Modern History of Bihar Part-2: Bihar is situated on one of the fertile regions of the world which are drained by the river Ganga. It was famous for its cotton, textile, saltpetre and indigo. Hence, it was one of the important trading centres of India from Ancient to Medieval India. During most of British India, Bihar was a part of the Presidency of Bengal, and was governed from Calcutta. As such, this was a territory very much dominated by the people of Bengal. All leading educational and medical centers were in Bengal.
In the previous article “Modern History of Bihar Part -1, we have covered from the arrival of Europeans to Champaran Satyagraha. In this article, we are providing complete study material From the Role of Bihar in the freedom movement to Post-Independence history.
Modern History of Bihar Part-2
Role of Bihar in the freedom movement:
- MOTHERLAND newspaper was started in September 1921 by Mazhar-ul-Haque to propagate Hindu-Muslim unity.
- Non-Cooperation Movement – Gandhiji led picketing of liquor shops in December 1920
- J P Narayan left Patna College before his examination to participate in the movement.
- All India Congress Session December 1922, Gaya presided by Chittaranjan Das. It saw two factions of the Congress clashonentry to Legislative Council.
- Pro-changers – C R Das, Motilal Nehru, Vitthalbhai Patel, and Ajmal Khan
- No-changers – Vallabhbhai Patel, C Rajagopalachari and M A Ansari
- Pro-changers formed Swaraj Dal with Narayan Prasad as Chairman and Abdul Bari as Secretary
- A branch of Swaraj Dal was formed in Bihar in 1923 under Srikrishna Singh. However, it was not very effective in Bihar
- The boycott of the Simon Commission was led by Anugrah Narayan Sinha
- Chhapra Jail Strike – as a protest against lathi charge on Rajendra Prasad and Abdul Bari.
- Civil Disobedience movement – Peasants also refused to pay chaukidari tax.
- Swadeshi Committee was set up in Patna for organizing events.
- Sacchidanand Sinha, Hasan Imam, Chandravati Devi, Ramsunder Singh
- Bihpur Satyagraha was carried out around the same time.
- Bihar Socialist Party formed by Ganga Sharan Sinha, Rambriksha Benipuri and Ramanand Mishra in 1931
- Bihar Congress Socialist Party formed in 1934 with J P Narayan as General Secretary and Acharya Narayan Dev as President
- General Elections, 1937 after the GoI act 1935 provided for some provincial autonomy, Congress got the majority in both Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council but refused to form the government.
- Later Mohammad Yunus became first Prime Minister of Bihar of minority govt.
- 3 months later on 20 July 1937, Sri Krishna Singh became the premier and formed the cabinet.
- Ramdayalu Singh as first Speaker of Legislative Council
- Abdul Bari as first deputy Speaker of Legislative Council.
- Bihar Tenancy Amendment Act removed problems of Kashtkari Bandobast
- Sheel Bhadra Yajee joined Subhash Chandra Bose to found All India Forward Bloc and was also associated with the
- Quit India Movement – National Flag was unfurled at the Legislative Assembly
Peasant Movement:
- Kisan Sabha organized by MohammadZubair and SrikrishnaSingh in 1922
- Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha was formed by Swami Sahajanand Saraswati in 1929 against Zamindari attacks.
- Zamindars also formed the United Political Party to suppress peasants
- Bihar Kisan Sabha was formed in 1933
- In 1936, when All India Kisan Sabha was formed at Lucknow, Swami Sahajanand Saraswati was its President.
- Peasant movement was an important side effect of the independence movement aimed at overthrowing the feudal zamindari system. It was led by Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
- HUNKAR – Hindi weekly of the peasant movement in Bihar by Pandit Yamuna Karjee and Rahul Sanskrityayan in 1940
Tribal Movement:
| REVOLT | LEADERS | PERIOD | REGION |
| Ho and Munda | Raja Parhat | The 1820s | Chhotanagpur |
| Kol | Budhu Bhagat | 1831 | Chhotanagpur |
| Bhumij | Ganga Narayan | 1832 | Singbhum and Birbhum |
| Santhal | Sidhu and Kanhu | 1855 | Rajmahal Hills |
| Munda | Birsa Munda | 1899 | Chhotanagpur |
| Tana Bhagat | Jatra Bhagat | 1914 | Chhotanagpur |
- Revolts were mainly against British annexation of land or their revenue policy or occupation by outsiders or for forest rights. They were localized, unorganized and very violent.
- Santhal Pargana was created by the British to pacify the Santhal uprising. Kanhu was arrested in 1866.
- Munda Revolt – Forest Regulation Act 1865 empowered the British govt. to declare any forest land as Government Forest and make rules for it. Under Birsa Munda, it was a socio-religious movement (Ulgulan) with agrarian and political content. Birsa was captured on 3rd March 1900.
- Tana Bhagat Movement – mainly a religious movement with the adoption of Hindu practices.
Post-Independence history:
- First President of India Dr Rajendra Prasad was from Bihar
- First Governor of Bihar – Jairamdas Daulatram
- First Chief Minister of Bihar – Dr Krishna Singh
- On 15 November 2000, the modern state of Jharkhand was carved out from southern Bihar.
More from us
Modern History of Bihar Part-1: CLICK HERE
Medieval History of Bihar: CLICK HERE
BPSC study material: Ancient History of Bihar Part -2
BPSC study material: Ancient History of Bihar Part -1
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