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General Information
Capital- Patna
Largest city- Patna
Population (2001)- 82,878,796
Density- 880 per sq km
Area- 94,164 sq km
Districts- 37
Official language(s) Hindi, Angika, Bhojpuri, Magahi, Maithili
Bihar is a poor, largely agricultural state of the Indian union situated in the eastern part of the country. Its capital is Patna. To Bihars north is the Kingdom of Nepal.
Bihar is surrounded by the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh to the west, Jharkhand to the south and West Bengal to the east. The state lies in the fertile Gangetic plains and is culturally a part of the Hindi heartland of India.
The name Bihar is derived from the Sanskrit word vihara which means abode. The region roughly encompassing the present state was dotted with Buddhist viharas which were the abodes of Buddhist monks in the ancient and medieval periods.
Hindi, Urdu (which is the second official language of the state government), Angika, Bhojpuri, Maithili, Bangla and Magadhi (Magahi) are the major languages spoken in Bihar. Urdu speakers constitute at least 15 percent of the total population. |
