Bihar Province was a province of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, created in 1936 by the partition of the Bihar and Orissa Province.

History

In 1756, Bihar was part of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. On 14 October 1803, Orissa was occupied by the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi language, Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Q ...

. On 22 March 1912, both Bihar and Orissa were separated from Bengal as Bihar and Orissa Province. On 1 April 1936, Bihar and

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of S ...

became separate provinces. 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 The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British ...

took a majority of the seats but declined to form the government. A minority provisional government was formed under Muhammad Yunus. The Congress reversed its decision and resolved to accept office in July 1937. Therefore, the Governor invited

Shri Krishna Sinha Shri Krishna 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 ...

to form the government. 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.Provinces of British India
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Governors

*1 Apr 1936 – 11 Mar 1937 Sir James David Sifton (s.a.) *11 Mar 1937 – 5 Aug 1939 Sir Maurice Garnier Hallett (b. 1883 – d. 1969) *5 Aug 1939 – 9 Jan 1943 Sir Thomas Alexander Stewart (b. 1888 – d. 1964) (acting to Sep 1939) *9 Jan 1943 – 6 Sep 1943 Sir Thomas George Rutherford (b. 1886 – d. 1957) (1st time) *6 Sep 1943 – 23 Apr 1944 Sir Robert Francis Mudie (acting) (b. 1890 – d. 1976) *23 Apr 1944 – 13 May 1946 Sir Thomas George Rutherford (s.a.) (2nd time) *13 May 1946 – 15 Aug 1947 Sir Hugh Dow (b. 1886 – d. 1978)

Premiers

*1 Apr 1937 – 19 Jul 1937 Mohammad Yunus (b. 1884 – d. 1952) MIP *20 Jul 1937 – 31 Oct 1939

(1st time) (b. 1888 – d. 1961) INC *31 Oct 1939 – 23 Mar 1946 Governor's Rule *23 Mar 1946 – 15 Aug 1947

(2nd time) (s.a.) INC

References

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History

Governors

Premiers

See also

References