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Kolkata (Kolkata (Template:Lang-bn) ; IPA: [ˈkolkat̪a], formerly called Calcutta), is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Kolkata is the cultural capital of India and the commercial capital of Eastern India. It is located in eastern India on the east bank of the Hooghly River. The Kolkata metropolitan area including suburbs has a population exceeding 15 million, making it the third most populous metropolitan area in India and one of the most populous urban areas in the world. The city is also classified as the eighth largest urban agglomeration in the world.

Kolkata served as the capital of India during the British Raj until 1912. Since the year 2001, economic rejuvenation has spurred on the city's growth with extensive urbanization, commercialization and job creation. Kolkata boasts of Eastern India's only IT hub, its Software sector growth by large growing in leaps and bounds transforming Kolkata as one of the Hotbeds of Indian IT Industry. It has one of the fastest developing corporate sectors with an influx of a plethora of multinational corporations.

Kolkata is noted for its revolutionary history, ranging from the Indian struggle for independence to the leftist and trade union movements. Kolkata was the Launchpad of the Bengal Renaissance era of the 19th Century.

Etymology

The name Kolkata and the anglicised name Calcutta have their roots in Kalikata, the name of one of the three villages (Kalikata, Sutanuti, Govindapur) in the area before the arrival of the British. "Kalikata", in turn, is believed to be a version of Kalikshetra (Template:Lang-bn, "Land of Kali"). Alternatively, the name may have been derived from the Bengali term kilkila ("flat area"). Again, the name may have its origin in the indigenous term for a natural canal, Khal, followed by Katta (which may mean dug). Another theory is that the place used to specialize in quicklime (kalicun) and coir rope (kátá) and hence the place was called Kalikátá.

While the city's name was always pronounced "Kolkata" or "Kolikata" in the local Bengali language, its official English name was changed from "Calcutta" to "Kolkata" in 2001, reflecting the Bengali pronunciation. Some view this as a move to erase the legacy of British rule. This change has not always been reflected by overseas media, but news sources like the BBC have opted to call Bombay Mumbai and Calcutta Kolkata.

History

The discovery of the nearby Chandraketugarh, an archaeological site, provides evidence that the area has been inhabited for over two millennia. The city's documented history, however, begins with the arrival of the English East India Company in 1690, when the Company was consolidating its trade business in Bengal. Job Charnock, an administrator with the Company was traditionally credited as the founder of this city. However some academics have recently challenged the view that Charnock was the founder of the city, and in response to a public interest litigation the High Court ruled in 2003 that the city does not have a specific founder.

At that time Kolkata, under direct rule of the Nawab of Bengal Siraj-Ud-Daulah, comprised three villages Kalikata, Govindapur and Sutanuti. The British in the late 17th century wanted to build a fort near Govindapur in order to consolidate their power over other foreign powers—namely the Dutch, the Portuguese, and the French. In 1702, the British completed the construction of old Fort William, which was used to station its troops and as a regional base. Calcutta was declared a Presidency City, and later became the headquarters of the Bengal Presidency. Faced with frequent skirmishes with French forces, in 1756 the British began to upgrade their fortifications. When protests against the militarisation by the Nawab of Bengal Siraj-Ud-Daulah went unheeded he attacked and captured Fort William, leading to the infamous Black Hole of Calcutta incident. A force of Company sepoys and British troops led by Robert Clive recaptured the city the following year. Calcutta was named the capital of British India in 1772, and starting in 1864 during the summer months, the capital was temporarily shifted to the hill station of Shimla. In the early 19th century the marshes surrounding the city were drained and the government area was laid out along the banks of the Hooghly River. Richard Wellesley, the Governor General between 1797–1805, was largely responsible for the growth of the city and its public architecture which led to the description of Calcutta as "The City of Palaces". The city was a centre of the British East India Company's opium trade during the 18th and 19th century; locally produced opium was sold via auctions in Kolkata by a company called J. Thomas & Company Private Ltd. (which is still in existence at Kolkata and are at present, the largest auctioneers of tea in the world) , to be shipped to China.

By the 1850s, Kolkata was split into two distinct areas—one British (known as the White Town) centred around Chowringhee, the other Indian (known as Black Town) centred around North Calcutta. The city underwent rapid industrial growth from the 1850s, especially in the textile and jute sectors; this caused a massive investment in infrastructure projects like railroads and telegraph by British government. The coalescence of British and Indian culture resulted in the emergence of a new Babu class of urbane Indians — whose members were often bureaucrats, professionals, read newspapers, were Anglophiles, and usually belonged to upper-caste Hindu communities. Throughout the nineteenth century, a socio-cultural reform, often referred to as the Bengal Renaissance resulted in the general uplifting of the people. In 1883, Surendranath Banerjee organised a national conference — the first of its kind in nineteenth century India. Gradually Calcutta became a centre of the Indian independence movement, especially revolutionary organisations. The 1905 Partition of Bengal on communal grounds resulted in widespread public agitation and the boycott of British goods (Swadeshi movement). These activities, along with the administratively disadvantageous location of Calcutta in the eastern fringes of India, prompted the British to move the capital to New Delhi in 1911.

The city and its port were bombed several times by the Japanese during World War II, the first occasion being 20 December 1942, and the last being 24 December 1944. During the War, millions starved to death during the Bengal famine of 1943, caused by a combination of military, administrative and natural factors. In 1946, demands for the creation of a Muslim state led to large-scale communal violence resulting in the deaths of over 4,000 people. The partition of India also created intense violence and a shift in demographics. Kolkata had received millions of refugees from what became East Pakistan without receiving substantial assistance from the central government. Hindus made up 30% of the total population of East Bengal in 1947. However, after the partition, the Hindu population went down to 19% in 1961. On 1991, it was down to 10.5% and on 2001 census, it was 9.2% which is estimated to be further down to 8% at 2008. The 'Bangladesh Government' is mute spectator. Due to high growth rate of Muslims deluging others by numbers alone, already Bengal region turned Muslim majority in 1931 which was 52% Hindu majority in 1921 census. Later, in 1941 census on whose basis, Partition was made showed 45.5% Hindus & now 28% in entire Bengal region comprising West Bengal & Islamic Bangladesh. On the other hand due to secularism, the Muslim population in the neighbouring West Bengal has increased from 9% in 1951 (down from 19% in 1941 due to influx of Hindu Refugees from Bangladesh) to thriving 28% in 2001 according to Census of India. In addition, millions (even Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics census accepted 10 million missing Bangladeshis) of additional Muslim Bangladeshi illegal infiltrators for work purposes & invasion of east India like they earlier did to Bangladesh during Islamic Turk & Afghan invasions. took their numbers to around 35% in West Bengal. Naturally, Hindu MLAs of West Bengal region of Assembly during 1947 Partition, returned a 58-21 verdict in the favour of partition to save Hindu Bengali & forming West Bengal as Hindu Bengali Homeland which was later proved by Pakistan (then Bangladesh was East Pakistan) Hindu Minister Jogendra Nath Mandal's resignation. Main issue based on which the Hindu–Muslim polarization was taking place in undivided Bengal from 1945 to 1947 was the Muslim League’s Pakistan demand. In northern Bengal, the Kamtapuris or Koch-Rajbansis, supported by the Scheduled Caste Federation leader Jogendranath Mandal, raised the demand for ‘Rajasthan’ (separate from modern western Indian state by same name which was then known as Rajputana after its native Rajput people) or a separate Rajbansi Kshatriya homeland. As per 1941 census, Rajbanshi & Namashudra were the second and third largest caste in Bengal. Their homelands with over 60% of their ethnic population was concentrated in Dinajpur Region in north & Khulna Region in south respectively. Unfortunately both Hindu majority Northwest & Southwest Bangladesh were given to Muslims who comprising only 54.5% of entire Bengal in 1946-47 got 72% of Bengal land after Partition, later giving rise to Bangabhumi demands both in southern Khulna & northern Dinajpur regions from mainly Namashudra & Rajbanshi-Koch communities respectively. In spite of heavy persecution of Hindus by Muslim majority the Northwest Bangladesh still have 18% Hindus compared to 50.5% during 1947 Partition & Southwest Bangladesh 16.5% approximately compared to 52% in same period which were both wrongfully given to Islamic Bangladesh (earlier East Pakistan). Anti-Hinduism has wiped out millions of these Bengali Hindus and now Muslims form around 72% of Bengali population in Bengal region comprising West Bengal & Bangladesh. However, after Direct Action Day & Noakhali genocide Bengali Muslim majority made it clear that minority indigenous Hindus can't leave in peace with them resulting in 1947 Partition of Bengal. A survey by Amrita Bazar Patrika in early May 1947 showed that 98.5 per cent of the Bengali Hindus supported Partition. On 10 May 1947 at Jatiya Banga Mahasammelan, attended by 10,000 people, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee declared if Partition could not be secured constitutionally, Bengali Hindus would fight for same. Every Hindu locality was turned into a bastion under protection of volunteers. Mahasabha held its annual provincial conference at Tarakeswar on 4–6 April 1947, where Hindu leaders as Bhopatkar, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and Master Tara Singh spoke. Preparations were made, as in the final Hindu conference, said its handbill, ‘the Hindus of Bengal… decide their future.’ Several petitions from the Muslim inhabitants of Tarakeswar and other neighbouring police stations & also local Muslim MLA tried unsuccessfully to stop the meeting, attended by about 25,000 people. In his presidential address, Nirmal Chandra Chatterjee provided justification & blue print of the 1947 Partition of Bengal. 'Every Bengalee Hindu’, he said, ‘whatever may be his political belief or party affiliation, wants to remain a citizen of the Indian Union and resents the very idea of being the subject of a theocracy, namely, a Muslim Pakistan State.’ So as the Muslim League ‘persisted in its fantastic idea of establishing Pakistan in Bengal’, the Hindus should demand a separate homeland for themselves, consisting of the Hindu majority areas, which were, ‘the Presidency Division, Burdwan Division, Calcutta, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling along with portions of Malda, Dinajpur and Barisal remaining within the Indian Union.’ In addition, a new amendment in the citizenship law of India has passed, restricting Bangladeshis and Pakistanis to become Indian citizens. Therefore, the refugees, who entered India after the creation of Pakistan (including 1971) have become illegal in India. Ziaur Rahman amended the Enemy Property Act giving the government the sole power to control the disputed lands of the minorities. As a result of the amendments, the government started to capture lands of the minorities by the name of hunting down the enemy properties. Salam Azad, a staunch opponent of Islamic Jihadis and an nternationally renowned humanist has written 150-page book, "Hindu Sampraday Keno Bangladesh Tag Korche" (Why are the Hindus migrating from Bangladesh), where he mentions, "The ones described in this book relate to the period between 1989 and 1997. Thousands of such instances will never come to the notice of the world, because they have not been recorded or the records have not been preserved. The ones described in this book are collected from journals and newspapers, and from workers of non-governmental organisations working among the victims. I have tried to visit some of the locations in order to check the correctness of the reports. Wherever I have done so, I have been struck by the enormity of the crime, I have been shaken to my roots." Similarly, people like Dr. Humayun Azad and Taslima Nasrin talked about the rights of Hindus in Bangladesh. Over the 1960s and 1970s, severe power shortages, strikes and a violent Marxist-Maoist movement — the Naxalites — damaged much of the city's infrastructure, leading to a period of economic stagnation. In 1971, war between India and Pakistan led to the mass influx of thousands of refugees into Kolkata resulting in a massive strain on its infrastructure. In the mid-1980s, Bombay, now Mumbai, overtook Kolkata as India's most populous city. Kolkata has been a strong base of Indian communism as West Bengal has been ruled by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M))-dominated Left Front for 32 years now — the world's longest-running democratically elected communist government. The city's economic recovery gathered momentum after economic reforms in India introduced by the central government in the mid-1990s. Since 2000, Information Technology (IT) services have revitalized the city’s stagnant economy. The city is also experiencing a growth in the manufacturing sector.

At the end of the fifteenth century, a reference to Kolkata was found in the famous novel of Manasa Mangal written by Bipradas. The character of Chand Saudagar in the novel paid a visit to Kalighat to offer puja to the Goddess Kali on the way to Saptagram. When the Portugese first began to frequent Bengal about the year 1530, the two great centres of trade were Chittagong and Saptagram. In the Ain-i-Akbari, a work written in 1596 by Abul Fazal in the court house of Emperor Akbar, a reference to Calcutta is noticed under the Government of Satgaon(Saptagram).

Step by Step history of Kolkata

1690 August, Job Charnok, an agent of East India Company (established 1600) settles in the village of Sutanutee.

1693 Charnok died.

1696 Fort at Calcutta Factory commenced.

1698 East India Co. bought three villages (Sutanuti, Kolkata, Gobindapur ) from local landlord Sabarna Chowdhury.

1699 East India Company started developing Calcutta as a Presidency city.

1707 Mughal Emperor Aurongajeb died.

1715 British people completed building the Old Fort.

1717 The Mughal emperor Farrukh-siyar granted the East India Company trading privileges in return for a yearly payment of 3,000 rupees.

1727 As per the order of King George I, a civil court was set up. The city corporation was established and Hallwell became the first mayor of the city.

1740 Ali Vardi Khan became the Nawab of Bengal.

1756 Ali Vardi Khan died and Siraj-ud-Dawlla (Mirza Muhammad) became the Nawab of Bengal. Siraj-Ud-Dawlla attacked and captured Calcutta. He changed the name of the city to Alinagar.

1757 23 June, British people (under the leadership of Robert Clive) defeated Siraj-Ud-Dawlla at Plassey (in Nadia district).

1757 British first printed currency bill in Calcutta mint.

1765 Clive took Bengal, Bihar and Orissa from Badsha Alam II ( Delhi) with an agreement of paying excises.

1770 Infamous famine. 1772 Calcutta became the capital of British India when the first Governor General, Warren Hastings, transferred all important offices to the city from Murshidabad.

1775 Nandakumar, a local landlord was hung in a false allegation when he accused Warren Hastings of corruption.

1780 James Hicky established a printed press and published first news paper "The Bengal Gazzette".

1784 The first official news paper "The Calcutta Gazzette", was published.

1784 Sir William Jones took initiative and established The Asiatic Society.

1795 First Bengali drama 'Kalpanik Song Badol' was staged by Gerasim S. Lebedef at Bengali Theatre.

1801 Fort William College was established.

1804 The Governor House (presently Raj Bhawan) was built.

1813 The Town Hall was built.

1818 First Bengali Magazine Digdarshan was published from Srerampur, with the help of David Hare.

1817 The Hindu College (presently Presidency College) was established with efforts from Rammohan Roy, David Hare and Radhakanta Dev. Initially the college started with 20 students.

1828 Sahid Minar (Octorloney Monument) was built.

1829 Rammohan Roy was successful in making 'satidaho' (a Hindu rule) banned by British Governor General William Bentinck.

1839 Sangbad Prabhakar, the first Bengali daily was published.

1854 First Railway line in India was inaugurated (from Calcutta to Hooghly).

Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh came to Calcutta in 1857. He built the town of Metiaburj and died in 1887.

1857 The University of Calcutta was established.

1864 The GPO (General Post Office) building was constructed.

1873 First Tram car (horse drawn) in the city was launched. 1875 "The Statesman", leading English Daily newspaper, started.

1875 The Indian Museum was built.

1883 Surendra Nath Banerjee called for a National convention (which led to the forming of Indian National Congress in 1885 at Bombay).

1883 First telephone communication between Calcutta and Howrah through a cable laid beneath the floating Howrah bridge.

1886 Second convention of Indian National Congress happened at Calcutta.

1888 Indian Football Association established.

1895 Scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose experimented on transmission through radio waves at Town Hall.

1896 First motor car appeared on city's street.

1899 For the first time in Calcutta, electricity was generated.

1902 First Electric tram car from Esplanade to Kidderepore.

1905 Lord Curzon, viceroy of India, tried to partition Bengal. There was a strong protest. Finally he failed to do so.

1911 British moved the capital of India from Calcutta to Delhi

1911 A local football team, Mohan Bagan defeated British team in IFA shield final and created national sensation.

1913 Rabindranath Tagore, the great philosopher, poet and writer received Nobel Prize in literature.

1921 King Edward VIII inaugurated the Victoria Memorial building.

1922 Popular Bengali Daily Anandabazar Patrika started.

1924 Chittaranjan Das was elected as the first Indian mayor of the city of Calcutta.

1929 Agnes Goinxha Bejaxhiu (Mother Teresa) came to Calcutta to join Bengal Loreto Mission.

1939 The World War II hit Calcutta.

1941 Tagore died.

1941 Subhash Chandra Bose escaped from house arrest by British.

1943 Thousands of people got killed in famine.

1946 Communal riot killed thousands of people in and around the city.

1947 India gained independence. Bengal got partitioned; Calcutta became the capital city of the state of West Bengal in India. Dr. Prafulla Chandra Ghosh became the first Chief Minister of West Bengal, followed by Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy. Calcutta and suburban area received thousands of people from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) as a result of the partition.

1952 The National Library was moved to Alipore from Esplanade. Alipore Mint inaugurated.

1962 India-China war affected Calcutta.

1962 Bidhan Chandra Roy passes away. He was the chief minister from 1948 through 1962. Prafulla Chandra Sen became the chief minister and remained till 1967 (1962–1967).

1971 Tension of India-Pakistan war on freedom of Bangladesh.

1970-71 The Naxalite Movement hit the city resulting arrests of hundreds of youths and creating enormous tension among city dwellers.

1975 First TV transmission started in the city from August 9.

1977 Left Front led by CPI(M) Party won the state election and came into the power of state Government.

1977 The world famous football player Pele played in a football match in the city . 1978 A major flood hits Calcutta.

1979 Mother Teresa, a permanent resident of Calcutta was awarded Nobel Peace Prize.

1984 Metro, the first underground railway in India, started from Tollygunge to Esplanade.

1984 First color TV transmission started from the TV centre (DoorDarshan).

1989 France's highest civilian award, Legion d'Honour was conferred upon Satyajit Ray by President F. Mitterrand in Calcutta.

1992 Satyajit Roy, film director, received prestigious "Life Time Achievement" Oscar award and "Bharat Ratna". He died in the same year.

1995 First cellular phone service starts in the city.

1997 Mother Teresa died in Calcutta.

1998 Amartya Sen (grew up in Shantiniketan and studied at Calcutta) received Nobel Prize in Economics

2001 Calcutta was officially renamed as 'Kolkata' from 1 January

Geography

Kolkata is located in eastern India at 22°33′N 88°20′E / 22.550°N 88.333°E / 22.550; 88.333 in the Ganges Delta at an elevation ranging between 1.5 m (5 ft) to 9 m (30 ft). It is spread linearly along the banks of the River Hooghly in a north-south direction. Much of the city was originally a vast wetland, reclaimed over the decades to accommodate the city's burgeoning population. The remaining wetland, known as East Calcutta Wetlands has been designated a "wetland of international importance" under the Ramsar Convention.

Like the most of the Indo-Gangetic plains, the predominant soil type is alluvial. Quaternary sediments consisting of clay, silt, various grades of sand and gravel underlie the city. These sediments are sandwiched between two clay beds, the lower one at depths between 250 m (820 ft) and 650 m (2,133 ft) and the upper one ranging between 10 m (33 ft) and 40 m (131 ft) in thickness. According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, the town falls under seismic zone-III, in a scale of I to V (in order of increasing proneness to earthquakes) while the wind and cyclone zoning is "very high damage risk", according to UNDP report.

Urban structure

Kolkata city is ranked as Gamma World City. It is the cultural capital of India as well. Kolkata city, under the jurisdiction of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), has an area of 185 km (71 sq mi). The Kolkata urban agglomeration (Kolkata Metropolitan Area), however, is spread over 1,750 km (676 sq mi), and comprises 157 postal areas, as of 2006. The urban agglomeration is formally administered by several local governments including 38 local municipalities. The urban agglomeration comprises 72 cities and 527 towns and villages. The suburban areas of Kolkata metropolitan district incorporates parts of the districts North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly and Nadia.

The east-to-west dimension of the city is narrow, stretching from the Hooghly River in the west to roughly the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass in the east, a span of barely 5 km (3.1 mi)–6 km (3.7 mi). The north-south expansion is roughly divided into North, Central and South Kolkata. North Kolkata locality is the oldest part of the city, with 19th century architecture and narrow alleyways. South Kolkata grew mostly after independence of India and consists of posh localities such as Ballygunge, Alipore, New Alipore. The Salt Lake City (Bidhannagar) area to the northeast of the city is a planned section of Kolkata. Rajarhat, also called New Town, is a planned township being developed on the north-eastern fringes of the city.

Central Kolkata houses the central business district around the B. B. D. Bagh area. The government secretariat, General Post Office, High Court, Lalbazar Police HQs and several other government and private offices are located here. The Maidan is a large open field in the heart of the city where several sporting events and public meetings are held. Several companies have set up their offices around the area south of Park Street which has become a secondary central business district.

Climate

Kolkata has a tropical wet-and-dry climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). The annual mean temperature is 26.8 °C (80.2 °F); monthly mean temperatures range from 19 °C (66.2 °F) to 30 °C (86.0 °F). Summers are hot and humid with temperatures in the low 30's and during dry spells the maximum temperatures often exceed 40 °C (104 °F) during May and June. Winter tends to last for only about two and a half months, with seasonal lows dipping to 9 °C – 11 °C (54 °F – 57 °F) between December and January. The highest recorded temperature is 43.9 °C (111.0 °F) and the lowest is 5 °C (41.0 °F). On an average, May is the hottest month with daily temperatures ranging from a low of 27 °C (80.6 °F) to a maximum of 37 °C (98.6 °F), while January the coldest month has temperatures varying from a low of 12 °C (53.6 °F) to a maximum of 23 °C (73.4 °F). Often during early summer, dusty squalls followed by spells of thunderstorm or hailstorms and heavy rains with ice sleets lash the city, bringing relief from the humid heat. These thunderstorms are convective in nature, and is locally known as Kal baisakhi (Template:Lang-bn, Nor'westers).

Rains brought by the Bay of Bengal branch of South-West monsoon lash the city between June and September and supplies the city with most of its annual rainfall of 1,582 mm (62 in). The highest rainfall occurs during the monsoon in August—306 mm (12 in). The city receives 2,528 hours of sunshine per annum, with the maximum sunlight occurring in March. Pollution is a major concern in Kolkata, and the Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) level is high when compared to other major cities of India, leading to regular smog and haze. Severe air pollution in the city has caused rise in pollution-related respiratory ailments such as lung cancer.

Economy

Kolkata is the main business, commercial and financial hub of East India and the North-Eastern states . It is home to the Calcutta Stock Exchange — India's second-largest bourse. Kolkata was ranked the hardest Indian city in which to do business in 2009.

Until recently, flexible production had always been the norm in Kolkata, and the informal sector has comprised more than 40% of the labour force. For example, roadside hawkers generated business worth Rs. 8,772 crore (around 2 billion U.S. dollars) in 2005. State and federal government employees make up a large percentage of the city's workforce. The city has a large unskilled and semi-skilled labour population, along with other blue-collar and knowledge workers.

Kolkata's economic revival was led largely by IT services, with the IT sector growing at 70% yearly — twice that of the national average. Kokata's IT hub Saltlake Sector 5 has emerged as one of the Major IT Hub of India. In recent years there has been a surge of investments in the housing infrastructure sector with several new projects coming up in the city led by Big Real Estate Undertakings like Keppel Corporation, DLF, Unitech, Shapoorji Pallonji etc. As an Alternative IT destination to Saltlake Sector 5 the Rajarhat- Newtown area in the North-East Fringes of Kolkata has been alloted as an ultramodern integrated tech city offering modern work spaces to IT/ITES companies clubbed with service apartments retail and recreational and residential components. Kolkata is home to many industrial units operated by large Indian corporations with products ranging from electronics to jute.

Some notable companies headquartered in Kolkata include ITC Limited, India Government Mint, Kolkata, Haldia Petrochemicals (eastern India's first and only PetroChem undertaking), Exide Industries, Hindustan Motors, Britannia Industries, Bata India, Birla Corporation, CESC Limited, Coal India Limited, Damodar Valley Corporation, PwC India, Amconics International Ltd., RP Infosystems (First OEM Computer manufacterers from East India) , Peerless Group, United Bank of India, UCO Bank and Allahabad Bank. Recently, various events like adoption of "Look East" policy by the government of India, opening of the Nathu La Pass in Sikkim as a border trade-route with China and immense interest in the South East Asian countries to enter the Indian market and invest have put Kolkata in an advantageous position.

Civic administration

The civic administration of Kolkata is executed by several government agencies, and consists of overlapping structural divisions. At least five administrative definitions of the city are available; listed in ascending order of area, those are:

1. Kolkata District,
2. the Kolkata Police area,
3. the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area ("Kolkata city"),
4. "Greater Kolkata", which includes the KMC area and a few neighbourhoods adjacent to it, and
5. the urban agglomeration or Kolkata Metropolitan Area (Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) is responsible for the statutory planning and development of the metropolitan area).

Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC)- The governance of the city proper—the area within which KMC has a directly elected council of 141 ward councillors who elect a council Chairman and an executive Mayor. The Mayor, in turn chooses a Deputy Mayor and not more than 10 elected councillors to form the Mayor-in-Council which works like a cabinet. In addition, there is a Municipal Accounts Committee (MAC)of five to seven elected councillors, other than the MiC, chosen through proportional representation, to act like a public accounts committee (PAC), usually headed by the Leader of Opposition. The MiC was introduced in 1980 and the system has been replicated in other Municipalities and Panchayats as Mayor/ Chairperson-in-council during 1981-1991. No other state in India has introduced a system of political executive in local government.

The main functions of the KMC are water supply, drainage and sewerage, sanitation, solid wastes management, streets and public places, street lighting, and building regulation. Fire services are handled by a state agency- Kolkata Fire Brigade. Similarly, for the river port services, there is a Kolkata Port Trust, an agency of the central government.

Other authorities: the Collector of the Kolkata District, the Kolkata Police, the Collector/District Magistrate (DM) of South 24 Parganas District, and the Superintendent of Police (SP) of South 24 Parganas District. As of 2010, the All India Trinamool Congress holds the power in KMC, its mayor is Sovan Chatterjee while the deputy mayor is Farzana Alam. The city also has an apolitical titular post, that of the Sheriff of Kolkata.

As the capital of the state and the seat of the Government of West Bengal, Kolkata houses not only the offices of the local governing agencies, but also the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, the state Secretariat (Writers' Building) and the Calcutta High Court. Kolkata also has lower courts; the Small Causes Court for civil matters, and the Sessions Court for criminal cases. The Kolkata Police, headed by the Police Commissioner, comes under the West Bengal Home Ministry. The city elects three representatives to the Lok Sabha (India's lower house) and 21 representatives to the state Legislative Assembly.

Utility services and media

The KMC supplies potable water to the city, sourced from the River Hooghly. The water is purified and treated at Palta water pumping station located in North 24 Parganas. Almost all of Kolkata's daily refuse of 2500 tonnes is transported to the dumping grounds in Dhapa to the east of the town. Agriculture on this dumping ground is encouraged for natural recycling of garbage and sewer water. Parts of the city still lack sewage facilities leading to unsanitary methods of waste disposal. Electricity is supplied by the privately operated Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC) to the city region, and by the West Bengal State Electricity Board in the suburbs. Frequent interruption of power supply was a problem until the mid 1990s; however the situation has since improved immensely with seldom power cuts occurring presently. The city has 20 fire stations (under West Bengal Fire Service) that attend to 7,500 fire and rescue calls on average per year.

State-owned BSNL and private enterprises like Vodafone, Airtel, Reliance Communications, Uninor, Idea Cellular, Aircel, Tata DoCoMo, Tata Indicom, Virgin Mobile and MTS India are the leading telephone and cell phone service providers in the city. Cellular coverage is extensive with both GSM and CDMA services being available. Broadband internet penetration has steadily increased with BSNL, Tata Indicom, Sify, Airtel, Reliance and Alliance being the leading service providers.

Bengali language newspapers like Anandabazar Patrika, Bartaman, Sangbad Pratidin, Jago Bangla, Aajkaal, Dainik Statesman and Ganashakti are widely circulated. Popular English language newspapers published and sold in Kolkata include the Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, The Indian Express, The Statesman, The Telegraph and Asian Age. Some major periodicals are Desh, Sananda, Unish Kuri, Kindle, Anandalok and Anandamela. Being the biggest trading market in Eastern India, Kolkata has a substantial readership of many financial dailies including The Economic Times, The Financial Express, Business Line and Business Standard. Vernacular newspapers such as those in Hindi, Gujarati, Oriya, Urdu, Punjabi and Chinese are also read by a minority. All India Radio (AIR), the state-owned radio broadcaster, airs several AM radio stations in the city. Kolkata has 12 local FM radio stations, including two from AIR. The state-owned television broadcaster Doordarshan provides two free terrestrial channels, while four MSO provide a mix of Bengali, Hindi, English and other regional channels via cable. Bengali 24-hour television news channels include STAR Ananda, Tara Newz, Kolkata TV, 24 Ghanta, Ne Bangla, News Time, Channel 10, R-Plus, Mahuaa Bangla and Mahuaa Khabor.

Transport

Public transport is provided by the Kolkata suburban railway, the Kolkata Metro, trams and buses. The suburban network is extensive and extends into the distant suburbs.

The Kolkata Metro, run by the Indian Railways, is the oldest underground system in India since 1984. It runs parallel to the River Hooghly and spans the north-south length of the city covering a distance of 22.3 km. Buses are the preferred mode of transport and are run by both government agencies and private operators. Kolkata is India's only city to have a tram network, operated by Calcutta Tramways Company. The slow-moving tram services are restricted to certain areas of the city. Water-logging due to heavy rains during the monsoon sometimes interrupts the public transport.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport is located in Dum Dum, West Bengal, India, and serves the greater Kolkata metro area. The airport was originally known as Dum Dum Airport before being renamed in the honour of Subhas Chandra Bose. It is the fifth busiest airport in the country after Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore respectively, handling about 8.5 million passengers annually. It is located approximately 17 km (11 mi) from Kolkata's city centre. The airport is the largest in eastern India and one of only two international airports operating in West Bengal, the other being at Bagdogra. It is a major centre for all flights to North-East India, Bangladesh and Bangkok.

Hired forms of mechanised transport include the yellow metered taxis, while auto rickshaws ply in specific routes. Almost all the taxis in Kolkata are Ambassadors. This is unlike most other cities where Tata Indicas or Fiats are more common. In some areas of the city, cycle rickshaws and hand-pulled rickshaws are also patronised by the public for short distances. Private owned vehicles are less in number and usage compared to other major cities due to the abundance in both variety and number of public vehicles. However, the city witnessed a steady increase in the number of registered vehicles; 2002 data showed an increase of 44% over a period of seven years.

The road space (matched with population density) in the city is only 6%, compared to 23% in Delhi and 17% in Mumbai, creating major traffic problems. Kolkata Metro Railway and a number of new roads and flyovers have decongested the traffic to some extent.

Kolkata has three major long distance railway stations at:

• Howrah
• Kolkata (Chitpur)
• Sealdah

The city is the headquarters of two divisions of the Indian Railways — Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway.

Kolkata is also a major riverport of eastern India. The Kolkata Port Trust manages both the Kolkata and Haldia docks. There are passenger services to Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and cargo ship service to various ports in India and abroad, operated by the Shipping Corporation of India. There are ferry services as well, connecting Kolkata with its twin city of Howrah.

Demographics

Template:IndiaCensusPop

Residents of Kolkata are called Calcuttans. As of 2001, Kolkata city had a population of 4,580,544, while the urban agglomeration had a population of 13,216,546. Current estimates for 2009 project the city's population to be 5,080,519. The sex ratio is 928 females per 1000 males– which is lower than the national average, because many working males come from rural areas and less-developed states (mainly Bihar,UP), where they leave behind their families. Kolkata's literacy rate of 81% exceeds the all-India average of 66%. Kolkata Municipal Corporation area has registered a growth rate of 4.1%, which is the lowest among the million-plus cities in India.

Bengali comprise the majority of Kolkata's population , with Marwaris and Bihari (mainly migrant labourers) communities forming a large portion of the minorities . Some of Kolkata's minor communities include Chinese, Tamils, Nepalis, Oriyas, Telugus, Assamese, Gujaratis, Anglo-Indians, Armenians, Greeks, Tibetans, Maharashtrians, Punjabis and Parsis.

Bengali is the dominant language spoken in Kolkata, which also serves as the Official State Language. English is also used ,specially among the White collar work force.

According to the census, 73% of the population in Kolkata is Hindu, 23% Muslim, 2% Christian and 1% Jains. Other minorities such as Sikhs, Buddhist, Jews and Zoroastrian constitute the rest of the city's population. 1.5 million people, who constitute about a third of the city's population, live in 2,011 registered and 3,500 unregistered (occupied by squatters) slums.

Kolkata reported 67.6% of total Special and Local Laws (SLL) crimes registered in 35 Indian mega cities in 2004. Kolkata police district registered 10,757 IPC cases in 2004, which was 10th highest in the country. The crime rate in the city was 71 per 100,000 against the national rate of 167.7 in 2006, which is the lowest among all the mega cities in India.

Culture

Kolkata has long been known for its literary, artistic and revolutionary heritage. As the former capital of India, Kolkata was the birthplace of modern Indian literary and artistic thought. Kolkatans tend to have a special appreciation for art and literature; its tradition of welcoming new talent has made it a City of Furious Creative Energy. For these reasons, Kolkata has often been dubbed as the Cultural Capital of India or the Literary Capital of India.

A characteristic feature of Kolkata is the para or neighbourhoods having a strong sense of community. Typically, every para has its own community club with a clubroom and often, a playing field. People here habitually indulge in adda or leisurely chat, and these adda sessions are often a form of freestyle intellectual conversation. The city has a tradition of political graffiti depicting everything from outrageous slander to witty banter and limericks, caricatures to propaganda.

Kolkata has many buildings adorned with Gothic, Baroque, Roman, Oriental and Indo-Islamic (including Mughal) motifs. Several major buildings of the Colonial period are well maintained and have been declared "heritage structures", while others are in various stages of decay. Established in 1814, the Indian Museum is the oldest museum in Asia and houses vast collection of Indian natural history and Indian art. The Victoria Memorial, one of the major tourist attractions in Kolkata, has a museum documenting the city's history. The National Library of India is India's leading public library. Academy of Fine Arts and other art galleries hold regular art exhibitions.

The city has a tradition of dramas in the form of jatra (a kind of folk-theatre), theatres and Group Theatres. Films from the Bengali cinema industry, dubbed "Tollywood". Tollygunj in Kolkata is the location of Bengali movie studios. Its long tradition of Art-Filmmaking includes Globally acclaimed directors such as Academy Award winning director Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha and Ritwik Ghatak to contemporary directors such as Aparna Sen, Rituparno Ghosh and Anurag Basu.

Key elements of Kolkata's cuisine include rice and Machher jhol (fish curry), with roshogolla, sandesh and mishti doi (sweet yoghurt) as dessert. Bengal's vast repertoire of fish-based dishes includes various eelish preparations (a favorite among Bengalis). Vegetarian cuisines are generally without onion and garlic. Street foods such as beguni (fried battered eggplant slices), kati roll (flatbread roll with vegetable or chicken, mutton, or egg stuffing), phuchka (deep fried crêpe with tamarind and lentil sauce) and Indian Chinese cuisine from China Town in the eastern parts of the city are quite popular.

Bengali women commonly wear the shaŗi as per tradition and global/western outfits. Among men, western dressing has greater acceptance, though the traditional dhoti and panjabi/kurta comes to life on festivals.

Durga Puja is the most important and the most glamorous event in Kolkata. It usually takes place in the month of October, although it can also fall in September or November, depending on the traditional calendar. Other notable festivals include Jagaddhatri Puja, Diwali, Saraswati puja, Eid, Holi, Christmas, poila boishak (new year), Rath Yatra and Poush parbon (harvest festival). Some of the cultural festivals are Kolkata Book Fair, Dover Lane music festival, Kolkata Film Festival and National Theatre Festival.

Bengal has been nourished with a rich heritage of Literature. From the time of Chandidas and Krishnadas Kaviraja Goswami to present day literature stalwarts, Bengal and its capital has developed a significant soft infrastructure.In the nineteenth and twentieth century, Bengali literature was modernized in the works of authors such as Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. The rich literary tradition set by these authors has been carried forward in the works of Jibanananda Das, Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay, Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, Manik Bandopadhyay, Ashapurna Devi, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Buddhadeb Guha, Mahashweta Devi, Samaresh Majumdar, Sanjeev Chattopadhyay and Sunil Gangopadhyay among others.

The city is also noted for its appreciation of Rabindrasangeet and Indian classical music as well as Bengali folk music such as baul and Gaudiya kirtans-palla kirtans, gajan, purvaraga kirtans and lilas.

From the early 1990s, there has been an emergence of new genres of music, including fusions of Baul and Jazz by several Bangla bands as well as the emergence of what has been called Bengali Jeebonmukhi Gaan (a modern genre based on realism) by artists like Anjan Dutta, Kabir Suman, Nachiketa and Folk/Alternative Bands like Moheener Ghoraguli, Chandrabindoo, Bhoomi and Heavier Bengali Rock Bands like Insomnia, Cactus and Fossils. Major English Rock outfits from Kolkata incudes Cassini's Division, Skinny Alley and Krosswindz.

Education

Kolkata's schools are either run by the state government or by private (many of which are religious) organisations. Schools mainly use Bengali or English as the medium of instruction, though Urdu is also used , especially in Central Kolkata. The schools are affiliated with the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE), the National Institute of Open School (NIOS) and the A-Level (British Curriculum). Under the 10+2+3 plan, after completing their secondary education, students typically enroll in a 2 year junior college (also known as a pre-university) or in schools with a higher secondary facility affiliated with West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education, ICSE or CBSE. Students usually choose from one of three streams — liberal arts, commerce, or science, though vocational streams are also available. Upon completing the required coursework, students may enrol in general or professional degree programmes.

Kolkata houses nine universities and numerous colleges affiliated to them or to other universities located outside. The University of Calcutta (founded in 1857) has 153 affiliated colleges. Bengal Engineering & Science University and Jadavpur University are notable engineering universities. Calcutta Medical College is the first institution teaching modern medicine in Asia. Other notable institutions are Presidency College, St. Xavier's College, Bethune College (the first women's college in India) and Scottish Church College. Some institutions of national importance are the Asiatic Society, Bose Institute, S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, the Indian Statistical Institute, the Indian Institute of Management, the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, the Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, the Marine Engineering and Research Institute, the Rabindra Bharati University, the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, the Calcutta Mathematical Society, the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, the West Bengal University of Technology and the National Institute of Fashion Technology.

Sports

Association football (sometimes referred to as 'soccer'), cricket and field hockey are popular sports in the city. Kolkata, a major centre of football activity in India and home of top national football clubs such as Mohun Bagan AC, Chirag United S.C., Mohammedan Sporting Club and East Bengal, is known as Mecca of Indian Football. Calcutta Football League, which started in 1898, is the oldest football league in Asia. Mohun Bagan AC, one of the oldest football clubs in Asia, is the only club to be entitled 'National Club of India'. Kolkata is also home to Kolkata Knight Riders IPL cricket team franchise.

As in the rest of India, cricket is extremely popular and is played throughout the city in its grounds and streets. Tournaments, especially those involving outdoor games like cricket, football, and badminton or indoor games like carrom are regularly organized on an inter-locality or inter-club basis. The maidan area hosts several minor football and cricket clubs and coaching institutes.

Notable sports stars from Kolkata include former Indian national cricket captains Sourav Ganguly and Pankaj Roy. Olympic tennis bronze medallist Leander Paes. Former football stars include Olympic medalist Sailen Manna, Chuni Goswami, P.K. Banerjee, and Subrata Bhattacharya.

The city is known for its large stadia. The Eden Gardens is one of only two 100,000-seat cricket stadiums in the world. Salt Lake Stadium (also known as Yuva Bharati Krirangan)—a multi-use stadium—is the world's third largest capacity football stadium. Calcutta Cricket and Football Club is the second-oldest cricket club in the world. Kolkata has three 18-hole golf courses at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (the first golf club in the world outside Britain), Tollygunge Club and Fort William. The Royal Calcutta Turf Club (RCTC) holds regular equestrian races and polo matches. The Calcutta Polo Club is now considered as the oldest polo club of the world. The Calcutta South Club is the venue for some national and international tennis tournaments. From 2005, Sunfeast Open, a Tier-III tournament of Women's Tennis Association Tour, takes place in Netaji Indoor Stadium. The Calcutta Rowing Club hosts regular rowing races and training. Although it is a minor sport, Kolkata is considered the "capital" of rugby union in India. The city also gives its name to the name of the oldest international tournament in rugby union, the Calcutta Cup, which is of Indian workmanship.

Distance of different cities from Kolkata(in km)

Agartala 1738

Agra 1258

Ahmedabad 2006

Allahabad 800

Amritsar 1880

Bangalore 1881

Bardhaman 119

Bhopal 1456

Bhubaneswar 441

Mumbai 1987

Chandigarh 1490

Coimbatore 2160

Chennai 1676

Darjeeling 680

Dhanbad 281

Delhi 1461

Durgapur 182

Gangtok 724

Guwahati 1081

Haldia 128

Hyderabad 1516

Jaipur 1472

Jammu 1825

Jamshedpur 300

Kanyakumari 2380

Lucknow 963

Nagpur 1220

Patna 550

Hyderabad 1516

Kanpur 1000

Nagpur 1124

Ranchi 450

Raurkela 529

Shillong 1200

Thiruvananthapuram 2384

Varanasi 675

Vijaywada 1300

Visakhapatnam 880

Gallery

• Kolkata attractions
• Victoria Memorial Victoria Memorial
• Science city Science city
• Mani Square Mall Mani Square Mall
• Howrah Bridge Howrah Bridge

Sister cities

Kolkata has sister city relationships with the following cities of the world.

Sister City	Country
Long Beach, California	United States
Dallas, Texas
Odessa	Ukraine
Thessaloniki	Greece
Naples	Italy
Dhaka	Bangladesh

See also

• List of people from Kolkata
• Places of interest in Kolkata
• West Bengal
• List of million-plus cities in India

Notes

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References

Template:Misplaced Pages-Books

• Bennett, A; Hindle, J (1996), London Review of Books: An Anthology, Verso, pp. 63–70, ISBN 185984121X
• Chaudhuri, NC (2001), The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian, New York Review of Books, ISBN 094032282X
• Chaudhuri, S (1995), Calcutta: The Living City. Vol I and Vol II, Oxford University Press, USA, ISBN 0195636988
• Raj Bhavan of Kolkata: Two Hundred Years of Grandeur. Not Avail. 2003. xii, 140. ISBN 0670049956. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |nopp= ignored (|no-pp= suggested) (help)
• Gandhi, R (1992), Patel: A Life, Navajivan, ISBN ASIN B0006EYQ0A {{citation}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Marcuse, P; van Kempen, R (2000), Globalizing Cities: A New Spatial Order?, Blackwell Publishers, ISBN 0631212906
• Marston, D (2001), The Seven Year's War, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1841761915
• Mitra, A (1976), Calcutta Diary, Routledge (UK), ISBN 0714630829
• Mukherjee, SC (1991), The changing face of Calcutta: An architectural approach : Calcutta, 300, Government of West Bengal, ISBN B0000D6TXX {{citation}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Roy, A (2002), City Requiem, Calcutta: Gender and The Politics of Poverty, University of Minnesota Press, ISBN 0816639329
• Roy, A; Alsayyad (2004), Urban Informality: Transnational Perspectives from the Middle East, Latin America and South Asia, Lexington Books, ISBN 0739107410
• Sen, A (1973), Poverty and Famines, Oxford University Press, USA, ISBN 0-19-828463-2
• Singh, S (2003), Lonely Planet India (10 ed.), Lonely Planet, ISBN 1740594215
• Thomas, FC (1977), Calcutta Poor: Elegies on a City Above Pretense, M.E. Sharpe, ISBN 1563249812
• Kulke, Hermann (2009). Kolkata: Webster's Timeline History, 1690 - 2007. 4th edition. ICON Group International, Inc. xii, 130. ASIN B0027DNWKI. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |nopp= ignored (|no-pp= suggested) (help)
• Dutta, Krishna (2003), Calcutta: a cultural and literary history, Signal, 2003, ISBN 1-902669-59-2
• Government of India, Giuliana (2009). Beyond multiculturalism: views from anthropology. Ashgate Publishing Limited. ISBN 978 0 7546 7173 2.
• C. Thomas, Frederic (1997). Calcutta poor: elegies on a city above pretense. M. E. Sharpe, Inc. ISBN 1-56324-981-2.
• Ghosh, Amitav (1996), The Calcutta Chromosome: A Novel of Fevers, Delirium and Discovery, Ravi Dayal Publisher., ISBN 81 7530 041 8

External links

Template:IndicText

• Kolkataweb, a guide to Kolkata
• Template:Dmoz
• Template:Wikitravel

Articles Related to Kolkata

Geographic locale Lat. and Long. 22°34′11″N 88°22′11″E / 22.56972°N 88.36972°E / 22.56972; 88.36972 v t e Kolkata topics History Bengali Renaissance Black Hole of Calcutta Bhurshut Calcutta flag Dihi Panchannagram Direct Action Day Dutch Bengal Gobindapur History of Kolkata Presidency division Job Charnock Kalighat–Falta Railway Kalikata Robert Clive Sabarna Roy Choudhury Siege of Calcutta Sutanuti State Archaeological Museum Warren Hastings Battle of Biderra/Chinsurah Nabakrishna Deb Rabindranath Tagore Localities Kolkata metropolitan area Neighbourhoods list Streets (list) Buildings Belvedere Estate Indian Museum Jorasanko Thakur Bari Calcutta High Court Currency Building Bankshall Court Marble Palace National Library of India Netaji Bhawan Raj Bhavan, Kolkata Sabarna Sangrahashala Shaheed Minar Victoria Memorial St. Paul's Cathedral Metcalfe Hall Writers' Building Metropolitan Building Grand Hotel Shobhabazar Rajbari Esplanade Mansions High rises Chatterjee International Center South City Tata Centre Industry House Everest House Jeevan Sudha Government of India Building Hiland Park The 42 Urbana Uniworld City Education Secondary Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy B. T. Road Government Sponsored H. S. School Calcutta Boys' School Calcutta Girls' High School Don Bosco School, Park Circus Hare School Hindu School, Kolkata Kendriya Vidyalaya La Martiniere Calcutta Loreto Schools Baranagore Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama High School Ramakrishna, Narendrapur Scottish Church Collegiate School South Point School St. Xavier's Collegiate School St. James' School (Kolkata) Higher Aliah University Asiatic Society Asutosh College Marine Engineering and Research Institute Bethune College Government College of Engineering and Ceramic Technology Government College of Art & Craft Medical College and Hospital Calcutta National Medical College Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur IIM IISER Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management Indian Statistical Institute Jadavpur University Maulana Azad College Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology Netaji Subhas Open University National Institute for Research in Bacterial Infections Presidency University Rabindra Bharati University Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics School of Tropical Medicine Scottish Church College St. Xavier's College University of Calcutta West Bengal University of Health Sciences West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences Calcutta School of Music Narula Institute of Technology Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute Vivek Tirtha Industry and economy ABP Group Allahabad Bank AMRI Hospitals Andrew Yule and Company Baidyanath Group Balmer Lawrie Batanagar Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Berger Paints Bharat Bhari Udyog Nigam Biecco Lawrie Birds Jute and Export Birla Corporation Braithwaite & Co. Braithwaite, Burn & Jessop Construction Company Bridge and Roof Company Britannia Industries Burn & Company Burnpur Burn Standard Company Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC) Calcutta Stock Exchange Chandras' Chemical Factory Coal India Damodar Valley Corporation Emami Exide Industries Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers GKB Opticals Hawkers Hind Motor Hindustan Ambassador IISCO Steel Plant India Government Mint, Kolkata ITC Limited Jai Balaji group Jessop & Company Kolkata Port Trust Lexulous Limtex Lux Industries Magma Fincorp National Insurance Company Peerless Group Saregama Sinclairs Hotels Limited Tata Global Beverages The Park Hotels UCO Bank United Bank of India VISA Steel Transportation Road Calcutta Tramways Company Calcutta State Transport Corporation Kalyani Expressway Kolkata Bus Rapid Transit System West Bengal Transport Corporation South Bengal State Transport Corporation Howrah Bridge (Rabindra Setu) Belghoria Expressway Vidyasagar Setu Vivekananda Setu Nivedita Setu Golden Quadrilateral Rickshaw Hand-pulled rickshaw Rail Kolkata Metro Kolkata Suburban Railway Eastern Railway South Eastern Railway Trams in Kolkata Kolkata LRTS Howrah railway station Kolkata railway station Sealdah railway station Shalimar railway station Kolkata Monorail Sea Port of Kolkata Air Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport List of airports Culture Kolkata Book Fair Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk Calcutta Youth Choir Coffee House Dwarkin Festivals Kolkata International Film Festival Dover Lane Music Conference Kolkata in the media Music of Bengal Nandan Priya Rabindra Nritya Natya Rabindra Sangeet Ritwik Ghatak Satyajit Ray Feluda Byomkesh Bakshi Ghanada Prostitution in Kolkata Tenida Tollywood Ghosts in Bengali culture Adda Rabindra Tirtha Nazrul Tirtha Mishti Hub Football Kolkata derby Group theatre of Kolkata Ethnic enclaves Bow Barracks (Anglo-Indian) Chinatown, Kolkata (Chinese) Tangra, Kolkata (Chinese) Zakaria Street (Bihari Muslim) Armani-para (Armenian) Places of worship Hindu Belur Math Birla Mandir, Kolkata Dakshineswar Kali Temple Kalighat Kripamayee Kali Temple Baranagar Math Alambazar Math Christian St. Paul's Cathedral Holy Rosary Cathedral (Portuguese Church) St. John's Church Parasnath Temple Others Nakhoda Mosque Tipu Sultan Mosque Chinese temples in Kolkata Magen David Synagogue Sports ATK Barasat Stadium B.C. Roy Trophy Beighton Cup Bengal cricket team Bhawanipore FC Calcutta Cricket and Football Club Calcutta Polo Club Calcutta South Club Bengal Tigers Calcutta Cricket and Football Club Calcutta Football League Dalhousie AC East Bengal FC East Bengal Ground Eastern Railway FC Eden Gardens Indian Football Association IFA Shield Kalighat Milan Sangha FC Kishore Bharati Krirangan Kolkata derby Kolkata Knight Riders Kolkata Police Friendship Cup Football Tournament Kolkata Vipers Mohammedan Sporting Club Mohammedan Sporting Ground Mohun Bagan Super Giant Mohun Bagan Ground Netaji Indoor Stadium Indian Arrows United SC Rabindra Sarobar Stadium Salt Lake Stadium Sunfeast Open Southern Samity Subroto Cup Aryan FC Tollygunge Agragami FC West Bengal football team Other topics Adwaita Zoological Garden, Alipore Bengal Club Calcutta Club Calcutta Rowing Club Central Forensic Science Laboratory Chinese of Calcutta Early phase of printing in Calcutta Electoral constituencies List of people from Kolkata Fort William Hooghly River Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden Maidan Missionaries of Charity Princeton Club Rabindra Sarobar Royal Calcutta Golf Club Sonagachi South Park Street Cemetery Tollygunge Club Tala tank Category v t e State and Union Territory capitals of India Administrative Agartala Aizawl Amaravati Bengaluru Bhopal Bhubaneswar Chandigarh Chennai Daman Dehradun Dispur Gandhinagar Gangtok Hyderabad Imphal Itanagar Jaipur Jammu (winter) Kargil (winter) Kavaratti Kohima Kolkata Leh (summer) Lucknow Mumbai New Delhi Panaji Patna Pondicherry Port Blair Ranchi Raipur Shillong Shimla Srinagar (summer) Thiruvananthapuram Legislative Agartala Aizawl Amaravati Bengaluru (summer) Belgaum (winter) Bhararisain (summer) Bhopal Bhubaneswar Chandigarh Chennai Dharamshala (winter) Dehradun (winter) Gandhinagar Gangtok Guwahati Hyderabad Imphal Itanagar Jaipur Jammu (winter) Kohima Kolkata Lucknow Mumbai (summer) Nagpur (winter) New Delhi Patna Pondicherry Porvorim Raipur Ranchi Shillong Shimla (summer) Srinagar (summer) Thiruvananthapuram Judicial Agartala Ahmedabad Amaravati Bengaluru Bilaspur Chandigarh Chennai Cuttack Gangtok Guwahati Hyderabad Imphal Jabalpur Jodhpur Jammu (winter) Kochi Kolkata Mumbai Nainital New Delhi Patna Prayagraj Ranchi Shillong Shimla Srinagar (summer) v t e Million-plus agglomerations in India North Chandigarh Delhi Haryana: Faridabad Jammu and Kashmir: Srinagar Punjab: Ludhiana Amritsar Rajasthan: Jaipur Jodhpur Kota Central Chhattisgarh: Raipur Bhilai Madhya Pradesh: Indore Bhopal Jabalpur Gwalior Uttar Pradesh: Agra Ghaziabad Kanpur Lucknow Meerut Prayagraj Varanasi Eastern Bihar: Patna Jharkhand: Jamshedpur Dhanbad Ranchi West Bengal: Kolkata Asansol Western Gujarat: Ahmedabad Surat Vadodara Rajkot Maharashtra: Mumbai Pune Nagpur Nashik Vasai-Virar Aurangabad Southern Andhra Pradesh: Visakhapatnam Vijayawada Karnataka: Bangalore Kerala: Kochi Kozhikode Thrissur Malappuram Thiruvananthapuram Kannur Kollam Tamil Nadu: Chennai Coimbatore Madurai Tiruchirappalli Telangana: Hyderabad v t e World's 50 most-populous urban areas     Tokyo Jakarta Delhi Guangzhou–Foshan Mumbai Manila Shanghai Seoul Cairo Mexico City Kolkata São Paulo New York Karachi Dhaka Bangkok Beijing Moscow Shenzhen Buenos Aires Los Angeles Johannesburg-Pretoria Bengaluru Chengdu Ho Chi Minh City Osaka–Kobe–Kyoto Lagos Istanbul Lahore Kinshasa–Brazzaville Tehran Chongqing Rio de Janeiro Xi'an Chennai Paris Zhengzhou Luanda London Dongguan Lima Wuhan Bogotá Tianjin Hyderabad Taipei Hangzhou Nagoya Surabaya Bandung

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• Kolkata
• Indian capital cities
• Cities and towns in West Bengal
• Eastern Railway (India) Zone
• South Eastern Railway (India) Zone
• Former national capitals