowned teacher of Jainism, attained Nirvana (enlightenment or freedom from an endless cycle of reincarnation).
• Gaya is an important place of Hindu pilgrimage, and nearby Bodh Gaya, where Buddha attained enlightenment, is the holiest place of Buddhism. In 2002, the Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lord Buddha who went on to find Buddhism, the religion of non-violence attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree in Bodhgaya.
• Located at a distance of about 95 km from Patna, the ancient University of Nalanda is said to be the oldest university in the world. It was destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khilji, a general of the Mamluk dynasty, during an invasion. It is said that people from all over the world used to come to Nalanda to gain knowledge.
• Ram Vilas Paswan holds a Guinness World Record for winning with a margin of 4.24 lakh votes in 1977 when he won the Hajipur constituency. Hajipur is a city in Bihar.
• Located in the Kaimur district at a distance of about 210 km from Patna, Mundeshwari Devi Temple is said to be the oldest functional Hindu temple in the country. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Shakti and Lord Shiva. It is frequented by thousands of tourists and Hindu devotees every year. 

Hope this blog was helpful in clearing your doubts regarding this exquisite state. In the next blog, we’ll be dealing with the economy, environment, and history of Bihar. Click here for Know your state ‘Bihar’ – Part 2! We hope this blog will help you in competitive exams such as SSC CGL, RRB NTPC, Civil Services, etc.   

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