Bihar is a state in northern India. Its capital is Patna. On November 15, 2000, the state of Jharkhand was carved out of the southern districts of Bihar. Even the newly created state of Jharkhand has a 35% population of Bhojpuri speaking people. The same percentage of skilled and educated population is even higher at 65%.
Bihar is bordered on the north by the Kingdom of Nepal, on the west by Uttar Pradesh, south by Jharkhand, and the east by West Bengal.
Bihar lies in the very fertile Gangetic plains, and is part of the Hindi-speaking heartland of India.
On December 31, 2003, three coaches of the Darbhanga-Delhi Jan Nayak Express were set ablaze by a mob as policemen opened fire to control the violence triggered by the removal of an idol of a Hindu god at Ratwara village in Samastipur district. Three people were injured in the police firing.