ABSTRACT
Women have played an important role in each of national and reform movements in Bihar, and the state has seen significant participation of women in social movements pre- and post-independence. The higher economic growth rate and improving social indicators do not necessarily translate to equitable distribution of growth for women and marginalised groups. Bihar is one of the states included in the acronym BIMARU by demographer Ashish Bose in the early 1980s, identified as sick states with significant population size and performing poorly in terms of economy, poverty eradication, standard of living, access to infrastructure, education, health, law and order and in the human development index. Bihar, in education too, presents a case where it has regressed over a period of time, especially as compared to the ancient and medieval periods of history. Post-independence Bihar has often been referred to as part of the BIMARU states due to high level of poverty and the large level of disparity.
