According to tradition, Bihar was founded by Birbhan, ancestor of the Bais taluqdars of Patan-Bihar, and named "Birhar" after himself.[3] More realistically, the name was probably derived from a vihara or Buddhist monastery.[3] Bihar was made the seat of a pargana under the Mughal emperor Akbar.[3] At some point during the 1700s, it was the site of a battle between the Raos of Daundia Khera, the Raja of Maurawan, and the chief of Shankarpur, all from the Bais clan.[3] It was chosen as the seat of a tehsil by the British in 1860, but when it was moved into Unnao district two years later the tehsil was dissolved and Bihar was put under Purwa tehsil instead.[3]
At the turn of the 20th century, Bihar was described as a small town with several historical monuments, surrounded by a rich agricultural countryside.[3] There had previously been two marketplaces, Radhaganj and Durgaganj, but Durgaganj had not held a market since the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and had fallen into disrepair.[3] Radhaganj, which had been built by the taluqdar Shiudin Singh in 1846 and named after the goddess Radha, held markets on Wednesdays and Saturdays.[3] Shiudin Singh had also built a temple to Radha in Bihar.[3] The fair held in honour of Biddhia Dhar had an average attendance of about 14,000 people then.[3] A masonry tank was built in 1862 by Ikram-ullah, who was a tehsildar of Bihar, and financed in part by a subscription collected from the taluqdars.[3] Near the old tehsil buildings, there was also a mud-built sarai, and to the south of the Rae Bareli road were the ruins of an old fort.[3] There was a police station and a middle vernacular school with 106 students.[3] The population of Bihar in 1901 was 1,853, including a Muslim minority of 147.[3]
The 1961 census recorded Bihar as comprising 9 hamlets, with a total population of 2,278 (1,027 male and 1,251 female), in 535 households and 450 physical houses.[4] The area of the village was given as 1,557 acres, and it had a post office at the time.[4] Bihar then had the following small industrial establishments: 2 places producing edible fats/oils, 4 miscellaneous food processing establishments, 2 garment manufacturers, 1 place making shoes, 4 makers of sundry hardwares, 1 bicycle repair shop, and 1 maker of jewellery or precious metal objects.[4]
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