History of Bihar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The History of Bihar as a region is very rich and eventful. This is due to the fact that Bihar was a center of power, learning and culture. It has been a cradle of Indian civilization and the birth place of two of the major religions that have emanated from India: Buddhism and Jainism. Much of the ancient Indian text written outside of the religious epics have been written in this ancient land: Arthashashtra and Kamasutra being the most prominent. The first known republic, a state without a sovereign king, existed in this region more than two thousand years back.
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[edit] Ancient
The central region of what is now known as Bihar was called Magadha in ancient days. Its capital Patna, then called Pataliputra, was the capital of the Mauryan empire which ruled over much of the Indian - Subcontinent and extended as far as Iran and Afghanistan to the West. Emperor Ashoka, one of the greatest monarchs in the history of the world, who ruled between 273 BC and 232 BC was the most famous ruler of the Mauryan dynasty.
Just north of Magadha across the river Ganges is the Vaishali region. It is here that the first republic of the lichchvis was established even before the Magadha empire reached its peak of glory.
To the north east of Vaishali is Mithila, the kingdom of the legendary king Janak. Sitamarhi in Mithila is said to be the birth place of King Ram's queen Sita.
Bihar remained an important place of power for about a thousand years. Its importance as the centre of Indian culture and education outlived its importance as the center of Power by another five hundred years or so. Out of the three ancient universities of India, two Nalanda and Vikramshila Universities were located in Bihar, with third being Taxila in present day Pakistan. These ancient centres of learning were destroyed by the maruading early Islamic raiders around 1200 AD.
[edit] Religions Originated
Bihar is also the birthplace of many religions, including Buddhism and Jainism. The word "Bihar" has its origin in the Sanskrit word "Vihara", meaning Buddhist Monasteries. Buddha attained Enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, a town located in the modern day district of Gaya. Buddha started spreading his teaching after attaining the Enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism, was born in Vaishali, When we speak of Bihar we are remembered of ancient India when Buddhism was evolving into what now is a universal religion. At one time in the epoch of history these "viharas" were strewn all over the landscape of Bihar, around villages and cities alike.
Ravinder Singh
[edit] Medieval
With the advent of the foreign aggression and eventual foreign subjugation of India, Bihar passed through very uncertain times during the medieval period. Muhammad Bin Bakhtiar Khilji, a General of Muhammad Ghori captured Bihar in 12th century and destroyed the ancient seats of learning of this region. During the medieval period, Bihar saw a brief period of glory for about six years during the rule of Sher Shah Suri, who hailed from Sasaram. He built the longest road of the Indian subcontinent, the Grand Trunk Road, which starts from Calcutta and ends at Peshawar, Pakistan. During 1557-1576, Akbar, the Mughal emperor, annexed Bihar and Bengal to his empire and the region passed through uneventful provincial rule during much of this period.
With the decline of Mughals, Bihar passed under the control of Nawabs of Bengal. This period saw exploitation at the hands of the rulers in the form of high taxes, but the Nawabs of Bengal also allowed trade to flourish in this region. Some of the greatest melas of the Indian sub-continent, viz., Soenpur Mela which is the biggest cattle fair in India, were allowed to continue and even flourish inviting traders from far and near.
[edit] Modern
After the Battle of Buxar (1764), the British East India Company got 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 of the Bengal Presidency of the British Raj. In 1912, Bihar was carved out as a separate province. In 1935, certain portions of Bihar were reorganised into the separate province of Orissa.
Babu Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur and his army, as well as countless other persons from Bihar, contributed to the India's First War of Independence (1857), also called Sepoy Mutiny by some historians.
After his return from the South Africa, Mahatma Gandhi started the freedom movement in India by his satyagraha in the Champaran district of Bihar against the British , who were forcing the local farmers to plant indigo which was very harmful to the local soil. This movement by Mahatma Gandhi received the spontaneous support from a cross section of people, including Dr. Rajendra Prasad, who rose to become the first President of India; Bihar Kesari Dr. Sri Krishna Sinha who became the first Chief Minister of Bihar; Dr. Anugraha Narayan Sinha who was the first Finance Minister and many others.
There were other legendary freedom fighters like Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, Jayaprakash Narayan, Basawon Singh (Sinha), Yogendra Shukla, Sheel Bhadra Yajee and others who spent their entire lives liberating the country politically, and after its political independence, for social and economic upliftment of the masses. Even the eminent writer of Hindi literature, Ram Briksh Benipuri had spent eight years in prison struggling for India's independence.
In the post independence period, 18 administrative districts of Bihar were separated to form the state of Jharkhand in 2000.
[edit] Timelines
- 560-480 BCE: Anga, Buddha
- 490 BCE: Establishment of Patliputra (Modern Patna)
- Before 325 BCE: Anga, Nanda clan in Magadha, Licchavis in Vaishali
- Before 500 BCE: Foundation of world's first republic in Vaishali.
- 450-362 BCE: Emperor Mahapadma Nanda is ruler of the Magadh Empire, Nanda Dynasty
- 304 BCE: Ashok Maurya born in Patliputra
- 325-185 BCE: Magadh Empire under the Maurya Dynasty
- 340 BCE: General Chandragupta Maurya crowned Emperor of Magadh; Chandragupta is the first Mauryan emperor
- 273 BCE Ashok Maurya crowned new Emperor of Magadh, Bihari-Magadhi Buddhism is exported to Persian Empire, Greece, China and East Asia
- 273-232 Conquest of 'Indian' region by Ashok the Great (Modern Afghanistan, Pakistan, southern India, and Gujarat) falls under Magadh territories and taxation system.
- 232 BCE Death of Emperor Ashok Maurya
- 250 BCE: 3rd Buddhist Council
- 185 BCE-80 CE: The Magadh Empire falls under the Sunga Dynasty after the military coup by General Pusyamitra Shunga.
- 71BC - 26BC: Magadh Empire falls under the Kanva Dynasty
- 240 - 600: Magadh Empire falls under the Gupta Dynasty. First ruler is Chandra Gupta
- 375-415: Emperor Chandragupta II
- 500; Attack by Huns weakens the Imperial center in Patliputra. Proviences break away.
- 600 - 650: Harsha Vardhana empire expands in to Magadh from the Haryana region
- 750 - 1200: The Bengali Pala Dynasty Expands in to Magadh
- 1200: Bakhtiyar Khilji's army destroys the universities at Nalanda and Vikramshila in Bihar. Start of the Muslim Era.
- 1200-1400: Sharp decline of Buddhismin Bihar and northern India in general
- 1250-1526: Magadh becomes a core part of the Delhi Sultanate e Hind (Hindustan).
- 1526-1540: Mughal Emperor, Babur, defeats the last Sultan of Delhi, Lodi, and establishes the Mughal Dynasty in Delhi and Agra
- 1540-1555: New empire from Bihar (Magadh), with Shenshah SherShah Suri (from Sasaram, modern south Bihar). SherShah captures empire from Mughals. (SherShah built the Grand Trunk Road, introduced the Rupee and Custom Duties)
- 1556: Mughal dynasty restored in Agra after the Battle of Panipat, centre of power moves back to Delhi-Agra region
- 1556 - 1764: Bihar is a wealthy, core territory/ province of the Mughal Sultanate-e-Hind (Hindustan)
- 1666: Guru Gobind Singh The 10th and last Sikh Guru, is born in Patna
- 1757-1857: The British East India Company expands it rule in to Bihar from Bengal
- 1764: Battle of Buxar, Core lands of Mughal Hindustan are put firmly under British Company government. Tax collection rights are now a duty of the Company.
- 1764-1920 Migration of Bihari & United Provices (Eastern Uttar Pradesh) workers across the British Empire by the Company and later Crown Government. Bihari migrant population dominate and settle in Guyana, Surinam, Trinaded-Tobago, Fiji, Mauritius, and Natal-South Africa. Smaller settler colonies also established in Jammica and West Indies in general.
- 1857: Period of the north Indian Rebellion of 1857 Bihari, Purvanchli, & Western UP East India Company Sepoys (80% Hindu according to William Daryample in the book "The Last Mughal") declare Bahadur Shah Zafar II Emperor of Hindustan. The region becomes the centre of resistance to the East India Company. End of the Muslim Era.
- 1858: Mughal Sultanate-e-Hind reorganised to form the new British Indian Empire after the British Government abolishes the East India Company.
- 1877: House of Windsor is made the new Imperial Royal Family. Queen Victoria declared the first Emperess of the British Indian Empire
- 1912: Province of Bihar & Orissa separated from Bengal
- 1917: Patna University established
- 1925: Patna Medical College Hospital established under the name "Prince of Wales Medical Collage"
- 1935: Bihar and Orissa become separate provinces
- 1936: Sir James David Sifton appointed the first Governor of Bihar.
- 1937: Srikrishna Sinha is the first Chief Minister of Bihar
- 1947: Indian Independence; Bihar becomes a state in the new Dominion of India. Migration of millions of Bihari Muslims to the new Pakistani states of Sindh and East Pakistan (East Pakistan known as Bangadesh since 1971)
- 1947-1950 Dominion of India is replaced by a republic in 1950. Central Government adopts symbols of ancient Imperial Bihar (Ashok Chakra added to the Indian flag, the Lion Pillor is made the symbol of the central government of India, all state governments, reserve bank, and the military, whilst the Bihari Rupee is retained as the currency)
- 1975 - 1977: Bihar is the centre of resistance against the Emergency
- 1989 - 2004: Lalu Prasad/ Rabri Devi term of Government (RJD Party). Period marks the complete collapse of the Bihar economy, massive rise in crime, and the development of mass migration to other states in Indian Union of all classes/ castes and religions.
- 2000: Bihar divided into two states by NDA central government - The northern part retains the name "Bihar", whilst southern (and more industralised region) becomes the State of Jharkhand.
- 2002 - 2004: Deadly crime wave grips Patna and Bihar
- 2003: First Bihari-Bhojpuri Immigrant Worker Crisis; Bihari migrants attacked in Mumbai, and hundreds killed and tens of thousands flee Assam
- 2005: In Feb, Lalu Prasad/ Rabri Devi lose power after 15 years, Presidents rule declared after no party wins overall majority in lower house
- 2005: In November, Janta Dal (United) with the BJP wins the state election with a working majority. Nitish Kumar becomes the first NDA Chief Minister of Bihar.
- 2005 - 2007: Nitish Kumar is declared the best Chief Minister in India by the India Today magazine
- 2007:First Global Meet for a "Resurgent Bihar" was organised in Patna.President APJ Abdul Kalam inaugurated the meet.Bhojpuri cinema hall complex bombed in Punjab. 6 UP and Bihari migrant workers killed.
- 2008: Second Bihari-Bhojpuri Immigrant Worker Crisis: Marathi politicians attack Purvanchali and Bihari working class society. Hundreds of Thousands of Bihari and Eastern UP migrants report hate crimes (including hands being cut off of a worker in Pune), some immigrants killed. Over 250,000 people flee Maharashtra by end March 2008. Migrants flee North East India, after confirmed reports of more Uttar Pradeshi & Bihari migrants killed in Assam, Manipur
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