Munger district मुंगेर जिलाضلع مگیر
Location of Munger district in Bihar
State	Bihar, India
Administrative division	Munger
Headquarters	Munger
Area	1,419.7 km2 (548.1 sq mi)
Population	1,359,054 (2011)
Population density	957 /km2 (2,480 /sq mi)
Literacy	73.30 per cent[1]
Sex ratio	879
Lok Sabha constituencies	Munger
Assembly seats	Tarapur, Jamalpur and Munger
Major highways	NH-80
Average annual precipitation	1146 mm
Official website

Munger district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state in eastern India. Munger town is the administrative headquarters of this district. Munger district is a part of Munger Division. Its literacy rate of 73.3% is higher than the state literacy rate of 63.8% and lower than national rate of 74.04

Etymology[link]

The district is named after its headquarters, Munger. There are several traditions regarding the etymology of Munger. According to one tradition, the present name of the town is derived from its ancient name Mudgagiri, which is mentioned in the Mahbharata as well as the Munger copperlate inscription of Devapala. According to another tradition, the name of the town is derived from either sage Mudgala or Maudgalyayana, a disciple of Buddha. However, General Cunnigham had strong suspicion that the original name of the town was connected with the Mundas, who are the earliest residents of this region and C.E.A. Oldham thinks it was probably derived from Munigriha (the abode of the Muni).

History[link]

The territory occupied by the present day Munger district was a part of Anga mahajanapada. The Mahabharata says that it was ruled by Karna. Mudgagiri (Munger) was the capital of the Pala empire. Bengal Nawab Mir Kasim fought one of the last battles before the East India Company captured the eastern India. The Fort built by him has three gates and the Ganges on its fourth sides. Munger was known as Monghyr throughout British rule. In the early years of British rule Monghyr formed a part of Bhagalpur, and was not created a separate district till 1832.

Munger has seen five districts partitioned off from its territory: Begusarai in 1976;^[2] Khagaria in 1988;^[2] and Jamui, Lakhisarai district, and Sheikhpura in 1999.^[2]

The district is currently a part of the Red Corridor.^[3]

Geography[link]

Munger District is located in the southern part of Bihar and its headquarter is located on the southern bank of river Ganges. Munger district occupies an area of 1,419 square kilometres (548 sq mi),^[4] comparatively equivalent to Russia's Urup Island.^[5] It accounts for 3.3% of the area of Bihar . It lies between 240 22 N to 250 30 N latitude and 850 30 E to 870 3 E longitude.^[6] Munger District was formed in 1832 out of Bhagalpur.

Bordered by river Ganges from north side. Lakhisarai and Begusarai districts(on the opposite banks of river Ganga) lies on the northwest and southwest side respectively. Jamui district on southern side, Bhagalpur and Banka districts on northeast and southeast sides respectively and Khagaria district on the northern side(across river Ganga).

Saharsa, Madhepura, Begusarai, Jamui, Sheikhpura, Khagaria and Lakhisarai districts were carved out of this district.

Munger district is so located in the southern Bihar and Munger town, its headquarters is located on the southern bank of the Ganges. The district lies between 24°20' and 25°30' north latitudes and between 85°37' and 87°30' east longitudes. The average height from the sea level is 30 to 65 m.

Rivers and lakes[link]

The major rivers of this district are the Ganges, the Mohane, the Harohar and the Kiul.

Temple and village

Chandika temple is one of the famous temple in this city. Dalahatta Buzar Kumhartoli is as a small village, 80% people who staying here are kumhar by cast that make pot (Miiti ke bartan).Kalai is a village near Kharagpur having mostly bhrahmins and rajputs as its population.^[7]

Climate[link]

There are three distinct seasons in this zone, summer (March to May), monsoon (June to September) and winter (October to February). Average annual rainfall of this district is 1146 mm (average of 53 years).

Economy[link]

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Munger one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).^[8] It is one of the 36 districts in Bihar currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).^[8]

Divisions[link]

The district is divided into three sub-divisions: Jamalpur, Kharagpur and Tarapur, which are further divided into nine development blocks:Kharagpur, Dharhara, mohanpur Munger, Jamalpur, Tarapur, Sangrampur, Bariarpur, Tetia Bambar and Asarganj.

Demographics[link]

According to the 2011 census Munger district has a population of 1,359,054,^[9] roughly equal to the nation of Swaziland^[10] or the US state of Hawaii.^[11] This gives it a ranking of 358th in India (out of a total of 640).^[9] The district has a population density of 958 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,480 /sq mi) .^[9] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 19.45 %.^[9] Munger has a sex ratio of 879 females for every 1000 males,^[9] and a literacy rate of 73.3 %.^[9]

Languages[link]

Languages used in the district include Angika, an Indo-Aryan language written in the Devanagari script and spoken by at least 725 000 people in the Angika Region.^[12]

Flora and fauna[link]

In 1976 Munger district became home to the Bhimbandh Wildlife Sanctuary, which has an area of 682 km² (263.3 sq mi).^[13]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Munger District-Official Website
• Munger District Photos
• Posts from District Magistrate Munger
• Munger District on Facebook

	Begusarai district	Khagaria district
	Lakhisarai district		Bhagalpur district
		Munger district    East
	Jamui district		Banka district

Munger
—  city  —
Munger Location of Munger in Bihar and India
Coordinates	25°22′52″N 86°27′54″E / 25.381°N 86.465°E / 25.381; 86.465Coordinates: 25°22′52″N 86°27′54″E / 25.381°N 86.465°E / 25.381; 86.465
Country	India
State	Bihar
District(s)	Munger
Population	213,101 (2011[update])
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 43 metres (141 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 811201 • Telephone • ++91-6344 • Vehicle • BR08-
Website	Munger.bih.nic.in

Munger (Hindi: मुंगेर) (Urdu: مگیر )town is the headquarters of Munger district, in the Indian state of Bihar. Historically, Munger is known for its manufacturing of iron articles such as firearms and swords. One of the major institutions in Munger is Bihar School of Yoga. It is one of the foremost learning center in the world for Yoga and frequented by people all over the globe. Munger is situated on the banks of the Ganges and known for its pleasant bathing ghats.

History[link]

It has been identified with Mod-Giri a place mentioned in the Mahabharata was the kingdom of Raja Karna.However the first historical account of the district appears in the Travels of HIUEN TSIANG,a famous Chinese traveller.Munger came again into Prominence in 1762 when Kasim Ali Khan made it his capital instead of Murshidbad in Bengal.

Manufacturing Gun at Munger is more than 200 years old story.During the First World War period the Munger gun manufacturers came in to the prominence and production of cartridge gun was developed. Munger was perhaps the only city in India where guns manufacturers took shape of a cottage industry and become a popular profession.During Indo-China War of 1962 the defense ministry was in need of 410 bore Muscat which was prepared by Munger Gun Factory.

This section requires expansion.

See:Karna See: Munger Fort

Demographics[link]

As per 2011 census, Munger Municipal Corporation had a total population of 213,101, out of which 113,173 were males and 99,928 were females. It had a sex ratio of 883. The population below 5 years was 29,260. The literacy rate of the 7+ population was 81.83 per cent.^[1]

Places of interest[link]

• Munger Fort,covers an area of around 222 acres,annexed by the Khiljis, Tughlaqs, Lodis, Nawabs of Bengal, Mughals and British
• Bihar School of Yoga,
• Sita Kund, a hot water continuous spring
• Kastaharni Ghat,beautiful bank of The Ganga
• Tomb of Pir Shah Nufa,Sufi saint from Persia who was sent to Munger by Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer in 1177
• Bhimbandh Wildlife Sanctuary, covers an area of around 682 km² consist of a hot water spring, sambar, chital, nilgai, wild boar, tiger and panther.
• Pirpahar, tomb on hill near bank of Ganga

Transport[link]

Railway : Nearest railway station is Jamalpur on Sahibganj Loop (Kiul Junction-Khana Junction) line on Howrah-Delhi route. It is 8 km from Munger city and well connect with major cities in India with good frequency of express and passenger trains.

Airport : Munger has a small airport with no commercial service and used only for VIP movements. Nearest domestic airport with commercial service is Patna airport around 180 km away. Patna is served by all major airlines. Nearest international airport is Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata.

Road : Munger is connected with NH-80 and various state highways.

Munger Ganga Bridge is under construction.

Education[link]

Munger has many good schools, colleges and Institution.

• Schools - New Era Public School, 1st Notre Dame Academy School in India was founded in Jamalpur,Munger Bihar in 1950, Saraswati Vidya Mandir, DAV Public School, St. Xavier's School,Eastern Railway High School Jamalpur, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Little Angels School, S.K.D. Memorial Public School,Arya Bal Shanti Niketan Junior Branch Maulsiritalle Munger and Senior Branch Munger - Jamalpur Road Jamalpur. The oldest school in the district is the Zila School (formerly Government English School) which was founded in 1854. There are two girls' schools, Baijnath Girls School and Balmiki Rajniti Balika Vidyalaya, Madhopur, in Munger town. Govt school like Model High School, etc.

• Colleges - R.D. & D.J. College, Balmiki Rajniti Mahila Mahavidyalaya, J.R.S. College are institutes for higher education. R.D. & D.J. College is one of the oldest and renowned College in the Bihar and Eastern India Zone. The alumni of these institutes are now working all over world and have brought laurels to the district.

Tourism[link]

The biggest tourist attraction in Munger is Bihar School of Yoga, attended by people from various countries.

People from various nearby place come to various Ganges ghats on religious occasions. The city also see huge crowd during Durga Puja festival.

Kastaharni Ghat is one of various bathing ghats on the Ganges and religiously the most significant. This is one of the few places where the Ganges meanders and flows in the northern direction (Uttarvahini Ganges). Because of this it is considered very auspicious by Hindu believers.

Chandika Asthan is one of the sixty-four shakti peeths spread across India and is situated on the north-east corner of Munger. It sees a huge crowd of devotees all round the year and specially during Navratras.

Munger has one of the oldest railway manufacturing units and also the ITC Tobacco factory.

Earlier spelled Monghyr and now Munger it has a rich and glorious past and stories abound. Madarsa Rahmania is the largest Islamic School in the state.

Bhimbandh and Kharagpur Lake are great picnic spot. It has a stream of hot water coming from the mountains nearby and one stream of cold water also, both the streams merge here only and then are later joined in ganges river.

Famous personalities[link]

• Krishna Sinha, First CM of Bihar, freedom fighter and a Gandhian.
• Vishal Kumar
• Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati
• Swami Satyananda Saraswati
• Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, National Poet.
• Pooja Misrra, VJ & Model

References[link]

External links[link]

• Munger District-Official Website
• Munger District Photos
• Posts from District Magistrate Munger
• Munger District on Facebook

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Nitish Kumar
Chief Minister of Bihar
In office 3 March 2000 – 10 March 2000
Deputy CM	Sushil Kumar Modi
Preceded by	President's rule
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 November 2005
Preceded by	Rabri Devi
Minister of Railways
In office 20 March 2001 – 21 May 2004
Preceded by	Ram Vilas Paswan
Succeeded by	Lalu Prasad Yadav
In office 19 March 1998 – 5 August 1999
Minister of Agriculture
In office 27 May 2000 – 21 July 2001
In office 22 November 1999 – 3 March 2000
Minister of Surface Transport
In office 13 October 1999 – 22 November 1999
In office 14 April 1998 – 5 August 1999
Personal details
Born	(1951-03-01) 1 March 1951 (age 61) kalyanbigha, Nalanda
Nationality	Indian
Political party	Janata Dal (United)
Spouse(s)	Late Smt. Manju Kumari Sinha
Children	Nishant Kumar (son)
Residence	1 Anne Marg, Patna
Alma mater	National Institute of Technology, Patna
Profession	Politician Social Worker Agriculturist Engineer
Religion	Hinduism
Website	http://cm.bih.nic.in
As of 18 June, 2006 Source: Government of India

Nitish Kumār (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician who has been a Union Minister and is the Chief Minister of Bihar, an eastern state of India, since 2005. He belongs to the Janata Dal (United) party. As Chief Minister, he gained popularity by initiating a series of developmental and constructive activities including building of long-delayed bridges, re-laying roads that had ceased to exist, appointing over 100,000 school teachers, ensuring that doctors worked in primary health centers, and keeping crime in check.^[1]

Early life and career[link]

Nitish Kumār was born in Kalyanbigha, Bihar to Kaviraj Ram Lakhan Singh and Parmeshwari Devi.^[2] His father was a freedom fighter and was close to the great Gandhian Bihar Vibhuti Anugrah Narayan Sinha, one of the founders of modern Bihar. His nickname is 'Munna'.^[3] He is a teetotaler, does not smoke, and is a frugal eater.^[4]

He has a degree in electrical engineering from the Bihar College of Engineering, Patna now NIT Patna.^[5] He joined the Bihar State Electricity Board, but almost halfheartedly, and later moved into politics.^[6]

Political career[link]

Nitish Kumar belongs to a socialist class of politicians.He learnt the lessons of politics under the tutelage of stalwarts Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia, Karpoori Thakur, S N Sinha, George Fernandes and V. P. Singh.^[7]

Early career[link]

Nitish Kumar participated in Jayaprakash Narayan's movement^[8] between 1974 and 1977, and was close to Satyendra Narayan Sinha, a prominent leader of the time. In the 1980 Bihar assembly elections, Kumar stood from Harnaut, which had a strong presence of his fellow Kurmis. He lost, however, to a Kurmi ‘bahubali’ (muscleman/criminal politician).^[9] He was first elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1985 as an independent candidate. In 1987, he became the President of the Yuva Lok Dal. In 1989, he became the Secretary-General of the Janata Dal in Bihar. He was also elected to the 9th Lok Sabha the same year. Nitish was aligned with Laloo Prasad Yadav for years before they parted ways and Janata Dal (United) came into existence in 2003.^[10][11]

During his term as Minister of Railways, he brought widespread reforms.^[12]

Union Minister in Centre[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2011)

In 1989, Nitish Kumar was appointed as the Union Minister of State for Agriculture in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh. In 1991, he was re-elected to the Lok Sabha and became General Secretary of the Janata Dal at the national level and the Deputy Leader of Janata Dal in the Parliament. He represented Barh parliamentary constituency in the Lok Sabha between 1989 and 2004.

He briefly served as the Union Cabinet Minister for Railways and Minister for Surface Transport and then as the Minister for Agriculture in 1998–99. In August 1999, he resigned following the Gaisal train disaster. He introduced internet ticket booking facility as well as opened record number of railway ticket booking counters. He introduced revolutionary tatkal scheme for instant booking.

Later that year, he rejoined the Union Cabinet as Minister for Agriculture. From 2001 to May 2004, he served as the Union Cabinet Minister for Railways in the NDA Government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections he contested elections from two constituencies, Barh and Nalanda. He was elected from Nalanda but lost from his traditional constituency, Barh. He was the leader of the Janata Dal (United) Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha.

Chief Minister of Bihar[link]

1st Term (3 March 2000 – 10 March 2000)[link]

On 3 March 2000, Nitish Kumar was appointed the Chief Minister of Bihar, but he resigned seven days later because failed to prove majority.

2nd Term (24 November 2005 – 24 November 2010)[link]

In November 2005, he led the National Democratic Alliance to victory in the 2005 Bihar assembly elections bringing an end to the 15-year rule of the Lalu Prasad Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal. He was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar on 24 November 2005. Under his government, Bihar developed an electronic version of the Right to Information Act called Jankari scheme. In addition, he launched the E-shakti NREGS program, by which rural people can get employment information by telephone. He is credited with improving infrastructure, and reducing crime, widely felt to be serious problems in the state.

Under his governance Bihar has had a record number of criminal prosecutions through fast track courts. His government initiated a mandatory weekly meeting with all District Magistrates to monitor progress at the grassroot level. His government has generated employment in police services and teaching. Bihar recorded record construction work during his five year mandate, surpassing the national average.

Nitish Kumar government also initiated bicycle and meal programs – the government gave bicycles to girls who stayed in school – which saw Bihar getting huge number of girls into schools and fall in school drop out rates.^[13] Women and extremely backward castes were given 50% reservation in electorals for the first time ever in India. However, bicycle scheme of Nitish Government has been criticised by some people because of corruption involved in the scheme.

Health schemes were launched to improve village hospitals and the free medicine distribution system. Loan schemes for farmers were improved by involving national banks.

The state witnessed steep hike in GSDP growth, the second highest in the country. Bihar was recorded as the highest tax payer state in eastern India.

Dr. Abdul Kalam, former President of India and Nitish Kumar initiated the Nalanda International University project, headed by the Prime Minister of India.

In 2010, Nitish Kumar's party swept back to power along with its ally Bharatiya Janata Party. On 26 November 2010, Nitish Kumar took oath as a Chief Minister of Bihar. This is his second consecutive term as Chief Minister of Bihar.[6]

3rd Term (26 November 2010 – Till Now)[link]

In a keenly fought contest, Nitish Kumar led JDU-BJP combine won with four-fifth majority. NDA won 206 seats while RJD won 22 seats. No party there has won enough seats to represent the opposition in the state assembly, which requires at least 25 seats to become eligible to represent the main opposition party.^[14][15]

For the last time electorates witnessed high turnout of women and young voters, while this declared as the fairest Bihari election, with no bloodshed or poll violence.^[16]

Personal life[link]

On 22 February 1973, Nitish Kumar married Manju Kumari Sinha, a teacher by profession. They have a son, Nishant, who is a graduate of BIT, Mesra.^[17] His wife died in 2007 at the age of 53. He is credited with giving a new face to Bihar. The kind of win his Alliance registered during 2010 Bihar Assembly is viewed amongst the biggest ever election win by anyone in Indian elections, where the entire opposition was almost wiped off. Many sections of media and political sections consider him as the best Chief Minister from India, able to bring success of governance in a state of turmoil, finishing caste, religion barrier and paving way for development. For his clean and Statesmanship he owns respect from his bitter opponents and all political parties including Congress whose many prominent leaders including chief Sonia Gandhi, Home Minister P. Chidambaram, NCP leader Agatha Sangma and Congress leader(Minister for information and broadcasting) Ambika Soni, credited Nitish Kumar's clean, pro-citizen development oriented governance. It is a status which currently only Nitish Kumar enjoys, something a rare feat in Indian politics where someone achieves respect and appreciation from opposition along with landslide public support from all sections of Society.

Awards and recognition[link]

• XLRI,Jamshedpur "Sir Jehangir Ghandy Medal" for Industrial & Social Peace 2011.^[18]
• "MSN Indian of the year 2010"^[19]
• NDTV Indian of the Year – Politics, 2010^[20]
• Forbes "India's Person of the Year", 2010^[21]
• CNN-IBN "Indian of the Year Award" – Politics, 2010^[22]
• NDTV Indian of the year – Politics, 2009^[23]
• Economics Times "Business reformer of the Year 2009".^[24]
• 'Polio Eradication Championship Award' 2009, by Rotary Internationals.^[25]
• CNN-IBN Great Indian of the Year – Politics, 2008^[26]
• The Best Chief Minister,^[27] according to the CNN-IBN and HT State of the Nation Poll 2007.

Positions Held[link]

See also[link]

• List of Chief Ministers of Bihar

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nitish Kumar

• Biography on Bihar Govt. web site
• Biography on website of Lok Sabha

v t e Current Chief Ministers of Indian states (list)     Andhra Pradesh: Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy Arunachal Pradesh: Nabam Tuki Assam: Tarun Gogoi Bihar: Nitish Kumar Chhattisgarh: Raman Singh Goa: Manohar Parrikar Gujarat: Narendra Modi Haryana: Bhupinder Singh Hooda Himachal Pradesh: Prem Kumar Dhumal Jammu and Kashmir: Omar Abdullah Jharkhand: Arjun Munda Karnataka: D. V. Sadananda Gowda Kerala: Oommen Chandy Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chauhan Maharashtra: Prithviraj Chavan Manipur: Okram Ibobi Singh Meghalaya: Mukul Sangma Mizoram: Pu Lalthanhawla Nagaland: Neiphiu Rio Orissa: Naveen Patnaik Punjab: Parkash Singh Badal Rajasthan: Ashok Gehlot Sikkim: Pawan Kumar Chamling Tamil Nadu: Jayalalithaa Tripura: Manik Sarkar Uttar Pradesh: Akhilesh Yadav Uttarakhand: Vijay Bahuguna West Bengal: Mamata Banerjee Delhi: Sheila Dikshit Pondicherry: N. Rangaswamy