Bihar's Constitutional and Legislative Evolution

1. BPSC demand: read the institutional chain

BPSC may test the year Bihar was formed, the first sitting of its Legislative Council, the Act behind provincial autonomy and bicameralism, the Articles governing today's State Legislature, or the effects of the 1956 and 2000 territorial changes. The key is to connect date + legal instrument + institutional result.

Study the sequence as: Bengal Presidency → Bihar and Orissa Province → Governor's Province → separate Bihar Province with a bicameral legislature → Bihar as a State under the Constitution → boundary adjustment → creation of Jharkhand.

2. Vocabulary that must not be mixed

Term	Meaning in this chapter	Exam caution
Presidency	A large colonial administrative unit; Bihar was earlier administered within the Bengal Presidency.	It was not a State under the Constitution of India.
Province	A territorial unit of British India governed under imperial statutes and orders.	The province created in 1912 combined Bihar and Orissa.
Governor's Province	A province placed under a Governor under the constitutional reforms of the period.	Bihar and Orissa attained this status on 29 December 1920.
Provincial autonomy	The Government of India Act, 1935 enlarged responsible provincial government and ended dyarchy in provincial subjects.	It was still colonial government, not full sovereignty.
State of the Union	A constituent unit governed under the Constitution of India.	On 26 January 1950 Bihar entered the constitutional order as a Part A State; that classification ended in 1956.
Reorganisation	A statutory alteration of territory, boundaries or representation.	1956 adjusted the Bihar–West Bengal boundary; 2000 created Jharkhand.

3. High-yield timeline

Date	Development	Why it matters
25 August 1911	Government of India recommended a separate Lieutenant-Governor's province for Bihar and Orissa, a Legislative Council and Patna as capital.	Administrative plan before formal creation.
12 December 1911	The Delhi Durbar announcement publicly confirmed the provincial reorganisation.	Do not confuse announcement with legal formation.
22 March 1912	The Province of Bihar and Orissa was formed, separated from Bengal.	Bihar Day commemorates this milestone.
20 January 1913	The new Provincial Legislative Council first met at Bankipore.	Beginning of Bihar's institutional legislative history.
29 December 1920	Bihar and Orissa became a Governor's Province.	Context for the reformed Council.
7 February 1921	The reconstituted Provincial Legislative Council held its first sitting.	Linked to the Government of India Act, 1919 reforms.
22 November 1921	The Council passed the measure extending voting rights to women in the province.	Important Bihar legislative milestone.
1 April 1936	Orissa became a separate province; Bihar remained a separate province.	The 1912 composite province ended.
22 July 1936	The separate Bihar Legislative Council held its first meeting in the new arrangement.	Bicameral institutional transition.
20 July 1937	The first responsible government under Dr Shri Krishna Singh was formally constituted.	Outcome of provincial elections and autonomy.
22 July 1937	The two Houses held their first joint sitting.	Operational bicameral legislature.
26 January 1950	The Constitution commenced; Bihar became a Part A State.	Colonial province became a constitutional State.
1 November 1956	Bihar–West Bengal territorial transfer took effect.	Boundary and representation adjustment.
15 November 2000	Jharkhand was created under the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000.	Major territorial and legislative reorganisation.

4. Why Bihar and Orissa were separated from Bengal

Before 1912, Bihar was administered within the Bengal Presidency. Administrative scale, regional identity, language and the demand for a distinct provincial arrangement shaped the change. The Government of India's recommendation of 25 August 1911 proposed a separate province under a Lieutenant-Governor, its own Legislative Council and Patna as capital. The Delhi Durbar announcement came on 12 December 1911; formal provincial formation followed on 22 March 1912.

Exam distinction: 12 December 1911 is the announcement; 22 March 1912 is the formation of the Province of Bihar and Orissa. Bihar Day observes the latter date.

5. The first Provincial Legislative Council, 1913

Feature	Verified fact
Legal setting	Indian Councils Act, 1861 and the 1909 framework as adapted after formation of the province.
Total membership	43: 3 ex officio, 21 elected and 19 nominated members.
First sitting	20 January 1913.
Place	Patna College hall at Bankipore.
Character	A limited colonial representative body; franchise and ministerial responsibility were not democratic in the modern constitutional sense.

6. The 1919 reforms and dyarchy

Element	Meaning	Bihar link
Government of India Act, 1919	Expanded provincial legislatures and introduced dyarchy in provinces.	The reconstituted Bihar and Orissa Council first sat on 7 February 1921.
Reserved subjects	Administered by the Governor and Executive Council, outside effective ministerial responsibility.	Typically included order, finance and major administration.
Transferred subjects	Administered through ministers responsible to the provincial legislature within the colonial framework.	Typically included areas such as education, public health and local government.
Limit	The Governor retained overriding authority; the system was not responsible government in the modern sense.	Do not describe 1921 as full provincial autonomy.

8. Government of India Act, 1935: the decisive provincial shift

Change	Consequence for Bihar
Provincial autonomy	Dyarchy in provincial subjects was removed and a wider sphere of responsible ministry was created, subject to the Governor's special powers.
Territorial reorganisation	The statutory framework enabled Orissa to become a separate province on 1 April 1936.
Bicameral legislature	Bihar received a Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council.
Assembly size	The separate Bihar Legislative Assembly had 152 members in the 1937 arrangement.
Election and ministry	Elections were held in January 1937; the first responsible government under Dr Shri Krishna Singh was formally constituted on 20 July 1937.

9. 1936 and 1937: do not merge the dates

1936	1937
Orissa became a separate province on 1 April.	Provincial elections produced the new Assembly and ministry.
The separate Bihar Legislative Council first met on 22 July.	Dr Shri Krishna Singh's government was constituted on 20 July.
The bicameral institutional framework was prepared.	The first joint sitting of both Houses was held on 22 July.

10. Responsible government, interruption and restoration

January 1937 elections were followed by the constitution of the ministry led by Dr Shri Krishna Singh on 20 July 1937. The first joint sitting of the two Houses took place on 22 July. In October 1939, after the outbreak of the Second World War and Britain's decision to involve India without consulting elected provincial governments, the ministry resigned. Provincial representative government was thus interrupted. Elections in 1946 returned a ministry under Shri Krishna Singh and created the political bridge to independence and the Constitution.

11. Province to constitutional State: what changed on 26 January 1950?

Before the Constitution	After commencement
Authority ultimately flowed through British imperial statutes.	Authority flows from the Constitution of India and popular sovereignty.
Limited and communal/qualification-based franchise operated in colonial stages.	Universal adult suffrage became the basis of representative government, subject to constitutional election law.
Governor possessed colonial reserve powers.	Governor is a constitutional head within the parliamentary system and constitutional limitations.
Bihar was a province.	Bihar was listed as a Part A State; the Part A/B/C classification was abolished in 1956.
Legislative institutions rested on colonial law.	State legislature rests principally on Part VI of the Constitution.

12. Constitutional continuity: the old order did not simply vanish

Article	Continuity rule
Article 372	Existing laws continued in force, subject to the Constitution, until altered, repealed or amended by a competent legislature or authority.
Article 375	Courts, civil authorities and officers continued to function subject to the Constitution.
Article 376	Provided transitional continuity for judges of existing High Courts.

13. Bihar's bicameral legislature under the Constitution

Article	Rule
168	Provides for State Legislatures. Bihar has the Governor and two Houses: Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council.
169	Parliament may abolish or create a State Legislative Council after the Assembly passes the prescribed special resolution.
170	Deals with composition of Legislative Assemblies.
171	Deals with composition of Legislative Councils and their electoral/nominated categories.
172	Assembly normally continues for five years unless sooner dissolved; Council is not subject to dissolution and roughly one-third retire every second year.
174	Governor summons and prorogues the Houses and may dissolve the Assembly; no more than six months may intervene between the specified sittings.

15. Assembly and Council: institutional memory

Point	Legislative Assembly	Legislative Council
Nature	Popular House directly elected from territorial constituencies.	Continuing House with multiple electoral categories and nominated members under Article 171.
Dissolution	May be dissolved; normal term five years.	Not subject to dissolution; staggered retirement.
Government responsibility	Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Assembly under Article 164(2).	Cannot make or unmake the ministry through confidence.
Money Bill	Decisive House; Money Bill originates here.	May recommend within the constitutional time, but cannot veto it.
Bihar significance	Current strength became 243 after the 2000 reorganisation.	Official Council history records strength falling from 96 to 75 after reorganisation.

17. The 1956 Bihar–West Bengal territorial transfer

Point	Verified position
Law	Bihar and West Bengal (Transfer of Territories) Act, 1956.
Enactment	Act 40 of 1956, enacted on 1 September 1956.
Appointed day	1 November 1956.
Kishanganj/Purnea sector	Specified territory in the Kishanganj subdivision of Purnea district and a specified portion connected with Gopalpur thana were transferred to West Bengal as demarcated by law.
Manbhum sector	Purulia subdivision transferred, but Chas thana, Chandil thana and Patamda police station of Barabhum thana were excluded from that transfer.

18. Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000

Point	Verified position
Law	Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000 (Act 30 of 2000).
Enactment	25 August 2000.
Appointed day	15 November 2000.
Territorial result	The specified southern territories became the new State of Jharkhand.
Official Bihar Council description	18 districts in four divisions were separated.
Bihar Assembly	Its elected strength became 243 after seats assigned to the new State were separated.
Bihar Legislative Council	Its strength fell from 96 to 75.

19. 1912, 1936, 1950 and 2000 compared

Year	Nature of change	Correct description
1912	Colonial provincial creation	Bihar and Orissa Province separated from Bengal.
1936	Colonial provincial separation	Orissa became a separate province; Bihar continued separately.
1950	Constitutional transformation	Bihar became a State in the republican constitutional order.
2000	Parliamentary State reorganisation	Jharkhand was created from specified Bihar territories.

22. Prelims traps

12 December 1911 was the announcement; 22 March 1912 was formal provincial formation.
The 1912 entity was the combined Province of Bihar and Orissa, not present-day Bihar alone.
The first Provincial Legislative Council sitting was 20 January 1913, not 1912.
The first Council had 43 members: 3 ex officio, 21 elected and 19 nominated.
The 1919 Act introduced provincial dyarchy; the 1935 Act removed it in provinces and advanced provincial autonomy.
The 1921 extension of voting rights to women did not mean universal adult suffrage.
Orissa became a separate province on 1 April 1936; elections and responsible ministry followed in 1937.
Colonial provincial autonomy was not sovereignty.
Article 169 requires an Assembly resolution and then a Parliamentary law; the resolution alone is insufficient.
A Legislative Council is a continuing House; the Assembly can be dissolved.
Article 372 continued existing law subject to the Constitution, not above it.
The 1956 transfer excluded Chas, Chandil and Patamda from the transferred Purulia subdivision description.
The Bihar Reorganisation Act was enacted on 25 August 2000; the appointed day was 15 November 2000.
Bihar Day is connected with 22 March 1912, not 15 November 2000.

24. Quick Revision

25 August 1911: administrative recommendation; 12 December: Delhi Durbar announcement; 22 March 1912: province formed.
20 January 1913: first Provincial Legislative Council sitting at Bankipore; strength 43.
29 December 1920: Governor's Province; 7 February 1921: reconstituted Council sitting.
22 November 1921: Council passed a measure extending women's voting rights under limited colonial franchise.
Government of India Act, 1919 introduced provincial dyarchy; 1935 Act provided provincial autonomy and bicameralism for Bihar.
1 April 1936: Orissa separate; Bihar Legislature became bicameral.
20 July 1937: responsible government under Dr Shri Krishna Singh; 22 July: first joint sitting.
26 January 1950: Bihar entered the Constitution as a Part A State.
Articles 168–174 form the core State Legislature map; 169 governs Council creation/abolition.
Articles 372 and 375 explain legal and institutional continuity.
1 November 1956: specified Bihar territories transferred to West Bengal.
15 November 2000: Jharkhand created; Bihar Assembly 243 and Council 75.

25. BPSC-style practice: exactly 20 MCQs

26. Sources and verification

Verification note: Official pages contain different 29/30 counting references for the 1936 Council; therefore that disputed count was explained but not used as a scored fact. Current office-holders were intentionally excluded. Recheck any later constitutional or territorial amendment after 30 September 2026.

NCERT Class XI: Indian Constitution at Work — federalism, legislatures and democratic institutions.
Bihar Legislative Council: Introduction and official historical account — 1911–13 formation, 1920–21 reforms, 1936 bicameral development, 1950 continuity and 2000 strength changes.
Bihar Legislative Assembly: official institutional history — 1935 Act, 1936–37 legislature, responsible government, general elections and reorganisation.
Odisha Legislative Assembly: official history — separate province from 1 April 1936.
Bihar Foundation: Bihar Day and Bihar Information and Public Relations Department: State history.
Patna High Court: official history — 1912 proclamation, 1916 Letters Patent and Orissa jurisdiction transition.
Legislative Department: Constitution of India — Articles 168–174, 372, 375 and 376; original First Schedule and later amendments.
India Code: Bihar and West Bengal (Transfer of Territories) Act, 1956.
India Code: Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000.
BPSC official question-booklet repository.