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Bihar and Orissa 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 ...
, which included the present-day Indian states of
Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
,
Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...
, and
Odisha 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 ...
. The territories were conquered by the British in the 18th and 19th centuries, and were governed by the then
Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...
of the
Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia an ...
, the largest administrative subdivision in British India. On 22 March 1912, both Bihar and Orissa divisions were separated from the Bengal Presidency as Bihar and Orissa Province. On 1 April 1936, the province was partitioned into
Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
and the
Orissa Province 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. On 22 March 1912, both Bihar and Orissa divisions were ...
s.


History

In 1756, 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 ...
were part of the Mughal Empire, with Bihar being part of the
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 ...
Subah and Orissa being its own Subah. The
Treaty of Allahabad The Treaty of Allahabad was signed on 12 August 1765, between the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II, son of the late Emperor Alamgir II, and Robert Clive, of the East India Company, in the aftermath of the Battle of Buxar of 23 October 1764. The ...
was signed on 16 August 1765, between the Mughal Emperor
Shah Alam II Shah Alam II (; 25 June 1728 – 19 November 1806), also known by his birth name Ali Gohar (or Ali Gauhar), was the seventeenth Mughal Emperor and the son of Alamgir II. Shah Alam II became the emperor of a crumbling Mughal empire. His po ...
, son of the late Emperor
Alamgir II Aziz-ud-Din Muhammad (6 June 1699 – 29 November 1759), better known as Alamgir II, was the fifteenth Mughal Emperor of India, who reigned from 3 June 1754 to 29 November 1759. He was the son of Jahandar Shah. Born Aziz-ud-Din, the second ...
, and Robert, Lord Clive, of the East India Company, as a result of the
Battle of Buxar The Battle of Buxar was fought between 22 and 23 October 1764, between the forces under the command of the British East India Company, led by Hector Munro, and the combined armies of Mir Qasim, Nawab of Bengal till 1764; the Nawab of Awadh, ...
of 22 October 1764. The Treaty marks the political and constitutional involvement and the beginning of British rule in India. Based on the terms of the agreement, Alam granted the East India Company Diwani rights, or the right to collect taxes on behalf of the Emperor from the eastern province of Bengal-Bihar-Orissa. Bihar and Orissa was separated from
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 22 March 1912, with
Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...
as capital. A number of
princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...
s, including the
Orissa Tributary States The Orissa Tributary States, also known as the Garhjats and as the Orissa Feudatory States, were a group of princely states of British India now part of the present-day Indian state of Odisha. The Orissa Tributary States were located in the G ...
, were under the authority of the provincial governor.


Dyarchy (1921–1937)

The Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms enacted through the
Government of India Act 1919 The Government of India Act 1919 (9 & 10 Geo. 5 c. 101) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was passed to expand participation of Indians in the government of India. The Act embodied the reforms recommended in the report o ...
expanded the Bihar & Orissa Legislative Council from 43 to 103 members. The Legislative Council now consisted of 2 ex-officio Executive Councillors, 25 nominated members (12 official, 13 non-official) and 76 elected members (48 Non-Muslim, 18 Muslim, 1 European, 3 Commerce & Industry, 5 Landholders and 1 University constituencies). The reforms also introduced the principle of
dyarchy Diarchy (from Greek , ''di-'', "double", and , ''-arkhía'', "ruled"),Occasionally misspelled ''dyarchy'', as in the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' article on the colonial British institution duarchy, or duumvirate (from Latin ', "the office of ...
, whereby certain responsibilities such as agriculture, health, education, and local government, were transferred to elected ministers.


Division

On 1 April 1936, the province was divided into
Bihar Province Bihar Province was a province of British India, created in 1936 by the partition of the Bihar and Orissa Province. History In 1756, Bihar was part of Bengal. On 14 October 1803, Orissa was occupied by the British Raj. On 22 March 1912, both Biha ...
(which included present-day
Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
and
Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...
states) and
Orissa Province 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. On 22 March 1912, both Bihar and Orissa divisions were ...
, and the
Odia Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to: * Odia people in Odisha, India * Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family * Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...
speaking princely states placed under the authority of the
Eastern States Agency The Eastern States Agency was an agency or grouping of princely states in eastern India, during the latter years of the Indian Empire. It was created in 1933, by the unification of the former Chhattisgarh States Agency and the Orissa States Agen ...
.


Governors of Bihar and Orissa

From 1912 to 1920, the province had a lieutenant governor heading the provincial government. This post was upgraded to governor in 1920, when
Satyendra Prasanna Sinha, 1st Baron Sinha Satyendra Prasanna Sinha, 1st Baron Sinha, KCSI, PC, KC, (24 March 1863 – 4 March 1928) was a prominent British India lawyer and statesman. He was the first Governor of Bihar and Orissa, first Indian Advocate-General of Bengal, first I ...
was appointed to fill it.


Lieutenant governors

* 1 April 1912 – 19 November 1915 Sir Charles Stuart Bayley (b. 1854 – d. 1935) *19 Nov 1915 – 5 April 1918 Sir Edward Albert Gait (1st term) (b. 1863 – d. 1950) * 5 April 1918 – 12 July 1918 Sir Edward Vere Levinge (acting) (b. 1867 – d. 1954) *12 Jul 1918 – 29 December 1920 Sir Edward Albert Gait (2nd term) (s.a.)


Governors

*29 Dec 1920 – 29 November 1921
Satyendra Prasanna Sinha, 1st Baron Sinha Satyendra Prasanna Sinha, 1st Baron Sinha, KCSI, PC, KC, (24 March 1863 – 4 March 1928) was a prominent British India lawyer and statesman. He was the first Governor of Bihar and Orissa, first Indian Advocate-General of Bengal, first I ...
(b. 1864 – d. 1928) *29 Nov 1921 – 12 April 1922 Havilland Le Mesurier (acting) (b. 1866 – d. 1931) *12 Apr 1922 – 7 April 1927
Sir Henry Wheeler Sir Henry Wheeler, (2 June 1870 – 2 June 1950) was the Governor of Bihar and Orissa from 12 April 1922 to 6 April 1927. He was a member of the Imperial Civil Service appointed in 1889 and served in Bengal. He was also a member of Council of In ...
(b. 1870 – d. 1950) * 7 April 1927 – 7 April 1932 Sir Hugh Lansdowne Stephenson (b. 1871 – d. 1950) * 7 April 1932 – 1 April 1936
Sir James David Sifton Sir James David Sifton, KCSI, KCIE (17 April 1878 – 1952) was a British civil servant who was the Governor of Bihar and Orissa from 7 April 1932 to 31 March 1936 and then Governor of Bihar from 1 April 1936 to 10 March 1937. He was the first ...
(b. 1878 – d. 1952)


See also

*
Eastern States Agency The Eastern States Agency was an agency or grouping of princely states in eastern India, during the latter years of the Indian Empire. It was created in 1933, by the unification of the former Chhattisgarh States Agency and the Orissa States Agen ...


References


External links

* {{coord, 21.00, N, 86.30, E, region:IN_type:landmark_source:kolossus-svwiki, display=title History of Bihar Provinces of British India History of Odisha History of Jharkhand Bengal Presidency 1912 establishments in India 1936 disestablishments in India