Timeline of Bihar

Main article: History of Bihar

Neolithic age

Chirand, situated on the northern bank of the Ganga River in Saran district has continuous archaeological record from the Neolithic age (about 2500–1345 BC).[1][2] The occupational categorization in Chirand covers three periods – Period I Neolithic (2500–1345 BC), Period II Chalcolithic (1600 B.C) and Period III Iron Age.[3]

Later Vedic Period

1100-500BCE: Mithila region of Bihar became the centre of Indian Power in the later Vedic Period under the rule of Janaks. Sita, a daughter of one of the Janaks of Mithila is mentioned as the consort of Lord Rama, in the Hindu epic, Ramayana, written by Valmiki.[4]

Mahajanpadas

• Around 500-around 300 BCE: Foundation and rule of world's first republic, Vajji, a confederation of various clans, in the Mithila region of present-day Bihar with capital at Vaishali and Lichhivis are the most powerful clan of Vajji.
• 560-480 BCE: Rule of Anga Kingdom in present-day south-eastern Bihar.
• 490 BCE: Establishment of Pataliputra (Modern Patna).
• Before 325 BCE: Nanda clan rules in Magadha.

Magadh Empire

• 450 BC-362 BCE: Mahapadma Nanda was ruler of the Magadh Empire, Nanda Dynasty.
• 325 BC-185 BCE: Period of the Maurya dynasty
• 340 BCE: Period of Chandragupta Maurya
• 304 BCE: Ashoka born in Pataliputra
• 273 BCE: Ashoka crowned new Emperor of Magadh
• 273 BC-232 BCE: Ashoka expands Magadh to greatest territorial extent, with Pataliputra (modern Patna) as its capital.
• 232 BCE Death of Ashoka
• 185 BCE-80 BCE: Shunga dynasty established by Magadh General Pushyamitra Shunga.
• 75 BCE-26 BCE: Kanva Dynasty
• 240 AD-600 AD: Gupta Dynasty. First ruler is Srigupta.
• 375 AD-415 AD: Reign of Chandragupta II
• 500 AD: Attack by Huna tribe weakens the Gupta dynasty.

Pala, Sena, Harshvardhan and Karnata rule

• Around 6th century-11th century: The rule of Pala and Sena dynastys in Mithila region.
• 600 - 650: The empire of Harsha Vardhana expands into Magadh.
• 750 - 1200: The Pala Dynasty expands into Magadh.
• 11th century- around 1325: The Karnata dynasty rules Mithila region.

Islamic Sultanate

• 1200: Bakhtiyar Khilji's army destroys the Buddhist universities at Nalanda and Vikramshila. Start of the Afghan-Muslim rule in Magadh region.
• 1200-1400: Sharp decline of Buddhism in Bihar and northern India in general
• 1250-1526: Magadh (in around 1250) and Mithila (in around 1325) regions come under the rule of the Delhi Sultanate.
• 1526-1540: Mughal Emperor, Babur, defeats the last Sultan of Delhi Sultanate, Lodi, and establishes the Mughal Empire.

Islamic Sur Dynasty

• 1540-1555: Sher Shah captures empire from Mughals.
• 1540-1555: Building of the Grand Trunk Road, Introduction of the Rupee and Custom Duties
• 1556: Mughal dynasty regains control of Agra after the Battle of Panipat.

Mughal Rule

• 1556 - 1764: A province named "Bihar" is formed and ruled under the Mughal Empire.
• 1666: Guru Gobind Singh The 10th and last Sikh Guru, is born in modern-day Patna
• 1757-1857: The British East India Company expands it rule into Bihar from Bengal

East India Company

• 1764: Battle of Buxar: Tax collection becomes the duty of the East India Company.
• 1764-1920 Migration of Bihari & United Provinces workers across the British world by the Company and later British government.

Civil War and Rebellion

• 1857: Period of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. East India Company Sepoys from the Bengal Army (80% Hindu according to William Daryample in the book "The Last Mughal") declare Bahadur Shah Zafar II Emperor of Hindustan. The region becomes the centre of resistance to the East India Company. End of the Muslim Era.
• 1858: Mughal Sultanate-e-Hind reorganised to form the new British Indian Empire after the British Government abolishes the East India Company.

Bengal Presidency

• 1877: House of Windsor is made the new Imperial Royal Family. Queen Victoria declared the first Emperess of the British Indian Empire
• 1912: Province of Bihar and Orissa separated from Bengal it's a wrong Information written by Wikipedia that Bihar got separated from West Bengal,' west bengal got separated from Bengal province in 1947 as west bengal and East Pakistan (also known as east bengal for a time being) Bihar has been formed by the separation from U.P in 1960 to 1966 mostly in 1962 but orrisa is the only part of west bengal during his separation. Another way Bengali is finding to extract.
• 1913: Start of the dramatic slowdown in wealth creation in India and Bihar
• 1916: Patna High Court founded
• 1917:Mahatma Gandhi arrives in Champaran with a team of[5] eminent lawyers:[6] Brajkishore Prasad, Rajendra Prasad, Shri Krishna Sinha, Anugrah Narayan Sinha and others.[5] The Champaran Satyagraha movement is launched.Establishment of Patna University.
• 1925: Patna Medical College Hospital established under the name "Prince of Wales Medical College"

Bihar Province

• 1935: 1935 Government of India Act federates the Indian Empire.
• 1936: Sir James David Sifton appointed the first Governor of Bihar.
• 1937: First Democratic election of Bihar in March, 1937.Congress emerged as largest political party, Muslim Independent Party headed by Barrister Muhammad Yunus stood second.Barrister Mohammad Yunus formed Government and became first Premier(April- July, 1937 )of Bihar province.
• 1937:The first[7] Congress ministry is formed in Bihar under provincial autonomy granted by British rule, Dr.Sri Krishna Sinha sworn[8] in as Premier and Dr.Anugrah Narayan Sinha became[9] Deputy Premier cum Finance Minister.Other two ministers inducted were Syed Mehmud and Jaglal Chaudhry.
• 1942:Launch of Quit India Movement.Prominent Bihar leaders like Rajendra Prasad, Anugrah Narayan Sinha & Sri Krishna Sinha imprisoned.

First Government

• 1946:First Cabinet of Bihar formed; consisting[10] of two members, Sri Krishna Sinha as first Chief Minister of Bihar and Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha[11] as Bihar's first Deputy Chief Minister cum Finance[12] Minister (also in charge of Labour, Health, Agriculture and Irrigation).Other ministers are inducted later.The Cabinet served as the first Bihar Government after independence in 1947.
• 1947: Indian Independence; Bihar becomes a state in the new Dominion of India.
• 1947-1949: Hindu-Muslim religious violence leads to the migration of millions of Bihari Muslims to Pakistan (West and East)
• 1952 Indian Government adopts symbols related to Bihar (Ashoka Chakra added to the Indian flag, the Lion Pillor is made the symbol of the central government of India, all state governments, reserve bank, and the military, whilst the Rupee, introduced in the area which is part of modern-day Bihar, is retained as the currency)
• 1950 Dr. Rajendra Prasad is appointed the first President of India.
• 1952:Many development projects needed for the all round development of the state initiated, be it on irrigation front or on industrial front by the state government.[13] It included several river valley projects right from Koshi, Aghaur and Sakri to several other such river projects.[14]
• 1952-57:Purulia became a part of West Bengal state.Bihar rated as the best administered among the states in the country.[15]
• 1955 The Birla Institute of Technology(BIT) is established[16] at Mesra, Ranchi.
• 1957-62:Second five-year plan period, Bihar government brought several heavy industries like Barauni Oil Refinery, HEC plant at Hatia, Bokaro Steel Plant, Barauni Fertiliser Plant, Barauni Thermal Power Station, Maithon Hydel Power Station, Sulphur mines at Amjhaur, Sindri Fertiliser Plant, Kargali Coal Washery, Barauni Dairy Project, etc. for the all round development of the state.[17]

Indira Gandhi

• 1974 - 1977: Suspension of the Republican Constitution. Immediately after proclamation of emergency, prominent[18] opposition political leaders from Bihar like Jayaprakash Narayan & Satyendra Narayan Sinha were arrested without any prior notice. Bihar is the centre of resistance against the Emergency.
• 1977: Janata Party Came to power at Centre and in Bihar;Karpoori Thakur became CM after winning chief ministership battle from the[19] then Janata Party President Satyendra Narayan Sinha.
• 1984: Indira Gandhi Assassination leads to deadly anti-Sikh Riots in northern India, including Bihar.
• 1985: Pandit Bindeshwari Dubey sworn in as Bihar Chief Minister after Congress's victory in assembly elections. Kanti thermal power station started operations as the second thermal power plant in Bihar, after Barauni Thermal Power Station, with the help of efforts by the then MP of Muzaffarpur, George Fernandes.[20]
• 1988-1990: Removal of Bihar CM Bhagwat Jha Azad, Veteran Leader[21] S N Sinha sworn in as Chief Minister of Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav appointed Leader Of Opposition.

Lalu Prasad

• 1990: Janta Dal wins Bihar election, Laloo Prasad becomes Bihar Chief Minister defeating former Janata Party CM Ram Sundar Das.
• 1990 - 2005: Social injustice
• 1995: Janta Dal's second electoral victory.
• 1995- 2000: Economic stagniation, state GDP contracts.
• 1996: Lalu Prasad appoints wife, Rabri Devi, as Chief Minister.
• 1997: Split in Janta Dal, Nitish Kumar and Ram Vilas Paswan create Janta Dal (United).
• 1999:President's ruled is imposed in Bihar because of complete denigration of governance;lifted because it is not endorsed by the Rajya Sabha;Rabri Devi is back as CM.
• 2000: Bihar divided into two states, ie, Bihar and Jharkhand by the NDA central government.
• 2000: Lalu Prasad's split Janta Dal wins elections.
• 2000:Nitish Kumar becomes Bihar Chief Minister for seven days;resigns after his government fails to garner majority. Janata Dal is back in power.
• 2002 - 2004: Deadly crime wave grips Patna and Bihar.
• 2003: Maharashtra railways exams attacks, Assam ethnic conflict.

Nitish Kumar

• 2005: In Feb, Lalu Prasad Yadav/ Rabri Devi lose power after 15 years
• 2005: In November, Janta Dal (United) with the BJP wins the state election.
• 2005 - 2007: Nitish Kumar is declared the best Chief Minister in India by the India Today magazine
• 2007: Bhojpuri cinema hall complex bombed in Punjab. 6 UP and Bihari migrant workers killed.
• 2008: Second Bihari-Bhojpuri Immigrant Worker Crisis: Migrants and students attacked in Maharashtra, Assam, Manipur, and Nagaland. Economic revival Q1 2008, resulting in labour shortages in Punjab, Maharashtra.[22]
• 2008: Floods in Mithla region kill 3,000 people, displace millions.
• 2010:Nitish Kumar again becomes Bihar Chief Minister after a historic mandate.
• 2014: Nitish Kumar resigns after historic debacle in 2014 Lok Sabha elections; Jitan Ram Manjhi is Bihar's new CM
• 2015: Nitish Kumar sworn in as Bihar CM for the fourth time[23] after resignation of incumbent Jitan Ram Manjhi

Lalu Prasad Yadav-Nitish Kumar

• Nitish Kumar becomes Chief Minister of Bihar for the record fifth time after spectacular victory of Grand Alliance coalition, Former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav's younger son Tejashwi Yadav, a debutant MLA, is sworn in as the fourth Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, becoming the youngest person to hold the post, while elder son of Lalu Prasad Yadav, Tej Pratap becomes Health Minister of Bihar.

References and footnotes

1. "BIHAR: A QUICK GUIDE TO SARAN".
2. "Oldest hamlet faces extinction threat".
3. "distinguishing features of Chirand Neolithic pottery first noticed at Chirand was post-firing painting in ochre colour mainly on grey ware, but sometimes on red-ware also".
4. Witzel 1989. sfn error: no target: CITEREFWitzel1989 (help)
5. aicc. "SATYAGRAHA MOVEMENT OF MAHATMA GANDHI". aicc. Archived from the original on 2006-12-06. Retrieved 2006-12-08.
6. aicc. "SATYAGRAHA MOVEMENT". aicc. Archived from the original on 2008-06-25. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
7. S Shankar. "First Congress Government:1937". website. Archived from the original on 2006-12-06. Retrieved 2006-12-08.
8. "Dr. S K Sinha". official website. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
9. Kamat. "1937:A N Sinha, Finance Miniater". Kamat's archive. Retrieved 2004-01-04.
10. S Shankar. "The Sri Babu-Anugrah babu government". website. Archived from the original on 2013-05-27. Retrieved 2005-04-08.
11. Kamat. "Anugrah Narayan Sinha". Kamat's archive. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
12. Dr. Rajendra Prasad's Letters to Anugrah Narayan Sinha (1989). First Finance cum Labour Minister. Rajendra Prasad's archive. ISBN 9788170230021. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
13. . TOI. 1998-01-01 (Fifty year special issue). Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
14. "Bihar's first exemplary government". The Times of India. (Fifty year special issue). Check date values in: |date= (help)
15. "Bihar was once best administrated state during first government's tenure under sri babu:Nitish Kumar". The Hindustan Times. 2009-12-15. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
16. Official Website BIT. "1955:BIT Mesra is founded". BIT. Archived from the original on February 26, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
17. "Bihar's first exemplary government". The Times of India. 1998-01-01 (Fifty year special issue). Check date values in: |date= (help)
18. Official Excerpts from Speech of Veteran Journalist. Emergency: Top Oppositional political leaders arrested. Official Website. Website. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
19. Bihar chief ministership battle 1977. Website. June 2003. ISBN 9788170170617. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
20. "The Times of India: Latest News India, World & Business News, Cricket & Sports, Bollywood". The Times Of India.
21. A.J. Philip. "A gentleman among politicians:Chhote Saheb". The Tribune. Retrieved 2006-09-05.
22. Goswami, Urmi A (2008-06-17). "Biharis get work at home, bashers realise their worth". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
23. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/back-as-bihar-cm-for-the-fourth-time-nitish-kumar-has-his-task-cut-out/529994-37.html