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Bihar Province was a province of British India, created in 1936 by the partition of the Bihar and Orissa Province.
Contents
History
In 1756 Bihar was part of Bengal. On 14 October 1803 Orissa was occupied by the British Raj. On 1 April 1912 both Bihar and Orissa were separated from Bengal as Bihar and Orissa Province. On 1 April 1936 Bihar and Orissa 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 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 Srikrishna Sinha 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.