Government
       Governor                 : Prof. Jagdish Mukhi     Chief Secretary       : Alok Kumar
       Chief Minister          : Sarbananda Sonowal
                                                          Jurisdiction of High  : Guwahati High
                                                          Court                    Court
      Bihar
       Area                     : 94,163 sq km            Population            : 10.41 crore (2011
                                                                                   census)
       Capital                  : Patna                   Principal Language    : Hindi
      History and Geography
            The name Bihar is derived from the Sanskrit word Vihara which means “abode”. The word
      Vihar is itself derived from the word Brahmavihara meaning “Brahma abidings” of “Sublime
      attitudes. “The state finds mention in the Vedas, Puranas, ancient epics, etc., and was the main
      scene of activities of Buddha and 24 Jain Trithankars. Taking off from its origin, Bihar or ancient
      Magadha has been the cradle of Indian civilization and the centre of Indian culture and education
      since time immemorial. From Magadha arose India’s first greatest empire, the Maurya Empire,
      as well as one of the world’s greatest pacifist religions, Buddhism. It has also been the home to
      Jainism. It was in Bihar that the ancient universities of India Nalanda and Vikramshila were built
      to convey the educational riches of the state.
            Great rulers of the state before the Christian era were Bimbisar, Udayin, who founded the
      city of Pataliputra, Chandragupta Maurya and Emperor Ashoka, 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.