Today Bihar has turned 110 years old. Bihar Diwas 2022 is celebrated every year on 22 March. On this day in the year 1912, the state of Bihar was carved out of Bengal Presidency. At that time Odisha was also a part of Bihar. Bihar and Odisha became separate states in 1936. Today, a three-day celebration is going to be organized in the state on Bihar Diwas. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will inaugurate this function going to be held at Gandhi Maidan in Patna.
When and how did the state of Bihar get its name?
Very few people would know that how and when this state got its name Bihar. According to historians, the name of Bihar is derived from the word Vihara of Buddhist Viharas. Instead of Vihar, it is addressed from Bihar. The word Bihar is derived from Sanskrit and Pali word vihara which means monastery. Bihar is the birth place of Buddhist culture, due to which the name of this state became first Vihara and from that Bihar. Bihar was earlier known as Magadha. Patna, the capital of Bihar, was earlier named as Pataliputra. The region is situated in the fertile plains of the Ganges River and its tributaries. After the partition of Bengal in the year 1912, a state named Bihar was established, after which this state came into existence.
Glorious history of bihar:
According to Hindu Puranas, Mother Sita was also born in Bihar. The meeting of Lord Rama and Mother Sita also took place in this state. Buddha and Jainism originated from Bihar itself. Lord Buddha and Mahavira were born in this state. Nalanda University is the oldest university in the world in Bihar itself. After the 12th century, this beautiful place was vandalized and damaged. Despite the ruins of this place, this place was included in the UNESCO World Heritage in the year 2016. The world famous mathematician Aryabhata was also from Bihar. The famous philosopher VatsyΔyana, who wrote the book Kamasutra, was also from Bihar. Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Guru of the Sikhs, was also born in Bihar. Harminder Takht i.e. Patna Sahib is in Patna. Vaishali district of Bihar is considered as the first republic of the world. The famous emperors of India Chandragupta Maurya, Vikramaditya and Emperor Ashoka are also from Bihar.
History behind celebrating Bihar Day:
The Battle of Buxar was fought on October 22, 1764, between the forces of the East India Company led by Hector Munro and the combined forces of the Nawab of Bengal, the Nawab of Awadh, and the Mughal king Shah Alam II. The East India Company won in this battle. After this defeat the Mughals and the Nawabs lost their control and according to the Diwani the East India Company got the right to collect and manage the revenue. At that time the Bengal Presidency included the present areas of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Bangladesh. Then when Delhi was made the capital in 1911. On March 21, 1912, Thomas Gibson Carmichael took over as the new governor of Bengal and announced that the Bengal Presidency would be divided into Bengal, Orissa, Bihar and Assam from the next day, March 22. Since then, 22 March was celebrated as Bihar Day.
Who started the tradition of celebrating Bihar Day?
Even though Bihar had existed as a separate state from the year 1912, but the tradition of celebrating Bihar Day was started by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. It was only after five years of assuming power that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took the initiative and organized Bihar Day for the first time in the year 2010. This event gave an opportunity to the people of Bihar to know how gloriously rich the history of Bihar is. Now every year there is a three day event. In which big celebrities are involved.
source-from Official website of Bihar-https://biharfoundation.bihar.gov.in/