NCERT and Bihar textbooks: the foundation

Almost every strong BPSC preparation starts in the same place: textbooks written for school students. They are clear, accurate and structured, and they build the base on which standard books, newspapers and the Bihar layer sit. The question is not whether to read them, but which ones, in what order, and how to turn them into marks.

Here is why the foundation matters so much in this exam. The Prelims is a single General Studies paper of 150 questions, so a wide, accurate base counts for more than depth in any one subject. The Mains GS papers then ask you to explain and analyse, usually with a Bihar angle. School textbooks give you the vocabulary for both. A candidate who skips them often finds standard books heavy going and Mains answers thin.

The national foundation: NCERT

NCERTs are available in both Hindi and English. Read them in the medium you will write in. Most BPSC candidates write in Hindi, and the Hindi NCERTs give you standard terms such as संघवाद (federalism) and राजकोषीय घाटा (fiscal deficit) that you can use directly in answers.

The Bihar layer

State textbooks

Bihar's school textbooks, published through the Bihar State Textbook Publishing Corporation under the state curriculum, include chapters on Bihar's history, geography, society and local government. Which classes carry Bihar-specific chapters varies with curriculum revisions, so browse the current social science books and pick out the relevant chapters rather than reading whole series. They are a good starting point for:

• Bihar's ancient and medieval history;
• Bihar's geography: divisions, rivers, soils and crops;
• civics: panchayats and local government in Bihar.

Bihar-specific references

• A standard Bihar general studies book covering history, geography, economy, culture and current affairs.
• The Bihar Economic Survey from the state Finance Department, for the economy.
• State government websites for schemes and policies.
• District Gazetteers and official district websites for district-level detail, which also helps in the interview.

Cross-check facts from GK booklets against better sources whenever you have a doubt. Bihar GK material is full of copied errors.

How to combine them

How to read

1. First reading, for understanding. At the end of each chapter, explain it aloud in two minutes without the book.
2. Second reading, for the exam. Mark definitions, causes and effects, names, dates and places.
3. Maps. On blank maps of Bihar, mark rivers, districts, protected areas and historical sites: Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Vaishali, Nalanda, Vikramshila, Pataliputra, Sasaram and Champaran.
4. Notes. Keep them short and subject-wise, with a separate "Bihar" section in each subject.

From textbook to Mains answer: a worked example

Here is how the two layers meet in one answer. The NCERT modern history chapter on 1857 gives you the causes, the spread and the reasons for failure. The Bihar layer gives you the people and places that make a BPSC answer stand out.

Question: "Discuss the contribution of Bihar to the Revolt of 1857."

Outline:

• Introduction: 1857 in one line, then Bihar's place in it, west Bihar especially.
• Patna: the bookseller Pir Ali and his associates, executed in July 1857 under the Commissioner, William Tayler.
• Danapur: sepoys at the Danapur cantonment rose in July 1857 and moved towards Arrah.
• Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur (in present-day Bhojpur): an elderly zamindar who led the rising, fought across north India and returned to Jagdishpur, where he died in April 1858 after a final victory. His brother Amar Singh carried on the fight.
• Conclusion: the revolt in Bihar was put down, but Kunwar Singh became a lasting symbol of resistance in Bihar's memory.

Model answer (opening and close):

The Revolt of 1857 is remembered mainly through Delhi, Kanpur, Lucknow and Jhansi, but Bihar produced one of its most remarkable leaders. In Patna, Pir Ali and his associates were executed in July 1857 for planning an uprising. The same month, sepoys at Danapur rose and marched towards Arrah, where they found a leader in Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur.

(The body develops Kunwar Singh's campaigns under a subheading, then Amar Singh.)

Though the revolt in Bihar was suppressed, Kunwar Singh's defiance in old age made him a folk hero, and he remains a symbol of Bihar's part in the first large-scale challenge to Company rule.

Notice the method: NCERT supplied the frame, the Bihar layer supplied the names, the places and the months. That combination is what BPSC examiners look for.

Prelims check: ten minutes

These are the kind of facts the foundation should fix in your memory.

1. Vikramshila Mahavihara was founded by:
   • (a) Kumaragupta I
   • (b) Dharmapala
   • (c) Harshavardhana
   • (d) Ashoka
2. The tomb of Sher Shah Suri is at:
   • (a) Rohtas
   • (b) Sasaram
   • (c) Patna
   • (d) Gaya
3. Bihar was separated from the Bengal Presidency in:
   • (a) 1905
   • (b) 1911
   • (c) 1912
   • (d) 1936
4. Which river is often called the "Sorrow of Bihar"?
   • (a) Gandak
   • (b) Son
   • (c) Kosi
   • (d) Bagmati
5. Kunwar Singh, a leader of the Revolt of 1857, belonged to:
   • (a) Jagdishpur
   • (b) Hajipur
   • (c) Bettiah
   • (d) Darbhanga

Answers:

1. (b) Dharmapala, of the Pala dynasty. Nalanda is traditionally linked to Kumaragupta I; do not mix the two.
2. (b) Sasaram, in Rohtas district. Rohtas is the district, and also the name of a fort, which is why (a) tempts.
3. (c) 1912, as the province of Bihar and Orissa. Orissa became a separate province in 1936, which is option (d).
4. (c) Kosi, because of its floods and its shifting course.
5. (a) Jagdishpur, in present-day Bhojpur district.

A four-week foundation plan

At the end of the month, you should have a clear picture of both layers, and every newspaper article, standard book and previous-year question will make more sense.

What to do next

• Collect the NCERTs above in your writing medium.
• Find the Bihar chapters in the current state textbooks and list them.
• Start one blank Bihar map and add to it every week.
• Write the 1857 answer above in your own words, in 15 minutes.
• Read our BPSC preparation plan to see where the foundation fits in the year, and our BPSC Mains strategy for how these notes turn into answers.