India 2018

States and Union Territories 599
Important places of tourism are Kamakhya Temple, Umananda (Peacock
Island)Temple, Navagraha (temple of nine planets), Basistha Ashram, Doul
Govinda Temple, State Zoo, State Museum, Madan Kamdev Temple—a
magnificent archeological place of interest, Saraighat Bridge, Srimata
Sankaradeva Kalakshetra Science Museum, Kaziranga National Park, etc.
O. W.: http//www.assam.gov.in
Government
Governor : Prof. Jagdish Mukhi Chief Secretary : Shri Vinod
Kumar Pipersenia
Chief Minister
Bihar
: Shri Sarbananda Sonowal
Jurisdiction of : Guwahati High Court
High Court
Area : 94,163 sq km Population : 10.41 crore (2011 census)
Capital : Patna Principal Language : Hindi
History and Geography
Bihar finds mention in the Vedas, Puranas, epics, etc., and was the main scene
of activities of Buddha and the 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 of Maurya dynasty,
the Sungas and the Kanvas. Then came the Kushan rulers followed by
Chandragupta Vikramaditya of the Gupta dynasty. Muslim rulers made inroads
into the territory during the 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 bound on the north
by Nepal, on the east by West Bengal, on the 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, Punpun, Falgu, Karmanasa,
Durgawati, Kosi, Gandak, Ghaghara, etc.
Agriculture
Bihar has a total geographical area of about 93.60 lakh hectares, out of which
only 55.54 lakh hectares is the net cultivated area with a gross cultivated area
of 72.95 lakh hectares. The principal food crops are paddy, wheat, maize and
pulses. Main cash crops are sugarcane, potato, tobacco, oilseeds, onion, chillies,
jute and mesta. Bihar has a notified forest area of 6.22 lakh hectare, which is
6.65 per cent of its geographical area. About 30.64 thousand hectares net area
and 44.33 thousand hectare gross area had received irrigation from different
sources.