Other Spellings : Biharis

Religion : Hindu

Language : Bihari, Bhojpuri and Hindi. Bihari is a group of Indo-Aryan languages spoken in Bihar and neighboring states in India. The Bihari group consists of: Angika, Bhojpuri, Kudmali, Magahi, Maithili, Panchpargania, Sadri, Surajpuri and Vajjika dialects.

Regional Spread : Besides Bihar, Biharis can be found throughout the North India, West Bengal, Maharashtra and in the neighboring country Bangladesh.

Population : 8.5 crores approx.(in the state of Bihar)

Food Habits : People of Bihar are largely vegetarian though many are fond of chicken and meat dishes. A regular Bihari meal consists of dal, bhat (rice), phulka (roti), tarkari (sabzi) and achar (pickles). Striking feature of Bihari cuisine is their 'chhonkna' (tadka) with 'panchforan' (a mix of five seeds - saunf, sarson, methi, ajwain and mangraila). Dishes and drinks made from energy rich, sattu (powdered gram) are quite popular amongst Biharis.

Marriage Preference : Biharis prefer to go in for arranged marriages in their own community and caste.

Famous Personalities:

• Religion : Goddess Sita, Bhagwan Mahavir, Gautam Buddha, Bhaktivedanta Narayana Goswami, Guru Gobind Singh ji
• Ancient India : Aryabhatta, ChandraGupta Maurya, Chanakya, Panini, Vatsyayana, Ashvaghosha
• Freedom Fighters / Politicians : Dr Rajendra Prasad, Jayaprakash Narayan, Jagjivan Ram, Karpoori Thakur, Laloo Prasad Yadav, Nitish Kumar, Ram Vilas Paswan, Yashwant Sinha
• Sports : Mahendra Singh Dhoni
• Movie Directors :Prakash Jha, Manjul Sinha, Karan Anshuman
• Actors : Shatrughan Sinha, Shekhar Suman, Manoj Bajpai, Helen, Pratibha Sinha
• Music : Udit Narayan, Shyam Sagar
• Arts : Bhikhari Thakur, Sharda Sinha

History and Origin : The Bihari people are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group from Bihar in India with a history going back more than two millennium. Biharis can trace their ancestry to the early Indo-Aryans, as well as the indigenous Austro-Asiatic Munda inhabitants of Bengal and Bihar (descendants of the Proto-Australoids).

About Biharis : Bihari people are hard working and generally very simple at heart. Bihari people excel in technical, and administrative fields all over the globe. Today, a lot many Biharis are moving out of Bihar due to the lack of employment opportunities in the state.