bhiksu Vbik-shu\ Pali bhikku \'bik-ii\ In Buddhism, a member of the sangha, the ordained order of men established by the Buddha. (Female orders exist in some Mahayana Buddhist traditions). Originally they were mendicant followers of the Buddha who taught Buddhist ways in return for food. Today children may enter monastic life as novices, but candi¬ dates for ordination must be 21 years old. There are some 200 rules; sexual relations, taking of life, stealing, or boasting of spiritual attainment will lead to expulsion. A bhiksu shaves his head and face, owns a few essen¬ tial items, and begs daily for his food. Theravada Buddhism forbids monks to handle money and perform labour. Chan (Zen) Buddhism requires monks to work. See also Vinaya Pitaka.
Bhima River Vbe-msX River, southwestern India. Rising in Maharash¬ tra state in the Western Ghats east of Mumbai (Bombay), it flows south¬ east 450 mi (725 km) through southern Maharashtra, northern Karnataka, and central Andhra Pradesh to join the Krishna River. The Bhima’s banks are heavily populated. Its water level rises sharply during the monsoons, and receding floodwaters form fertile farming belts.
Bhopal \bo-'pal\ City (pop., 2001: 1,437,354), capital of Madhya Pradesh state, India. Situated northwest of Nagpur, it is primarily an industrial city and a major rail junction. It is the site of India’s largest mosque and home to several colleges. In 1984 Bhopal became the site of one of the worst industrial accidents in history when tons of toxic gas escaped from a Union Carbide insecticide plant and spread over a densely populated area; the final death toll was estimated to be between 15,000 and 20,000, with some half-million survivors suffering various ailments.
Bhopal Former princely state, central India. It is crossed by the Vindhya Mountains; the Narmada River is its southern boundary. It was founded in 1723 by an Afghan adventurer. In its struggles with the Marathas, Bho¬ pal was itself friendly to the British and concluded a treaty with them in 1817. It was a major component of the Bhopal Agency and the second largest Muslim principality of the British Empire. At India’s indepen¬ dence, Bhopal remained a separate Indian province. When it was incor¬ porated into Madhya Pradesh in 1956, Bhopal city became the state’s capital.
Bhubaneshwar N.bu-bo-'nesh-woA City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 647,302), capital of Orissa, eastern India. Its history from the 3rd century bc is represented in nearby archaeological remains. From the 5th to the 10th century ad it was the provincial capital of many Hindu dynasties. Its many temples, displaying every phase of Orissan architecture, were built from the 7th to the 16th century. It became the state capital in 1950.
Bhumibol Adulyadej or Phumiphon Adunlayadet
Vpu-me-.pon-a-'dun-lo-.datV or Rama IX (b. Dec. 5, 1927, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.) Ninth king of the Chakri dynasty and Thailand’s longest- ruling monarch. A grandson of King Chulalongkorn, he succeeded to the throne in 1946 after the death of his older brother, King Ananda Mahidol (r. 1935-46). His role as head of state is largely ceremonial, but he mod¬ erates between extreme parties in Thai politics and serves as a focus of national unity.
Bhurtpore See Bharatpur
Bhutan \bii-'tan\ officially Kingdom of Bhutan Kingdom, Himala¬ yas, south-central Asia. Area: 14,824 sq mi (38,394 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 776,000. Capitaclass="underline" Thimphu. There are three main ethnic groups:
Nepalese in the southwest. Languages:
Dzongkha (official), Tibetan dialects. Religions: Mahayana Buddhism (official); also Hinduism. Currency: ngultrum. The northern part of the country lies in the Great Himalayas, with peaks surpassing 24,000 ft (7,300 m) and high valleys lying at 12,000-18,000 ft (3,700-5,500 m). Spurs radiate southward, forming the Lesser Himalayan ranges. Several fertile valleys there, at elevations of 5,000-9,000 ft (1,500-2,700 m), are fairly well populated and cultivated. South of these mountains lies the Duars Plain, controlling access to the strategic mountain passes; much of it is hot and steamy and covered with dense forest. The Bhutanese economy is mainly agricultural; nearly all exports go to India. Bhutan is a monarchy with one legislative house; the head of state is the monarch, and the head of government is the prime minister. Bhutan’s mountains and forests long made it inaccessible to the outside world, and its feudal rulers banned foreigners until well into the 20th century. It nevertheless became the object of foreign invasions; in 1865 it came under British influence, and in 1910 it agreed to be guided by Britain in its foreign affairs. It later became oriented toward British-ruled India, though much of its trade continued to be with Tibet. India took over Britain’s role in 1949, and the Chinese army’s presence in neighbouring Tibet since 1950 further strengthened Bhutan’s ties with India. The apparent Chinese threat made its rulers aware of the need to modernize, and it has embarked on a program to build roads and hospitals and to create a system of secular education.
Bhutto Vbu-to\, Benazir (b. June 21, 1953, Karachi, Pak.) Pakistani politician, the first woman leader of a Muslim nation in modem history. After receiving an education at Harvard and Oxford, she led the political opposition to Pres. Zia-ul-Haq after the execution of her father, Zulfikar An Bhutto in 1979. She subsequently endured frequent house arrest (1979- 84) and was exiled (1984-86). When Zia died in a plane crash in 1988, she became prime minister of a coalition government. She was unable to do much to combat Pakistan’s widespread poverty, governmental corrup¬ tion, and increasing crime, and her government was dismissed in 1990 on charges of corruption and other malfeasance. A second stint as prime minister (1993-96) ended similarly. In 1999 she was convicted of taking kickbacks from a Swiss company and sentenced in absentia to five years in prison.
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214 I Bhutto ► biblical translation
Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali (b. Jan. 5, 1928, near Larkana, Sindh, India—d. April 4, 1979, Rawalpindi, Pak.) President (1971-73) and prime minister (1973-77) of Pakistan. Son of a prominent politician, he was educated in India, the U.S., and Britain. He served eight years in the government of Mohammad Ayub Khan (1907-74) then resigned to form the Pakistan People’s Party (1967). After the overthrow of the Ayub Khan regime and the Pakistani civil war, Bhutto became president (1971). He nationalized several key industries and taxed landed families. He became prime min¬ ister in 1973, and his government, retaining martial law, began a process of Islamization. Bhutto’s party won elections in 1977, but the opposition accused him of electoral fraud. Gen. Zia-ul-Haq seized power and had Bhutto imprisoned and later executed. Benazir Bhutto is his daughter.
Biafra \be-'af-r3\ Former secessionist state, West Africa. It constituted the former Eastern Region of Nigeria, inhabited principally by the Igbo. In a period of political and economic instability in the 1960s, the resent¬ ment of the Hausa in the north toward the more prosperous and educated Igbo exploded in fighting and massacres, which led to the secession of the Eastern Region as the state of Biafra in 1967. A costly civil war and the death by starvation of an estimated one million civilians ended in Biafra’s collapse and reincorporation into Nigeria in 1970.
Biafra, Bight of Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, West Africa. The inner¬ most bay of the Gulf of Guinea, it is bounded by Nigeria, Cameroon, Equa¬ torial Guinea, and Gabon, and receives portions of the Niger and Ogooue rivers. It includes several islands, including Bioko. Its ports include Mal¬ abo, Calabar, and Douala. In the 16th-19th century the bay was the scene of extensive slave dealing. By the 1830s palm-oil trading had surpassed slave trading. Today petroleum is a major economic resource.