Timeline of Bihar

Main article: History of Bihar

Buddhism

• 560-480 BCE: Anga, Buddha
• 490 BCE: Establishment of Pataliputra (Modern Patna)
• Before 325 BCE: Anga, Nanda clan in Magadha, Licchavis in Vaishali
• Before 500 BCE: Foundation of world's first republic in Vaishali.

Magadh Empire

• 450-362 BCE: Mahapadma Nanda is ruler of the Magadh Empire, Nanda Dynasty; Start of the Golden Age of Bihar
• 325-185 BCE: Period of the Maurya dynasty
• 340 BCE: Period of Chandragupta Maurya
• 304 BCE: Ashoka the Great born in Pataliputra
• 273 BCE: Ashoka the Great crowned new Emperor of Magadh
• 273-232 Ashoka the Great expands Magadh to greatest territorial extent, with Pataliputra (modern Patna) as its capital.*232 BCE Death of Ashoka the Great
• 185 BCE-80 CE: Shunga dynasty established by Magadh General Pushyamitra Shunga.
• 71BC - 26BC: Kanva Dynasty
• 240 - 600: Gupta Dynasty. First ruler is Srigupta.
• 375-415: Reign of Chandragupta II
• 500: Attack by Huna tribe weakens Pataliputra End of the Golden Age of Bihar

Pala and Harshvardhan rule

• 600 - 650: Harsha Vardhana empire expands into Magadh from the Haryana region
• 750 - 1200: The Bengali Pala Dynasty Expands into Magadh

Islamic Pashtuns (Afghans)

• 1200: Bakhtiyar Khilji's army destroys the Buddhist universities at Nalanda and Vikramshila in Bihar. Start of the Afghan-Muslim Era.
• 1200-1400: Sharp decline of Buddhism in Bihar and northern India in general
• 1250-1526: Magadh becomes a core part of the Delhi Sultanate e Hind (Hindustan).
• 1526-1540: Mughal Emperor, Babur, defeats the last Sultan of Delhi, Lodi, and establishes the Mughal Dynasty in Delhi and Agra

Islamic Sur Dynasty

• 1540-1555: Sher Shah captures empire from Mughals.
• 1540-1555: Building of the Grand Trunk Road, Introduction of the Rupee and Custom Duties
• 1556: Mughal dynasty restored in Agra after the Battle of Panipat.

Mughal Rule

• 1556 - 1764: Bihar is a province of the Mughal Sultanate-e-Hind
• 1666: Guru Gobind Singh The 10th and last Sikh Guru, is born in Patna
• 1757-1857: The British East India Company expands it rule into Bihar from Bengal

East India Company

• 1764: Battle of Buxar: Tax collection becomes the duty of the East India Company.
• 1764-1920 Migration of Bihari & United Provinces workers across the British world by the Company and later British government.

Civil War and Rebellion

• 1857: Period of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. East India Company Sepoys from the Bengal Army (80% Hindu according to William Daryample in the book "The Last Mughal") declare Bahadur Shah Zafar II Emperor of Hindustan. The region becomes the centre of resistance to the East India Company. End of the Muslim Era.
• 1858: Mughal Sultanate-e-Hind reorganised to form the new British Indian Empire after the British Government abolishes the East India Company.

Bengal Presidency

• 1877: House of Windsor is made the new Imperial Royal Family. Queen Victoria declared the first Emperess of the British Indian Empire
• 1912: Province of Bihar and Orissa separated from Bengal
• 1913: Start of the dramatic slowdown in wealth creation in India and Bihar
• 1916: Patna High Court founded
• 1917:Mahatma Gandhi arrives in Champaran with a team of eminent lawyers: Brajkishore Prasad, Rajendra Prasad, Anugrah Narayan Sinha and others. The Champaran Satyagraha movement is launched.Establishment of Patna University.
• 1925: Patna Medical College Hospital established under the name "Prince of Wales Medical College"

Bihar Province

• 1935: 1935 Government of India Act federates the Indian Empire and creates a new Bihar.
• 1936: Sir James David Sifton appointed the first Governor of Bihar.
• 1937: First Democratic election of Bihar in March, 1937.Congress emerged as largest political party, Muslim Independent Party headed by Barrister Muhammad Yunus stood second.Barrister Mohammad Yunus formed Government and became first Premier(April- July, 1937 )of Bihar province.
• 1937:The first Congress ministry is formed in Bihar under provincial autonomy granted by British rule,Dr.Sri Krishna Sinha sworn in as Premier and Dr.Anugrah Narayan Sinha became Deputy Premier cum Finance Minister.Other two ministers inducted were Syed Mehmud and Jaglal Chaudhry.
• 1942:Launch of Quit India Movement.Prominent Bihar leaders like Rajendra Prasad, Anugrah Narayan Sinha & Sri Krishna Sinha imprisoned.

First Government

• 1946:First Cabinet of Bihar formed; consisting of two members, Sri Krishna Sinha as first Chief Minister of Bihar and Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha as Bihar's first Deputy Chief Minister cum Finance Minister (also in charge of Labour,Health,Agriculture and Irrigation).Other ministers are inducted later.The Cabinet served as the first Bihar Government after independence in 1947.
• 1947: Indian Independence; Bihar becomes a state in the new Dominion of India.
• 1947-1949: Hindu-Muslim religious violence leads to the migration of millions of Bihari Muslims to Pakistan (West and East)
• 1952 Indian Government adopts symbols of ancient Imperial Bihar (Ashoka Chakra added to the Indian flag, the Lion Pillor is made the symbol of the central government of India, all state governments, reserve bank, and the military, whilst the Rupee, introduced in Bihar, is retained as the currency)
• 1950 Dr. Rajendra Prasad is appointed the first President of India.
• 1952:Many development projects needed for the all round development of the state initiated, be it on irrigation front or on industrial front by the state government. It included several river valley projects right from Koshi, Aghaur and Sakri to several other such river projects.
• 1952-57:Bihar rated as the best administered among the states in the country.
• 1955 The Birla Institute of Technology(BIT) is established at Mesra, Ranchi.
• 1957-62:Second five-year plan period, Bihar government brought several heavy industries like Barauni Oil Refinery, HEC plant at Hatia, Bokaro Steel Plant, Barauni Fertiliser Plant, Barauni Thermal Power Station, Maithon Hydel Power Station, Sulphur mines at Amjhaur, Sindri Fertiliser Plant, Kargali Coal Washery, Barauni Dairy Project, etc. for the all round development of the state.

Indira Gandhi

• 1974 - 1977: Suspension of the Republican Constitution. Immediately after proclamation of emergency, prominent opposition political leaders from Bihar like Jayaprakash Narayan & Satyendra Narayan Sinha were arrested without any prior notice. Bihar is the centre of resistance against the Emergency.
• 1977: Janata Party Came to power at Centre and in Bihar;Karpoori Thakur became CM after winning chief ministership battle from the then Janata Party President Satyendra Narayan Sinha.
• 1984: Indira Gandhi Assassination leads to deadly anti-Sikh Riots in northern India, including Bihar.
• 1985: Mr. Chandra Shekhar Singh sworn in as Bihar Chief Minister after Congress's victory in assembly elections. Kanti thermal power station started operations as the second thermal power plant in Bihar,after Barauni Thermal Power Station,with the help of efforts by the then MP of Muzaffarpur, George Fernandes.
• 1988-1990: Removal of Bihar CM Bhagwat Jha Azad, Veteran Leader S N Sinha sworn in as Chief Minister of Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav appointed Leader Of Opposition.

Lalu Prasad

• 1990: Janta Dal wins Bihar election,Laloo Prasad becomes Bihar Chief Minister defeating former Janata Party CM Ram Sundar Das.
• 1990 - 2005: Social injustice
• 1995: Janta Dal's second electoral victory.
• 1995- 2000: Economic stagniation, state GDP contracts.
• 1996: Lalu Prasad appoints wife, Rabri Devi, as Chief Minister.
• 1997: Split in Janta Dal, Nitish Kumar and Ram Vilas Paswan create Janta Dal (United).
• 1999:President's ruled is imposed in Bihar because of complete denigration of governance;lifted because it is not endorsed by the Rajya Sabha;Rabri Devi is back as CM.
• 2000: Bihar divided into two states by NDA central government.
• 2000: Lalu Prasad's split Janta Dal wins elections.
• 2000:Nitish Kumar becomes Bihar Chief Minister for seven days;resigns after his government fails to garner majority.Janata Dal is back in power.
• 2002 - 2004: Deadly crime wave grips Patna and Bihar.
• 2003: Maharashtra railways exams attacks, Assam ethnic conflict.

Nitish Kumar

• 2005: In Feb, Lalu Prasad Yadav/ Rabri Devi lose power after 15 years
• 2005: In November, Janta Dal (United) with the BJP wins the state election.
• 2005 - 2007: Nitish Kumar is declared the best Chief Minister in India by the India Today magazine
• 2007: Bhojpuri cinema hall complex bombed in Punjab. 6 UP and Bihari migrant workers killed.
• 2008: Second Bihari-Bhojpuri Immigrant Worker Crisis: Migrants and students attacked in Maharashtra, Assam, Manipur, and Nagaland. Economic revival Q1 2008, resulting in labour shortages in Punjab, Maharashtra.
• 2008: Floods in Mithla region kill 3,000 people, displace millions.
• 2010:Nitish Kumar again becomes Bihar Chief Minister after a historic mandate.
• 2014: Nitish Kumar resigns after historic debacle in 2014 Lok Sabha elections; Jitan Ram Manjhi is Bihar's new CM
• 2015: Nitish Kumar sworn in as Bihar CM for the fourth time after resignation of incumbent Jitan Ram Manjhi

Lalu Prasad Yadav-Nitish Kumar

• Nitish Kumar becomes Chief Minister of Bihar for the record fifth time after spectacular victory of Grand Alliance coalition, Former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav's younger son Tejashwi Yadav, a debutant MLA, is sworn in as the fourth Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, becoming the youngest person to hold the post, while elder son of Lalu Prasad Yadav, Tej Pratap becomes Health Minister of Bihar.