Bihar

Bihar, state in northeastern India, bordered by Nepal on the north, West Bengal state on the east, Jharkhand state on the south, Chhattisgarh state on the southwest, and Uttar Pradesh state on the west. The capital is Patna.

Mohandas Gandhi's nonviolent movement in Champaran in 1917 protesting the exploitation of Indian peasants by local European indigo planters.More than 80 percent of Bihar’s inhabitants are Hindu. Muslims and Christians also reside in the state. Bihar had a literacy rate of 38 percent in 1991.

Bihar is an agricultural state. The chief crops are barley, corn, rice, sugarcane, and wheat. The state is also a large producer of freshwater fish.Dalmianagar is a centre for the production of cement, asbestos, chemicals, sugar, paper, and plywood, and Barauni has a small petrochemical complex.

Major industrial towns are Darbhanga, Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Katihar.

Area 67,134 square miles (173,877 square km). Population: (1991) 86,338,853