Bihar-Specific General Knowledge
Bihar-Specific General Knowledge tests the state's geography, administrative units, historical sites and flagship schemes. Questions often combine a place with a river, a movement with a year, or a scheme with its target group.
Core rules and concepts
- Location and boundaries: Bihar shares an international border with Nepal; state borders with Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
- Rivers: Ganga (main axis), Gandak, Kosi, Bagmati, Son. North Bihar is flood-prone; south Bihar plateau is drought-prone. The Kosi is called the 'Sorrow of Bihar' due to course shifts and floods.
- Administration: 38 districts, 9 divisions; capital Patna (ancient Pataliputra).
- History: Magadha, Videha and Vaishali (early republic); Nalanda Mahavihara; Bodh Gaya; Champaran Satyagraha (1917).
- Culture: Madhubani painting, Chhath (sun worship), Sonepur fair, Rajgir and Pawapuri.
- Schemes: Mukhyamantri Kanya Utthan Yojana (girl students), Bihar Student Credit Card, Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali, Mission Daksh.
Worked example
Why is the Kosi known as the 'Sorrow of Bihar'? Reasoning: it rises in the Himalayan catchment, carries heavy silt, and changes course across the north Bihar plain. Embankments and breaches worsen flooding. The answer is its shifting channel and recurrent floods, not simply its length.
Traps that cost marks
Bihar Diwas is 22 March (1912 separation from Bengal), not 22 March 1911. Champaran Satyagraha was 1917. Nalanda district and Bodh Gaya (Gaya district) are different locations. Do not attribute the Kosi's nickname to the Gandak. For schemes, use the exact name and beneficiary group.