| Language | ISO 639-3 | Scripts | No. of Speakers | Geographical Distribution |
| Angika | anp | Anga Lipi, Devanagari | 30,000,000 | Eastern Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Nepal |
| Bajjika | Devanagari | 11,738,000 | North-Central Bihar Eastern Terai | |
| Bhojpuri | bho | Kaithi, Devanagari | 23,384,562 | Western Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Central Terai |
| Fiji Hindi[7] | hif | Roman and Devanagari | 460,000 | Fiji Islands |
| Kudmali | kyw | N.A. | 37,000 | Bihar West Bengal Orissa Assam. |
| Magahi | mag | Kaithi, Devanagari | 11,362,000 | Southern Bihar |
| Maithili | mai | Maithili, Devanagari | 13,500,000 | Northern Bihar Delhi Eastern Terai and .Maldives. |
| Majhi | mjz | N.A | 21,841 | Eastern Bihar, Nepal |
| Musasa | smm | N.A | 50,000 | Eastern Bihar, Nepal |
| Panchpargania | tdb | N.A. | 274,000 | West Bengal Jharkhand Assam |
| Sadri | sck | N.A. | 165,683 | Jharkhand Bihar and Bangladesh |
| Sadri, Oraon | sdr | N.A. | 1,965,000 | Jharkhand and Bangladesh |
| Sarnami Hindustani[8] | hns | N.A. | 150,000 | Suriname |
| Surajpuri | sjp | N.A. | 273,000 | Kishanganj, Katihar & Araria. |
A profile of Bihar
Bihar’s antiquity is evident from its name, which is derived from the ancient word “VIHARA” (monastery). It is indeed a land of monasteries. Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Muslim and Sikh shrines abound in this ancient land where India’s first major empires rose and fell. Where the ruins of the worlds’ earliest university slumbers in the void of time. The passage of Ganga, flowing wide and deep enrich the plains of Bihar before distributing in Bengal’s deltoid zone.
Among all Indian states, Bihar is the one most intimately linked to the Buddha’s life, resulting in a trail of pilgrimages which have come to be known as the Buddhist circuit. The Buddhist trail begins at the capital city, Patna, where a noteworthy museum contains a collection of Hindu and Buddhist sculptures as well as a terracotta urn said to contain the ashes of Lord Buddha.
The Khuda Baksh Oriental Library has rare Muslim manuscripts including some from the University of Cordoba in Spain. 40 km away, Vaishali, was the site for the second Buddhist Council is the presence of ruins testify. 90 km south of Patna is Nalanda which translates as the place that confers the lotus’ (of spiritual knowledge). A monastic university flourished here from the 5th to the 11th century. It is said to have contained nine million books, with 2,000 teachers to impart knowledge to 10,000 students who came from all over the Buddhist world. Lord Buddha himself taught here and Hieun Tsang, the 7th century Chinese traveler, was a student. Ongoing excavations have uncovered temples, monasteries and lecture halls. Rajgir, ‘the royal palace’, 12 km south, was the venue for the first Buddhist Council.
The Buddha spent five years at Rajgir after having attained enlightenment, and many of the remains at Rajgir commemorate various incidents related to life of Buddha, the hill of Gridhrakuta being perhaps the most important, as this is where the Buddha delivered most of his sermons. Bodhgaya is the spot where Lord Buddha attained enlightenment, with the Mahabodhi Temple marking the precise location. This landlocked state of Bihar is surrounded by Nepal, Bengal, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and comprises four cultural regions-Bhojpur, Mithila and Magadha and Chotanagpur. Rivers Kosi and Gandak from the north and Sone from the south join the Ganga. In the fertile plains, rice, sugarcane, oilseeds, gram, maize, jute, barley and wheat are cultivated.
Buddhist Tourist Destination
Vaishali: Vaishali
was one of the earliest republics in the world (6th century BC).It was here
that Buddha preached his last sermon. Vaishali, birthplace of Lord Mahavira is
also Sacred to Jains.
Patna: Patna once called Patliputra the capital of
Bihar, is among the world’s oldest capital cities with unbroken history of many
centuries as imperial metropolis of the Mauryas and Guptas imperial dynasties.
Rajgir: Rajgir, 19 kms from Nalanda, was the ancient
capital of Magadha Empire. Lord Buddha often visited the monastery here to
meditate and to preach. Rajgir is also a place sacred to the Jains, Since Lord
Mahavira spent many years here.
Pawapuri: In Pawapuri, or Apapuri, 38 kilometres from
Rajgir and 90 kilometres from Patna, all sins end for a devout Jain. Lord
Mahavira, the final tirthankar and founder of Jainism, breathed his last at
this place.
Bodhgaya: Near the holy city of Gaya, the Buddha attained
enlightenment. The tree that had sheltered him came to be known as the Bodhi
tree and the place Bodhgaya. Today Bodhgaya, an important place of pilgrimage,
has a number of monasteries, some of them established by Buddhists of Japan,
Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka etc.
Nalanda: A great centre of Buddhist learning, Nalanda came into
prominence around the 5th century BC and was a flourishing university town with
over ten thousand scholars and an extensive library.
Kesaria: This Stupa is in fact one of the many memorable
stupa remarkable event in the life of Buddha. Kesaria has a lofty brick mound
capped by a solid brick tower of considerable size, which it self is the remain
of a Buddhist Stupa. The mound is a ruin with a diameter of 68 feet at its base
and a total height of 5½ ft. originally it was crowned by a pinnacle which must
have stood 80 or 90 ft above the ground. General Cunningham dated this monument
to AD 200 to 700, and held that it was built upon the ruins of a much older and
larger Stupa.
It is the highest Stupa found in the country
with a height of about 104” from the base.
Improving the Lives of Women in Bihar
In Bihar, India, hope
is found where you least expect it. Behind a closed door where 10 to 25
women have come together to discuss their most urgent needs. Unheard of a
generation ago, this gathering is a mahila mandal – better known in this
country as a women’s group.
Life for women and girls in Bihar is especially
grim as they face a system called Purdah that is almost as oppressive and
restrictive as the Taliban era in Afghanistan. Women are required to cover
themselves in public and cannot travel without their husbands’ permission. The
harsh realities are reflected in the almost 90 percent illiteracy rate among
women and the fact that 88 percent of girls marry before the age of
17.
Mahila mandals, with the aid of international
organizations and donor support, are beginning to help though. One of the
positive changes will be setting up savings and credit groups in which loans
are approved and administered by and for local women. Having access to a
loan as small as $50 can completely transform a woman’s life in Bihar. Even a
small amount of money can provide her the means to purchase raw materials that
can be turned into finished products for sale, including seeds to grow crops,
or an animal that produces milk, cheese or eggs that are marketable.
This year, there will be 100 new mahila mandals
or women’s savings and credit groups formed in Bihar. It is anticipated that the
capital saved by the 5,100 group members will increase from $21,000 to $40,000
this year. More than 90 percent of that amount will be revolved as loans among
the members. The value of this community-controlled asset is especially amazing
when you realize the average annual income in this area is just over $400 a
year.
Support from individuals in the United States
can help transform the lives of women in this region and offer hope to them for
a safer, more secure future.
In Bihar, women give ‘birth’ to 5 children in 2 months
A woman, as everyone
knows, usually gives birth to a baby after nine months of pregnancy, but in
Bihar 298 women claim to have delivered two to five children in a span of
60 days – at least that’s what records of incentives amount given to new
mothers under a government scheme show.
A woman gets around Rs.1,000 when she gives
birth under the government’s Janani Suraksha Yojana but a total of Rs.6.6 lakh
was paid as incentive to 298 women who claimed to have delivered two to five
children within 60 days under the scheme, says a report of the Comptroller and
Auditor General (CAG) that exposes corruption in the state.
These irregularities were found in the year
2008-09 in the districts of Bhagalpur, East Champaran, Gopalganj, Kishanganj
and Nalanda, according to the CAG report 2009 tabled in the monsoon session of
the state assembly that concluded last week.
“The concerned officials paid incentives
under the Janani Suraksha Yojana to these women two to five times in 60
days,” the report says.
Unfortunately, thousands of genuine lactating
mothers were denied the incentive due to them. The CAG report says that of
470,307 new mothers, 97,146 were not provided cash incentives under the Janani
Suraksha Yojana for want of funds. Also, payment of Rs.25.19 crore to 1.8 lakh
beneficiaries were made after a delay ranging between eight and 732 days.
Opposition leaders criticised the state
government for the corruption in the implementation of the Janani Suraksha
Yojana in the state.
“All this is happening in Bihar when Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar is claiming good governance. This is just a trailer of
the unbelievable corruption in implementation of welfare schemes,”
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) state president Abdul Bari Siddiqui said.
Said Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)
youth leader Gopal Sharma: “High corruption during Nitish Kumar’s
four-and-a-half year rule has eaten into welfare schemes like in the case of
Janani Suraksha Yojana exposed by the CAG report.”
SRI BAISHNABA CHARAN PATNAIK, Freedom Fighter
At: Bajichowk, Dhenkanal Town.
Sri Baishnab Charan Patnaik was born on 29.4.1914 in Dhenkanal Town. From his Student life he revolted against corruption and Administration. In 1938 he was nominated as the organising Secretary of Chasimela at Jenapur. From March 1939 to August 1939 for a period of Six months he was imprisioned in Cuttack Jail. From June 1940 to 28th April 1942 for two years he was in Dhenkanal Jail under detention Act. He was released on 28.4.1942 with a condition to remain in his house as prisoner and was ordered to appear in the Police Station everyday. On 9.9.1942 he joined in Quit India movement. On 26th August 1942 at about 4 A.M., along with other 18 freedom Fighters, he captured Madhi (Kamakhyanagar) Police Station and set fire the Police Station, Govt. Quarters and Offices at Kamakshya Nagar. On 4th September 1942 Thousands of Volunteers under his leadershi, while going to capture Parajang Police Station, Police personel shoot at them and Baisnab Patnaik was injured near Janapada. After his treatment and recovery at Calcutta he came back to Dhenkanal on 26thMarch 1946. In the year 1947 he went to Nilagiri to take leadership of Prajamandal Workers and fought against Raj-Dalas and Nilagiri Raja handed over his Administation to District Magistate, Balasore. On 14.12.1947 he assisted Sardar Ballv Bhai Patel in Merger of Princely States. He was arrested on 17.3.1948 at Athagarh and sent to Cuttack Jail for Four Years. He was elected as a Member of Orissa Legislative Assembly from 1952 to 1956 from Dhenkanal Constituency. He was elected to Loksabha from 1962 to 1967 from Dhenkanal Constituency. Now he is staying at his Residence in Dhenkanal Town.
BRAJAKISHORE DHAL, FREEDOM FIGHTER
AT: GANJAIDIHI, DIST: DHENKANAL
Braja Kishore Dhal, the eminent leader of Prajamandal Andolan was born in the village Ganjaidihi. In his youth he joined as Sub- Inspector in
SRI BHAJAMANA SAHOO, FREEDOM FIGHTER
AT; MANDAPA SAHI, DHENKANAL TOWN
Sri Bhajamana Sahoo joined Dhenkanal Prajamandal Andolan at the age of 21 and took the responsibility to distribute the Krusak Sambad and Ranaveri news papers in the villages in order to create awareness for independence. On 12.6.1938 he fought with the Elephant which encroached the road for public meeting of Prajamandal Andolana at Alasua hata. On 12.8.1938 he was imprisoned for one day. He was again imprisoned from 22.9.1938 to 13.9.1939
SRI BAIDHAR SWAIN, FREEDOM FIGHTER
AT-BALIGORAD;PO.KAMAKSHYA NAGAR,DHENKANAL
Sri Baidhar swain was born in the year 1929 and joined the Quit India Movement at the age of 13.At the age of 12 he was associated with Madhi Thana Podi, Kacheri podi, Parjang Thana Gherau, and Chandrapur Thana podi.He was imprisoned in the year 1942 for four year 10 months and 6 days. Now he is residing in the Baligorad residence of Kamakshya nagar.
SRIKANT ROUT, FREEDOM FIGHTER
AT-MOTANGA MANGALPUR,DHENKANAL
Srikant Rout took the leadership of Swechha Sevi Vahini of Prajamandal Andolan as the Captain in the year 1938. The King of Dhenkanal declared cash award of Rs. 1000/- to catch Srikant Rout either alive or dead. In the year 1942 during the period of Quite India movement, he was imprisoned with other Freedom Fighters.