ABSTRACT
During the second half of the nineteenth century several factors emerged which challenged social norms, attitudes and customs; the response to these challenges determined the direction and extent of social change. The growth in absolute number of literates in Bihar began to show its effect by the 1890s. The demand for higher education and more share in government jobs increased in Bihar. A look at its composition explains its motivations. It was wholly upper caste and predominantly upper class. The emigration of labour from Bihar, which was seasonal as well as for long stretches of time, had important repercussions on the family system. The social changes initiated in the State remained largely confined to the upper castes. Bihar, therefore, entered the twentieth century with burdens of conservatism and casteism on its back and to this day, has not been able to free itself from these twin evils.
