| Bihar Province | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Province of British India | |||||||||||
| 1936–1947 | |||||||||||
 Flag  Coat of arms | |||||||||||
 Bihar Province in a 1940 map of British India | |||||||||||
| Capital | Patna | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
• Bifurcation of Bihar and Orissa Province | 1936 | ||||||||||
| 1947 | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Today part of | |||||||||||
Bihar Province was a province of British India, created in 1936 by the partition of the Bihar and Orissa Province.
In 1756, Bihar was part of Bengal. On 14 October 1803, Orissa was occupied by the British Raj. [1] On 22 March 1912, both Bihar and Orissa were separated from Bengal as Bihar and Orissa Province. [2] On 1 April 1936, Bihar and Orissa became separate provinces. [3]
The Government of India Act provided for the election of a provincial legislative assembly and a responsible government. Elections were held in 1937 and the Indian National Congress took a majority of the seats but declined to form the government. A minority provisional government was formed under Muhammad Yunus. [4]
| Minister | Portfolio |
|---|---|
| Muhammad Yunus | Home and Education |
| Ajit Prasad Singh Deo | Local Self-Government (including Medical and Excise) |
| Abdul Wahab Khan | Finance and Irrigation |
| Gur Sahay Lal | Revenue and Development |
The Congress reversed its decision and resolved to accept office in July 1937. Therefore, the Governor invited Shri Krishna Sinha to form the government.
| Minister | Portfolio |
|---|---|
| Shri Krishna Sinha | Premier, |
| Anugrah Narayan Sinha | Deputy Premier, Finance and Local Self Government |
| Syed Mahmud | Education |
| Jaglal Choudhary | Public Health and Excise |
In 1939, along with Congress ministries in other provinces, Sinha resigned in protest of the Governor-General's declaration of war on Germany without consulting with Indian leaders and Bihar came under Governor's Rule. Another round of elections were held in 1946, yielding another Congress majority and Sinha again became Premier.
Finally on 15 August 1947, Bihar Province became part of independent India. [5]
Ajmer-Merwara was a former province of British India in the historical Ajmer region. The territory was ceded to the British by Daulat Rao Sindhia by a treaty on 25 June 1818. It was under the Bengal Presidency until 1836 when it became part of the North-Western Provinces. Finally on 1 April 1871, it became a separate province as Ajmer-Merwara-Kekri. It became a part of independent India on 15 August 1947 when the British left India.
Shri Krishna Singh (Sinha) (21 October 1887 – 31 January 1961), also known as Shri Babu, was the first chief minister of the Indian state of Bihar (1946–61). Except for the period of World War II, Sinha was the chief minister of Bihar from the time of the first Congress Ministry in 1937 until his death in 1961. Along with the Desh Ratna Rajendra Prasad and Bihar Vibhuti Anugrah Narayan Sinha (A.N. Sinha), Sinha is regarded among the 'Architects of Modern Bihar'. He also led the Dalit entry into the Baidyanath Dham temple (Vaidyanath Temple, Deoghar), which reflected his commitment towards the upliftment and social empowerment of the Dalits. He was the first chief minister in the country to abolish the zamindari system. He underwent different terms of imprisonment for a total of about eight years in British India. Sinha's mass meetings brought hordes of people to hear him. He was known as Bihar Kesari for his lionlike roars when he rose to address the masses. His close friend and eminent Gandhian Bihar Vibhuti A.N. Sinha in his essay Mere Shri Babu wrote that, "Since 1921, the History of Bihar has been the history of the life of Shri Babu".
Bihar and Orissa was a province of British India, which included the present-day Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha. The territories were conquered by the British in the 18th and 19th centuries, and were governed by the then Indian Civil Service of the Bengal Presidency, the largest administrative subdivision in British India.
Krishna Ballabh Sahay, popularly known as K B Sahay was an Indian freedom fighter, who after Indian Independence became the Revenue Minister of Bihar and then became the fourth Chief Minister of unified Bihar.
Basawon Singh or Basawan Singh also known as Basawon Sinha, was an Indian independence activist and a campaigner for the rights of the underprivileged, industrial labourers and agricultural workers.
Anugrah Narayan Sinha, known as Bihar Vibhuti, was an Indian nationalist statesman, participant in Champaran Satyagraha, Gandhian & one of the architects of modern Bihar, who was the first Deputy Chief Minister and the Finance Minister of the Indian state of Bihar (1946–1957). He was also a Member of the Constituent Assembly of India, which was elected to write the Constitution of India and served in its first Parliament as an independent nation. He also held a range of portfolios including Labour, Local Self Government, Public Works, Supply & Price Control, Health and Agriculture. A.N. Sinha, affectionately called Anugrah Babu, was a very close associate of Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom struggle movement and worked with Bihar Kesari Sri Krishna Sinha to lead the Gandhian movement in Bihar. One of the leading nationalists in the Indian independence movement from Bihar after Dr Rajendra Prasad, he was elected as the Congress Party deputy leader in the state assembly to assume office as first Deputy Chief Minister cum Finance Minister of independent Bihar, and re-elected when the Congress Party won Bihar's first general election with a massive mandate in 1952.
The Imperial Legislative Council (ILC) was the legislature of British India from 1861 to 1947. It was established under the Charter Act of 1853 by providing for the addition of 6 additional members to the Governor General Council for legislative purposes. Thus, the act separated the legislative and executive functions of the council and it was this body within the Governor General's Council which came to known as the Indian/Central Legislative Council. In 1861 it was renamed as Imperial Legislative Council and the strength was increased.
Rajkot State was one of the princely states of India during the period of British rule. It was a 9-gun salute state belonging to the Kathiawar Agency of the Bombay Presidency. Its capital was in Rajkot, located in the historical Halar region of Kathiawar on the banks of the Aji River. Nowadays, Rajkot is the fourth largest city of Gujarat state.
Mohammad Yunus was the first Premier of British India's Bihar Province. During his career, the heads of provincial governments were called Prime Ministers. He governed for three months in 1937, during the state's first democratic election.
Bihar is a state located in the eastern part of India.
Sir Ganesh Dutta Singh was an Indian lawyer, educationist and administrator during the British Raj. He did much to improve education and health services in the state of Bihar and Orissa before the independence of India from Britain.
The Council of State was the upper house of the legislature for British India created by the Government of India Act 1919 from the old Imperial Legislative Council, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house.
Provincial elections were held in British India in the winter of 1936-37 as mandated by the Government of India Act 1935. Elections were held in eleven provinces - Madras, Central Provinces, Bihar, Orissa, the United Provinces, the Bombay Presidency, Assam, the North-West Frontier Province, Bengal, Punjab and Sind.
General elections were held in British India in 1934. The Indian National Congress emerged as the largest party in the Central Legislative Assembly.
Sachchidananda Sinha was an Indian lawyer, parliamentarian, and journalist. He was first President of the Indian Constitutional Assembly which drafted the Constitution of India.
Orissa Province was a province of British India created in April 1936 by the partitioning of the Bihar and Orissa Province. Its territory corresponds with the modern-day State of Odisha.
General elections were held in British India in December 1945 to elect members of the Central Legislative Assembly and the Council of State. The Indian National Congress emerged as the largest party, winning 57 of the 102 elected seats. The Muslim League won all Muslim constituencies, but failed to win any other seats. Of the 13 remaining seats, 8 went to Europeans, 3 to independents, and 2 to Akali candidates in the Sikh constituencies of Punjab. This election coupled with the provincial one in 1946 proved to be a strategic victory for Jinnah and the partitionists. Even though Congress won, the League had united the Muslim vote and as such it gained the negotiating power to seek a separate Muslim homeland as it became clear that a united India would prove highly unstable. The elected members later formed the Constituent Assembly of India.
Assam Province was a province of British India, created in 1912 by the partition of the Eastern Bengal and Assam Province. Its capital was in Shillong.
The Bengal Provincial Muslim League (BPML) was the branch of the All India Muslim League in the British Indian province of Bengal. It was established in Dacca on 2 March 1912. Its official language was Bengali. The party played an important role in the Bengal Legislative Council and in the Bengal Legislative Assembly, where two of the Prime Ministers of Bengal were from the party. It was vital to the creation of the Dominion of Pakistan, particularly after its election victory in 1946.
