Bihar GK: History, Geography and Static Facts

The correct answer is A, 22 March. On 22 March 1912 the province of Bihar and Orissa was carved out of the Bengal Presidency, which gave Bihar a separate administrative identity for the first time. The day is observed every year as Bihar Diwas with cultural programmes in the state and among people from Bihar living elsewhere.

Option B, 15 November, is the day Jharkhand was created out of the southern districts of Bihar in 2000, and is observed as Jharkhand's formation day. Option C, 1 November, is the formation day of several states created by the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, among them Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Option D, 26 January, is Republic Day and belongs to the nation, not to any single state.

The correct answer is C, 2000. Jharkhand was created on 15 November 2000, the birth anniversary of Birsa Munda, out of the southern plateau districts of Bihar. It was one of three states formed that year, along with Chhattisgarh out of Madhya Pradesh and Uttaranchal, now Uttarakhand, out of Uttar Pradesh. The separation took away most of Bihar's coal, iron ore and heavy industry.

Option A, 1956, is the year of the States Reorganisation Act, which redrew boundaries on linguistic lines but did not create Jharkhand. Option B, 1972, is the year Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura became full states. Option D, 2014, is the year Telangana was separated from Andhra Pradesh, and it is the commonest wrong choice for candidates who remember only that a state was created that year.

The correct answer is B, Kosi. The Kosi rises in Nepal, carries an enormous load of Himalayan silt and keeps raising its own bed, so it spills over and abandons its channel again and again. It has shifted its course far to the west over the last two centuries and floods a wide belt of northern Bihar almost every year, which is how it earned the name.

Option A, the Sone, joins the Ganga from the south and is the largest southern tributary in the state; it does not behave in this way. Option C, the Falgu, flows past Gaya and is famous for the Pitrapaksha rites rather than for floods. Option D, the Punpun, is another southern river of the Ganga basin. Note the parallel names asked in the same papers: the Damodar is the Sorrow of Bengal and the Hwang Ho the Sorrow of China.

The correct answer is A, Valmiki National Park. It lies in the West Champaran district on the border with Nepal, in the basin of the Gandak, and forms the core of the Valmiki Tiger Reserve, the only tiger reserve of the state. Its forests are the eastern end of the Himalayan foothill belt and hold tiger, leopard, sloth bear and a rich bird life.

Option B, Betla National Park, is in the Palamu district of Jharkhand, which was part of Bihar until 2000, and it is the commonest wrong answer for this reason. Option C, Dudhwa National Park, is in Uttar Pradesh on the same Nepal border, which makes it a natural confusion. Option D, Kanha National Park, is in Madhya Pradesh and is far from the region altogether.

The correct answer is B, Bodh Gaya. The Buddha attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree on the bank of the Falgu at Bodh Gaya in the Gaya district. The Mahabodhi Temple Complex that stands there is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List and is the most visited Buddhist site in India.

Option A, Sarnath, near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, is where he preached his first sermon, and its Lion Capital gave India its State Emblem. Option C, Kushinagar, also in Uttar Pradesh, is where he attained mahaparinirvana. Option D, Lumbini, in Nepal, is his birthplace. The four sites are asked together as a set, so fix them in that order: birth at Lumbini, enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, first sermon at Sarnath and death at Kushinagar.

The correct answer is B, Champaran Satyagraha. Gandhi went to Champaran in northern Bihar in 1917 at the repeated request of the cultivator Raj Kumar Shukla, to look into the tinkathia system under which peasants had to grow indigo on a fixed part of their holding for European planters. The enquiry committee that followed ended the system, and the episode made Gandhi a national figure.

Option A, the Kheda Satyagraha, came in 1918 in Gujarat and was about the refusal to remit land revenue after a failed harvest. Option C, the Bardoli Satyagraha of 1928, also in Gujarat, was led by Vallabhbhai Patel, who won the title Sardar for it. Option D, the Dandi March of 1930, was the salt satyagraha and came much later. Only Champaran was both the first and in Bihar.

The correct answer is B, Shri Krishna Sinha. Known to the state as Shri Babu, he became the first Chief Minister of Bihar and held the office for many years after independence. His government is remembered for the abolition of the zamindari system and for opening temples to all castes. Jairamdas Daulatram was the first Governor of the state.

Option A, Dr Rajendra Prasad, was born at Ziradei in Siwan district and became the first President of India, not the Chief Minister of the state. Option C, Jayaprakash Narayan, never held office; he led the movement of 1974 that he called Sampoorna Kranti. Option D, Karpoori Thakur, was a later Chief Minister remembered for reservation policy and for abolishing the English requirement in matriculation, but he was not the first.

The correct answer is A, Vaishali. It was the capital of the Licchavi clan, the leading member of the Vajji confederacy, and its assembly of clan heads is the reason it is described as one of the earliest republics in the world. Mahavira was born at Kundagrama near Vaishali, and the second Buddhist Council was held there. An Ashokan pillar with a lion capital still stands at the site.

Option B, Rajgir, was the capital of Magadha under Bimbisara and Ajatashatru and the venue of the first Buddhist Council, but it was a monarchy. Option C, Sasaram, in Rohtas district, is known for the tomb of Sher Shah Suri. Option D, Bhagalpur, is the old Anga country, the site of Vikramshila and the Gangetic dolphin sanctuary. Only Vaishali carries the republican tradition.

The correct answer is B, Ganga and Gandak. Sonepur in Saran district stands at Harihar Kshetra, where the Gandak comes down from the north and joins the Ganga opposite Patna. The fair begins after Kartik Purnima, lasts for weeks and has long been a market for cattle, horses and elephants as well as a place of pilgrimage at the Harihar Nath temple.

Option A names the Sone, which joins the Ganga from the south further west, near Patna, but not at Sonepur. Option C names the Kosi, which joins the Ganga far to the east in the Katihar region. Option D names two northern rivers that do not meet at this place. The pairing of the fair with the Gandak confluence is the detail the question tests.

The correct answer is A, Bhagalpur. The sanctuary covers a stretch of the Ganga in the Bhagalpur district and is set aside for the Gangetic dolphin, which is the national aquatic animal of India and is nearly blind, hunting by echolocation. The same district holds the ruins of Vikramshila, the monastic university founded by the Pala king Dharmapala, from which the sanctuary takes its name.

Option B, Begusarai, holds Kanwar Lake, a large freshwater wetland, and the Barauni refinery, but not this sanctuary. Option C, Muzaffarpur, is known for its Shahi litchi, which carries a Geographical Indication. Option D, Rohtas, in the south, holds Sasaram and the Rohtasgarh fort. Tie the dolphin to Bhagalpur and the litchi to Muzaffarpur, since both pairs are asked often.

The correct answer is B, Muzaffarpur. The Shahi litchi of the Muzaffarpur belt in northern Bihar is known for its thin skin, small stone and high sugar, and it received a Geographical Indication tag in recognition of the link between the fruit and the alluvial soil and climate of that tract. Muzaffarpur is often called the land of litchi for this reason.

Option A, Gaya, is known for Bodh Gaya, the Vishnupad temple and the Pitrapaksha Mela, not for litchi. Option C, Darbhanga, belongs to the Mithila region and is associated with Madhubani painting and makhana cultivation. Option D, Nalanda, holds the ruins of the ancient university, Pawapuri, and Silao, whose khaja sweet carries its own Geographical Indication. Each district here has a real claim to fame, which is why the question is worth reading closely.

The correct answer is B, Sasaram. Sher Shah Suri was born in this town of the Rohtas district and his octagonal tomb of red sandstone stands on a platform in the middle of an artificial lake, one of the finest works of Indo Islamic architecture of the period. He ruled for five years, built the Grand Trunk Road, issued the silver rupiya and organised a postal system.

Option A, Patna, was renamed Pataliputra to Patna in his time and holds Takht Sri Harmandir Ji, the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh, but not his tomb. Option C, Rajgir, is the old Magadhan capital in the Nalanda district, known for its hot springs and the first Buddhist Council. Option D, Vaishali, is the Licchavi capital and a Jain and Buddhist site. Only Sasaram carries both his birth and his burial.