Bihar Sharif

Bihar Sharif
City
Top to bottom: The City Skyline, Tomb of Ibrahim Baya, Mora Talab Temple, View of Hiranya Parvat from NH 20, An institutional block at K. K. University
Top to bottom: The City Skyline, Tomb of Ibrahim Baya, Mora Talab Temple, View of Hiranya Parvat from NH 20, An institutional block at K. K. University
Bihar Sharif is located in Bihar
Bihar Sharif
Bihar Sharif
Bihar Sharif is located in India
Bihar Sharif
Bihar Sharif
Coordinates: 25°11′49″N 85°31′05″E / 25.197°N 85.518°E / 25.197; 85.518
Country India
State Bihar
DivisionPatna
DistrictNalanda
Government
 • TypeMunicipal Corporation
 • BodyBihar Sharif Municipal Corporation
 • District MagistrateShashank Shubhankar,[1] IAS
 • Superintendent of Police, NalandaAshok Mishra,[1] IPS
 • Municipal CommissionerAnshul Agrawal,[1] IAS
 • MayorAneeta Devi[2]
Area
 • City152.94 km2 (59.05 sq mi)
 • Urban
23.5 km2 (9.1 sq mi)
 • Regional planning[3]78.53 km2 (30.32 sq mi)
Elevation
55 m (180 ft)
Population
 (2011)[4]
 • City297,268
 • Density15,743/km2 (40,770/sq mi)
Language
 • OfficialHindi[5]
 • Additional officialUrdu[5]
 • LocalMagahi
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
803101 803118 803216 803111 803113
Telephone code+916112
ISO 3166 codeIN-BR
Vehicle registrationBR-21
Loksabha ConstituencyNalanda (29)
Vidhan Sabha ConstituencyBihar Sharif (172)
Websitenagarseva.bihar.gov.in/biharsharif

Bihar Sharif is the headquarters of Nalanda district and the fifth-largest sub-metropolitan area in the eastern Indian state of Bihar. Its name is a combination of two words: Bihar, derived from vihara (meaning monastery), also the name of the state; and Sharif (meaning noble).[6] The city is a hub of education and trade in southern Bihar, and the economy centers around agriculture supplemented by tourism, the education sector and household manufacturing. The ruins of the ancient Nalanda Mahavihara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are located near the city.[7]

Under the Pala Empire, Odantapuri, a major Buddhist monastic university was built at the site of Bihar Sharif. In the early 14th century, the city was captured by the Delhi Sultanate. Bihar Sharif was later ruled by other Muslim dynasties and then by the British until Indian independence in 1947. The city has important Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim heritage sites and landmarks.

Bihar Sharif is one of the one hundred Indian cities selected to gain funds under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship Smart Cities Mission.[8][needs update] Bihar Sharif was selected in the preliminary list of 100 cities in July 2015 that were to compete for the Smart Cities project.

According to Ease of Living Index 2020, Bihar Sharif has been ranked as the most livable among cities in Bihar which have population under 1 million.[9] It was ranked 1st in Bihar and 28th among cities with a population under 1 million in India with an overall ranking of 63rd among 111 Indian cities.[10]

  1. ^ a b c "Nalanda District Officials Details". nalanda.nic.in. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  2. ^ "E-Municipality Bihar". nagarseva.bihar.gov.in. Retrieved 10 April 2021.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Nadim, Farrukh (26 November 2018). "37 villages to be part of Biharsharif Smart City project". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2011citycen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b "52nd Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India" (PDF). nclm.nic.in. Ministry of Minority Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  6. ^ "Definition of 'sherif'". Collin's dictionary. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  7. ^ "Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara at Nalanda, Bihar". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Buoyed by smart city mission tag, Patna, Muzaffarpur gear up for makeover". hindustantimes.com/. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  9. ^ Tripathi, Piyush (4 March 2021). "Ease of living index 2020: Boost for Patna as it bags 33rd rank". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  10. ^ Swaroop, Vijay (4 March 2021). "No city from Bihar in top 10 of Ease of Living Index, Patna climbs a notch". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 5 March 2021.