Understand
Bihar lags behind the other Indian states in social and economic development, and is one of the poorest Indian states. The state doesn't have good infrastructure facilities and so tourists may find their stay and travel very inconvenient. Nevertheless the state have many places to explore like Bodh Gaya considered to be the birth place of Buddhism and Nalanda the site of one of the oldest universities of the world. The reason for the economical backwardness of the state is blamed on the state leadership, the central government's policies like the 'freight equalization policy' and its apathy towards Bihar, a lack of Bihari state pride resulting in no spokesperson for the state and the policy of Permanent Settlement by the British East India Company, which has left a feudalistic culture still dragging the state back.
Bihar has a youthful and mainly rural population of 85% and the society is mainly agrarian. Northern Bihar is prone to perennial flooding. The state has seen mass migration out of the state in last few decades and these ethnic Biharis living in other states of India are victims of racist hate crimes and prejudice. There was even Naxal insurgence in last few decades, especially in Southern Bihar, but the situation has calmed down in recent years. The state has earned a very poor image outside Bihar due to a poor law and order situation and involvement of crime in politics, which are generally exaggerated. Jharkhand, the mineral-rich tribal belt, used to be part of the state, but in 2001, it was split to form its own state.
History
Bihar has a glorious past. Bihar was known as Magadha in ancient times. It was a center of power, learning and culture. The Maurya empire as well as one of the world's greatest pacifist religions, Buddhism, arose from Magadha. Bihari empires, like the Maurya and the Gupta, unified large parts of South Asia under a central rule. Pataliputra modern Patna, the capital of Magadha, was an important center of Indian civilization. Many important non-religious books like Arthashashtra and Kamasutra were composed here 2000 years back. Vaisali, one of the first known republic, existed here since before the birth of Mahavira c. 599 BC.
The state suffered immensely due to Hunnic and later Muslim invasions, and the old traditions of culture and learning was almost lost by the end of 12th century. The Muhammad Bin Bakhtiar Khilji in 12th century C.E. destroyed many of the viharas Buddhist sanghas and the famed universities of Nalanda and Vikramshila. Thousands of Buddhist monks were massacred. Bihar lost its importance in the medieval period though it rose to prominence for a brief period during the rule of Sher Shah Suri in the 15th century. Foreign invaders often used abandoned viharas as military cantonments. The word Bihar have come from the large number of viharas thus employed in the area. Originally Bihar was name of a town, which was headquarter of the Muslim invaders in Magadha, in the medieval period. The headquarter was later on shifted, from Bihar to Patana current Patna, by Sher Shah Suri and the establishments in those time started calling Magadha by the name Bihar. The town of Bihar still exists is also known as Bihar-Sharif, which is located in Nalanda District, near the famous ruins of the Nalanda University.
The culture and lifestyle of the Biharis haven't changed much over the centuries. Resurgence in the history of Bihar came during the Indian independence struggle against the British rule.