Kolkata (,
or ,
; also known as Calcutta ,
the official name until 2001) is the
capital of the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
, on the eastern bank of the
Hooghly River west of the border with
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. It is the primary business, commercial, and financial hub of
Eastern India and the main port of communication for
North-East India
, native_name_lang = mni
, settlement_type =
, image_skyline =
, image_alt =
, image_caption =
, motto =
, image_map = Northeast india.png
, ...
.
According to the 2011 Indian census, Kolkata is the
seventh-most populous city in India, with a population of 45
lakh (4.5 million) residents within the city limits, and a population of over 1.41
crore (14.1 million) residents in the
Kolkata Metropolitan Area
Kolkata Metropolitan Area (abbreviated KMA; formerly Calcutta Metropolitan Area), also known as Greater Kolkata, is the urban agglomeration of the city of Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the third most populous metropolitan ar ...
. It is the
third-most populous metropolitan area in India. In 2021, the
Kolkata metropolitan area
Kolkata Metropolitan Area (abbreviated KMA; formerly Calcutta Metropolitan Area), also known as Greater Kolkata, is the urban agglomeration of the city of Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the third most populous metropolitan ar ...
crossed 1.5 crore (15 million) registered voters. The
Port of Kolkata
Port of Kolkata or Kolkata Port, officially known as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Trust (formerly Kolkata Port Trust), is the only riverine major port of India, located in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal, around from the sea. It is the olde ...
is India's oldest operating port and its sole major riverine port. Kolkata is regarded as the cultural capital of India. Kolkata is the second largest
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
-speaking city after
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...
. It has the highest number of
nobel laureates among all cities in India.
[—]
—
—
—
—
In the late 17th century, the three villages that predated Calcutta were ruled by the
Nawab of Bengal under
Mughal suzerainty. After the Nawab granted the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
a trading
licence in 1690, the area was developed by the Company into an increasingly fortified trading post known as
Fort William. Nawab
Siraj ud-Daulah
Mirza Muhammad Siraj-ud-Daulah ( fa, ; 1733 – 2 July 1757), commonly known as Siraj-ud-Daulah or Siraj ud-Daula, was the last independent Nawab of Bengal. The end of his reign marked the start of the rule of the East India Company over Beng ...
occupied Calcutta in 1756, and the East India Company retook it the following year. In 1793 the East India Company was strong enough to abolish native rule, and
assumed full sovereignty of the region. Under company rule and later under the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
, Calcutta served as the capital of British-held territories in India until 1911. In that year, after assessing its geographical location, combined with growing nationalism in
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
(Calcutta became the centre for the
Indian independence movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
), the British moved the capital to the relatively more centrally located
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...
.
Following independence in 1947, Kolkata, which was once the premier centre of Indian commerce, culture, and politics, suffered many decades of
political violence and
economic stagnation
Economic stagnation is a prolonged period of slow economic growth (traditionally measured in terms of the GDP growth), usually accompanied by high unemployment. Under some definitions, "slow" means significantly slower than potential growth as e ...
before it rebounded.
A demographically diverse
global city, the
culture of Kolkata
The culture of Kolkata concerns the music, art, museums, festivals, and lifestyle within Kolkata. It is the former capital of India and, , the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Geir Heierstad writes that Bengalis tend to have a special ...
features idiosyncrasies that include distinctively
close-knit neighbourhoods (''paras'') and
freestyle conversations (''adda''). Kolkata is home to eastern India's film industry, known as
Tollywood, and cultural institutions, such as the
Academy of Fine Arts
The following is a list of notable art schools.
Accredited non-profit art and design colleges
* Adelaide Central School of Art
* Alberta College of Art and Design
* Art Academy of Cincinnati
* Art Center College of Design
* The Art Institute ...
, the
Victoria Memorial
The Victoria Memorial is a large marble building on the Maidan in Central Kolkata, built between 1906 and 1921. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria, Empress of India from 1876 to 1901.
The largest monument to a monarch anywhere ...
, the
Asiatic Society
The Asiatic Society is a government of India organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research", in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions. It was founded by the p ...
, the
Indian Museum
The Indian Museum in Central Kolkata, West Bengal, India, also referred to as the Imperial Museum at Calcutta in colonial-era texts, is the ninth oldest museum in the world, the oldest and largest museum in India as well as in Asia. It has rare ...
, and the
National Library of India
The National Library of India is a library located in Belvedere Estate, Alipore, Kolkata, India. It is India's largest library by volume and public record. The National Library is under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Currently, Dr. ...
. Among scientific institutions, Kolkata hosts the
Agri Horticultural Society of India, the
Geological Survey of India
The Geological Survey of India (GSI) is a scientific agency of India. It was founded in 1851, as a Government of India organization under the Ministry of Mines, one of the oldest of such organisations in the world and the second oldest survey ...
, the
Botanical Survey of India
Botanical Survey of India (BSI) located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was founded on 13 February 1890, is Government of India Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change's organization for survey, research and conservation of pl ...
, the
Calcutta Mathematical Society, the
Indian Science Congress Association, the
Zoological Survey of India
The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), founded on 1 July 1916 by Government of India Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, as premier Indian organisation in zoological research and studies to promote the survey, exploration and r ...
, the
Institution of Engineers, the
Anthropological Survey of India
Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) is the apex Indian government organisation involved in anthropological studies and field data research for human and cultural aspects, working primarily in the fields of physical anthropology and cultura ...
and the
Indian Public Health Association
Indian Public Health Association shortly IPHA is a professional health organization working for the cause of Public Health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the orga ...
. Four
Nobel laureates and two Nobel Memorial Prize winners are associated with the city.
[—]
—
—
—
— Though home to major cricketing venues and franchises, Kolkata stands out in India for being the country's centre of
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
and also having strong culture in other sports less widespread elsewhere.
Etymology
The word ''Kolkata'' ( bn, কলকাতা ) derives from ''
Kôlikata'' (
), the
Bengali language
Bengali ( ), generally known by its endonym Bangla (, ), is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the official, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second most widely spoken o ...
name of one of three villages that predated the arrival of the British, the other two villages were
Sutanuti
Sutanuti was one of the three villages which were merged to form the city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) in India. The other two villages were Gobindapur and Kalikata.
See also
* European colonies in India
Colonial India was the part of t ...
and
Govindapur.
There are several explanations for the etymology of this name:
*''Kolikata'' is thought to be a variation of ''Kalikkhetrô'' ( ), meaning "Field of
he goddess
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
Kali
Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tra ...
". Similarly, it can be a variation of 'Kalikshetra' (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
: कालीक्षेत्र, lit. "area of Goddess Kali").
*Another theory is that the name derives from
Kalighat
Kalighat is a locality of Kolkata, in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India. One of the oldest neighbourhoods in South Kolkata, Kalighat is also densely populated — with a history of cultural intermingling with the various foreign incursions i ...
.
*Alternatively, the name may have been derived from the Bengali term ''kilkila'' ( bn, কিলকিলা), or "flat area".
*The name may have its origin in the words ''khal'' ( bn, খাল ) meaning "canal", followed by ''kaṭa'' ( bn, কাটা ), which may mean "dug".
*According to another theory, the area specialised in the production of
quicklime or ''koli chun'' ( bn, কলি চুন ) and coir or ''kata'' ( bn, কাতা ); hence, it was called ''Kolikata'').
Although the city's name has always been pronounced ''Kolkata'' or ''Kôlikata'' in Bengali, the anglicised form ''Calcutta'' was the official name until 2001, when it
was changed to ''Kolkata'' in order to match Bengali pronunciation.
History
British colonial rule
![Arms of the city of Calcutta](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Arms_of_the_city_of_Calcutta.jpg)
The discovery and
archaeological study of
Chandraketugarh
Chandraketugarh is a 2,500 years old archaeological site located near the Bidyadhari river, about north-east of Kolkata, India, in the district of North 24 parganas, near the township of Berachampa and the Harua Road railhead. Once it was ...
, north of Kolkata, provide evidence that the region in which the city stands has been inhabited for over two millennia.
Kolkata's
recorded history
Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world his ...
began in 1690 with the arrival of the English
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
, which was consolidating its trade business in Bengal.
Job Charnock
Job Charnock (; –1692/1693) was an English administrator with the East India Company. He is commonly regarded as the founder of the city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta); however, this view is challenged, and in 2003 the Calcutta High Court de ...
, an administrator who worked for the company, was formerly credited as the founder of the city; In response to a public petition, the
Calcutta High Court ruled in 2003 that the city does not have a founder.
The area occupied by the present-day city encompassed three villages:
Kalikata
Kalikata was one of the three villages which were merged to form the city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) in India. The other two villages were Gobindapur and Sutanuti. Job Charnock, an administrator with the British East India Company is tradit ...
,
Gobindapur and
Sutanuti
Sutanuti was one of the three villages which were merged to form the city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) in India. The other two villages were Gobindapur and Kalikata.
See also
* European colonies in India
Colonial India was the part of t ...
. Kalikata was a fishing village; Sutanuti was a riverside weavers' village. They were part of an estate belonging to the
Mughal emperor
The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...
; the ''
jagirdari'' (a land grant bestowed by a king on his noblemen) taxation rights to the villages were held by the
Sabarna Roy Choudhury
Sabarna Roy Choudhury was a Zamindar family of Mughal Bengal. They controlled significant swathes of territory, including what would later become Kolkata, prior to the sale of zamindari rights in 1698 to the East India Company.
Zamindari
E ...
family of landowners, or ''
zamindar
A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as ...
s''. These rights were transferred to the East India Company in 1698.
![Chowringhee Square, Calcutta in 1945](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Chowringhee_Square%2C_Calcutta_in_1945.jpg)
In 1712, the British completed the construction of
Fort William, located on the east bank of the Hooghly River to protect their trading factory.
Facing frequent skirmishes with
French forces
The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces.
France ...
, the British began to upgrade their fortifications in 1756. The Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, condemned the militarisation and tax evasion by the company. His warning went unheeded, and the Nawab attacked; he captured Fort William which led to the killings of several East India company officials in the
Black Hole of Calcutta
The Black Hole of Calcutta was a dungeon in Fort William, Calcutta, measuring , in which troops of Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, held British prisoners of war on the night of 20 June 1756. John Zephaniah Holwell, one of the Britis ...
.
A force of Company soldiers (''
sepoys'') and British troops led by
Robert Clive recaptured the city the following year.
Per the 1765
Treaty of Allahabad
The Treaty of Allahabad was signed on 12 August 1765, between the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II, son of the late Emperor Alamgir II, and Robert Clive, of the East India Company, in the aftermath of the Battle of Buxar of 23 October 1764. The ...
following the
battle of Buxar, East India company was appointed imperial tax collector of the Mughal emperor in the province of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, while Mughal-appointed Nawabs continued to rule the province.
Declared a
presidency city, Calcutta became the headquarters of the East India Company by 1773.
In 1793, ruling power of the Nawabs were abolished and East India company took complete control of the city and the province. In the early 19th century, the marshes surrounding the city were drained; the government area was laid out along the banks of the Hooghly River.
Richard Wellesley,
Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William
The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...
between 1797 and 1805, was largely responsible for the development of the city and its public architecture. Throughout the late 18th and 19th century, the city was a centre of the East India Company's opium trade. A census in 1837 records the population of the city proper as 229,700, of which the British residents made up only 3,138. The same source says another 177,000 resided in the suburbs and neighbouring villages, making the entire population of greater Calcutta 406,700.
In 1864, a typhoon struck the city and killed about 60,000 in Kolkata.
By the 1850s, Calcutta had two areas: White Town, which was primarily British and centred on
Chowringhee
Chowringhee (also Chourangi) is a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Chowringhee Road (officially Jawaharlal Nehru Road) runs on its western side. A neighbourhood steeped in history, it is a ...
and
Dalhousie Square
B. B. D. Bagh, formerly called Tank Square and then Dalhousie Square (1847 to 1856), is the shortened version for Benoy-Badal-Dinesh Bagh. It is the seat of power of the state government, as well as the central business district of Kolkata in ...
; and Black Town, mainly Indian and centred on North Calcutta.
The city underwent rapid industrial growth starting in the early 1850s, especially in the textile and jute industries; this encouraged British companies to massively invest in infrastructure projects, which included telegraph connections and
Howrah railway station. 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, newspaper readers, and Anglophiles; they usually belonged to upper-caste Hindu communities. In the 19th century, the
Bengal Renaissance
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
brought about an increased sociocultural sophistication among city denizens. In 1883, Calcutta was host to the first national conference of the
Indian National Association
The Indian Association was the first avowed nationalist organization founded in British India by Surendranath Banerjee and Ananda Mohan Bose in 1876. The objectives of this Association were "promoting by every legitimate means the political, i ...
, the first avowed nationalist organisation in India.
![Corner of Harrison Street (Burra Bazar) and Strand Road, Calcutta in 1945](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Corner_of_Harrison_Street_%28Burra_Bazar%29_and_Strand_Road%2C_Calcutta_in_1945.jpg)
The
partition of Bengal in 1905 along religious lines led to mass protests, making Calcutta a less hospitable place for the British. The capital was moved to
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...
in 1911. Calcutta continued to be a centre for
revolutionary organisations associated with the
Indian independence movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
. The city and its port were bombed several times by the
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
between 1942 and 1944, during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
Coinciding with the war, millions starved to death during the
Bengal famine of 1943 due to a combination of military, administrative, and natural factors.
Demands for the creation of a Muslim state led in 1946 to
an episode of communal violence that killed over 4,000.
The
partition of India led to further clashes and a demographic shift—many Muslims left for
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...
(present day
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
), while hundreds of thousands of Hindus fled into the city.
Contemporary
During the 1960s and 1970s, severe power shortages, strikes and a violent
Marxist–
Maoist
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
movement by groups known as the
Naxalites damaged much of the city's infrastructure, resulting in economic stagnation.
[—]
—
— The
Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 led to a massive influx of thousands of refugees, many of them penniless, that strained Kolkata's infrastructure. During the mid-1980s,
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
(then called Bombay) overtook Kolkata as India's most populous city. In 1985, Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi dubbed Kolkata a "dying city" in light of its socio-political woes. In the period 1977–2011, West Bengal was governed from Kolkata by the
Left Front, which was dominated by the
Communist Party of India (CPM). It was the world's longest-serving democratically elected communist government, during which Kolkata was a key base for
Indian communism.
In the
2011 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election
Assembly election was held in Indian state of West Bengal in 2011 to elect the members of West Bengal Legislative Assembly as the term of the incumbent government was about to expire naturally. It was held in six phases between 18 April and 10 ...
, Left Front was defeated by the
Trinamool Congress
The All India Trinamool Congress (English: All India Grassroots Congress; AITC), colloquially the Trinamool Congress ( TMC) is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in West Bengal. The party is led by Mamata Banerjee, the cur ...
. The city's economic recovery gathered momentum after the 1990s, when
India began to institute pro-market reforms. Since 2000, the information technology (IT) services sector has revitalised Kolkata's stagnant economy. The city is also experiencing marked growth in its manufacturing base.
Geography
Spread roughly north–south along the east bank of the
Hooghly River, Kolkata sits within the lower
Ganges Delta of eastern India approximately 75 km (47 mi) west of the international border with
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
; the city's elevation is . Much of the city was originally a wetland that was reclaimed over the decades to accommodate a burgeoning population. The remaining undeveloped areas, known as the
East Kolkata Wetlands
The East Calcutta Wetlands, (22 0 27’ N 88 0 27’ E), are a complex of natural and human-made wetlands lying east of the city of Calcutta (Kolkata), of West Bengal in India. The wetlands cover 125 square kilometres and include salt marsh ...
, were designated a "wetland of international importance" by the
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on W ...
(1975). As with most of the
Indo-Gangetic Plain, the soil and water are predominantly
alluvial
Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. All ...
in origin. Kolkata is located over the "Bengal basin", a pericratonic tertiary basin.
Bengal basin comprises three structural units: shelf or platform in the west; central hinge or shelf/slope break; and deep basinal part in the east and southeast. Kolkata is located atop the western part of the hinge zone which is about wide at a depth of about below the surface.
The shelf and hinge zones have many faults, among them some are active. Total thickness of sediment below Kolkata is nearly above the
crystalline basement
In geology, basement and crystalline basement are crystalline rocks lying above the mantle and beneath all other rocks and sediments. They are sometimes exposed at the surface, but often they are buried under miles of rock and sediment. The baseme ...
; of these the top is
Quaternary, followed by of
Tertiary
Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago.
The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...
sediments,
trap
A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research.
Trap or TRAP may also refer to:
Art and entertainment Films and television
* ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...
wash of
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
trap and
Permian
The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last ...
-
Carboniferous Gondwana rocks.
The quaternary sediments consist of clay, silt and several grades of sand and gravel. These sediments are sandwiched between two clay beds: the lower one at a depth of ; the upper one in thickness.
According to the
Bureau of Indian Standards
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the National Standards Body of India under Department of Consumer affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India. It is established by the Bureau of Indian Standar ...
, on a scale ranging from in order of increasing susceptibility to earthquakes, the city lies inside
seismic zone III.
Urban structure
![Kolkata Skyline From Vidyasagar Seti 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Kolkata_Skyline_From_Vidyasagar_Seti_2.jpg)
The
Kolkata metropolitan area
Kolkata Metropolitan Area (abbreviated KMA; formerly Calcutta Metropolitan Area), also known as Greater Kolkata, is the urban agglomeration of the city of Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the third most populous metropolitan ar ...
is spread over
and comprises 4 municipal corporations (including Kolkata Municipal Corporation), 37
local municipalities and 24
panchayat samiti
Panchayat samiti is a rural local government (panchayat) body at the intermediate tehsil (taluka/mandal) level in India. It works for the villages of the tehsil that together are called a development block. It has been said to be the "panchayat ...
s, as of 2011.
The urban agglomeration encompassed 72 cities and 527 towns and villages, as of 2006.
Suburban areas in the Kolkata metropolitan area incorporate parts of the following districts:
North 24 Parganas,
South 24 Parganas,
Howrah,
Hooghly and
Nadia
Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both.
In Slavic, names similar to ''Nadia'' mean "hope" in many Slavic languages: ...
.
Kolkata, which is under the jurisdiction of the
Kolkata Municipal Corporation
Kolkata Municipal Corporation (abbreviated KMC; also Calcutta Municipal Corporation) is the local government of the Indian city of Kolkata, the state capital of West Bengal. This civic administrative body administers an area of . Its motto, ' ...
(KMC), has an area of .
The east–west dimension of the city is comparatively narrow, stretching from the Hooghly River in the west to roughly the
Eastern Metropolitan Bypass
The Eastern Metropolitan Bypass (known simply as both ''E.M. Bypass'' and ''EM Bypass'') is a (Including Kamalgazi to Baruipur extension) major road on the east side of Kolkata. It connects Ultadanga (North Kolkata) to Baruipur Puratan Baz ...
in the east—a span of . The north–south distance is greater, and its axis is used to section the city into North, Central, South and East Kolkata.
North Kolkata is the oldest part of the city. Characterised by 19th-century architecture and narrow alleyways, it includes areas such as
Jorasanko
Jorasanko is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India. It is so called because of the two (''jora'') wooden or bamboo bridges (''sanko'') that spanned a small stream at this point.
History
Apart from the disti ...
,
Rajabazar,
Maniktala
Maniktala is a residential area of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India.
Etymology
The tomb of Manik Pir is located in lane near Maniktala crossing. Some people say, the neighbourhood is named after Manik Pir.
Others say, M ...
,
Ultadanga
Ultadanga is one of the most crowded junctions in Kolkata. The place is located at the north-eastern fringe of the city and marks the limit of Kolkata district. Prominent places in Ultadanga are Telenga Bagan and Muchi Bazar.
Etymology
Ultad ...
,
Shyambazar
Shyambazar is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The area, under Shyampukur police station of Kolkata Police, has been, along with neighbouring Bagbazar, the citadel of the Bengali ari ...
,
Shobhabazar
Shobhabazar (also spelt Sovabazar; bn, শোভাবাজার) is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district, in the Indian state of West Bengal.
History
Sheths and Basaks, well-to-do traders at Saptagram, were among the first ...
,
Bagbazar
Bagbazar (also spelt Baghbazar) is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The area, under Shyampukur police station of Kolkata Police, has been, along with neighbouring Shyambazar, the citadel o ...
,
Cossipore
Kashipur (also spelt Cossipur, Kashipur) is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. One of the oldest neighbourhoods of the metropolis, it has a police station.
History
The East India Company o ...
,
Sinthee
Sinthee or Sinthi is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India.
History
The East India Company obtained from the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar, in 1717, the right to rent from 38 villages surrounding their settleme ...
etc. The north suburban areas like
Dum Dum
Dum Dum is a city and a municipality of Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of Kolkata urban area and also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA).
Etymology
During the 19th ...
,
Baranagar
("City of hogs")
, settlement_type =
City
, image_seal =
, image_skyline =
, image_alt =
, image_caption =
, pushpin_map = India West Bengal#India3#Asia
, pushpin_label_ ...
,
Belgharia
Belgharia is a locality in Kamarhati Municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) and a vital locality in Kolkata metropol ...
,
Sodepur
Sodepur or Sodpur is a locality in Panihati Municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is close to Kolkata and also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Barrac ...
,
Khardaha,
New Barrackpore
New Barrackpore is a city and a municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is close to Kolkata & a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. It is the capital of Kolkata.
Geo ...
,
Madhyamgram
Madhyamgram is a city and a municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is close to Kolkata and also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA).
History
Madhyamgram wa ...
,
Barrackpore,
Barasat etc. are also within the city of Kolkata (as a metropolitan structure).
Central Kolkata hosts the central business district. It contains
B. B. D. Bagh
B. B. D. Bagh, formerly called Tank Square and then Dalhousie Square (1847 to 1856), is the shortened version for Benoy-Badal-Dinesh Bagh. It is the seat of power of the state government, as well as the central business district of Kolkata in ...
, formerly known as Dalhousie Square, and the
Esplanade
An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cl ...
on its east;
Rajiv Gandhi Sarani is on its west. The
West Bengal Secretariat,
General Post Office,
Reserve Bank of India
The Reserve Bank of India, chiefly known as RBI, is India's central bank and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is responsible f ...
,
Calcutta High Court,
Lalbazar
Lalbazar is a neighbourhood in Central Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is part of the central business district adjoining B.B.D. Bagh area. The headquarters of the Kolkata Police is located here (18, L ...
Police Headquarters and several other government and private offices are located there. Another business hub is the area south of
Park Street, which comprises thoroughfares such as
Jawahar Lal Nehru Road,
Abanindra Nath Tagore Sarani, Dr. Martin Luther King Sarani, Dr. Upendra Nath Brahmachari Sarani,
Shakespeare Sarani
Shakespeare Sarani (earlier Theatre Road) is a street running in the central business district of Kolkata, India, from Park Circus to Chowringhee Road (Birla Planetarium). It was renamed on 24 April 1964 after William Shakespeare, to mark the f ...
and
Acharay Jagadish Chandra Basu Road. South Kolkata developed after India gained independence in 1947; it includes upscale neighbourhoods such as
Bhawanipore
Bhowanipore (also Bhowanipur; bn, ভবানীপুর) is a neighbourhood of South Kolkata in Kolkata district of West Bengal, India.
History
In 1717, the East India Company obtained the right to rent from 38 villages surrounding their s ...
,
Alipore
Alipore (Pron:ˌɑ:lɪˈpɔ:) is a neighbourhood in south Kolkata, in Kolkata district, in the Indian state of West Bengal.
It is flanked by the Tolly Nullah to the north, Bhowanipore to the east, the Diamond Harbour Road to the west and New ...
,
Ballygunge
Ballygunge is a locality of South Kolkata, in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India.
History
The East India Company obtained from the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar, in 1717, the right to rent from 38 villages surrounding their settlement. Of the ...
,
Kasba,
Dhakuria
Dhakuria is a locality in the city of Kolkata, (previously Calcutta), in West Bengal, India.
It is located in the southern part of the city and is surrounded by Ballygunge and Kasba in the north, Haltu in the east, Jadavpur/ Garia in the sout ...
,
Santoshpur,
Garia
Garia ( Bengali:গড়িয়া) is a neighborhood in southern Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is bordered by the neighborhoods of Jadavpur in the north, Bansdroni/Tollygunge in the north-west, Santoshpur/ Mukundapur in the north-east a ...
,
Golf Green
Golf Green is a neighbourhood located in the southern part of Kolkata, in West Bengal, India. The neighbourhood derives its name from the Royal Calcutta Golf Club
Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) in Kolkata, India was established in 1829 an ...
,
Tollygunge
Tollygunge (Bengali: টালিগঞ্জ; nicknamed 'Mini Mumbai' or 'Mini Bombay') is a locality of South Kolkata, in West Bengal, India. It is famed as the centre of the Indian film industry, known as Tollywood, Marathi Cinema, South In ...
,
New Alipore
New Alipore is an upscale and standard locality in Kolkata.
Description
Geography
New Alipore is bordered on the north by the Budge Budge section of the Kolkata Suburban Railway between Majerhat and Tollygunge stations. It is bounded by B.L. ...
,
Behala
Behala is a locality of South West Kolkata, in the Indian state of West Bengal. Behala is a part of Kolkata Municipal Corporation area. It is broadly spread across Ward Nos. 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130 ...
,
Barisha etc. The south suburban areas like
Maheshtala
Maheshtala () is a city and a municipality of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is situated on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River. It is a part of the area covered by the Kolkata Metropolitan Development ...
,
Budge Budge,
Rajpur Sonarpur
Rajpur Sonarpur () is a city and a municipality of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Rajpur and Sonarpur are two separat ...
,
Baruipur etc. are also within the city of Kolkata (as a metropolitan structure).
The
Maidan
Maidan is an originally Persian word for a town square or public gathering place, adopted by various other languages: Urdu (''maidān''); Arabic (''maydān''); Turkish ; Bangla ময়দান, meaning field, and Crimean Tatar, from which ...
is a large open field in the heart of the city that has been called the "lungs of Kolkata" and accommodates sporting events and public meetings. The
Victoria Memorial
The Victoria Memorial is a large marble building on the Maidan in Central Kolkata, built between 1906 and 1921. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria, Empress of India from 1876 to 1901.
The largest monument to a monarch anywhere ...
and
Kolkata Race Course
Kolkata Race Course in Hastings, Kolkata, India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy ...
are located at the southern end of the Maidan. Among the other parks are
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...
in Bidhannagar and
Millennium Park
Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in 2004 and intended to celebrate the third millennium, is a prominent civic center nea ...
on Rajiv Gandhi Sarani, along the Hooghly River.
Two planned townships in the greater Kolkata region are
Bidhannagar
Bidhannagar is a planned urban agglomeration and city and a municipal corporation of the North 24 Parganas in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is in Greater Kolkata region and also a part of the area covered by the Kolkata Metropolitan Dev ...
, also known as Salt Lake City and located north-east of the city; and
Rajarhat
Rajarhat is a locality in Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is close to Kolkata and also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Lying ...
, also called
New Town and located east of Bidhannagar.
In the 2000s, Sector 5 in Bidhannagar developed into a business hub for information technology and telecommunication companies. Both Bidhannagar and New Town are situated outside the Kolkata Municipal Corporation limits, in their own municipalities.
Climate
Kolkata is subject to a
tropical wet-and-dry climate that is designated ''Aw'' under the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
. According to a
United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...
report, its wind and cyclone zone is "very high damage risk".
Temperature
The annual mean temperature is ; monthly mean temperatures are . Summers (March–June) are hot and humid, with temperatures in the low 30s Celsius; during dry spells, maximum temperatures sometime exceed 40 °C (104 °F) in May and June.
Winter lasts for roughly months, with seasonal lows dipping to in December and January. May is the hottest month, with daily temperatures ranging from ; January, the coldest month, has temperatures varying from . The highest recorded temperature is , and the lowest is .
The winter is mild and very comfortable weather pertains over the city throughout this season.
Often, in April–June, the city is struck by heavy rains or dusty squalls that are followed by thunderstorms or hailstorms, bringing cooling relief from the prevailing humidity. These thunderstorms are
convective
Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the convec ...
in nature, and are known locally as ''kal bôishakhi'' (), or "Nor'westers" in English.
Rainfall
Rains brought by the Bay of Bengal branch of the
south-west summer monsoon lash Kolkata between June and September, supplying it with most of its annual rainfall of about . The highest monthly rainfall total occurs in July and August. In these months often incessant rain for days brings life to a stall for the city dwellers. The city receives 2,107 hours of sunshine per year, with maximum
sunlight exposure occurring in April.
Kolkata has been hit by several cyclones; these include systems occurring in
1737
Events
January–March
* January 5 – Spain and the Holy Roman Empire sign instruments of cession at Pontremoli in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in Italy, with the Empire receiving control of Tuscany and the Grand Duchy of Parma a ...
and
1864 that killed thousands. More recently,
Cyclone Aila
Severe Cyclonic Storm Aila (JTWC designation: 02B) was the second named tropical cyclone of the 2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season. Warned by both the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RMSC) and Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) ...
in 2009 and
Cyclone Amphan
Super Cyclonic Storm Amphan was an extremely powerful and catastrophic tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in Eastern India, specifically in West Bengal and Odisha, and in Bangladesh, in May 2020. It was the strongest tropical cyclon ...
in 2020 caused widespread damage to Kolkata by bringing catastrophic winds and torrential rainfall.
Environmental issues
Pollution is a major concern in Kolkata. ,
sulphur dioxide and
nitrogen dioxide
Nitrogen dioxide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is one of several nitrogen oxides. is an intermediate in the industrial synthesis of nitric acid, millions of tons of which are produced each year for use primarily in the productio ...
annual concentration were within the national ambient air quality standards of India, but respirable
suspended particulate matter levels were high, and on an increasing trend for five consecutive years, causing smog and haze.
Severe air pollution in the city has caused a rise in pollution-related respiratory ailments, such as lung cancer.
Economy
![Reserve Bank of India (RBI) building, September 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Reserve_Bank_of_India_%28RBI%29_building%2C_September_2011.jpg)
Kolkata is the commercial and financial hub of
East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
and
North-East India
, native_name_lang = mni
, settlement_type =
, image_skyline =
, image_alt =
, image_caption =
, motto =
, image_map = Northeast india.png
, ...
and home to the
Calcutta Stock Exchange
The Calcutta Stock Exchange (CSE), located at the Lyons Range, Kolkata, India, is a stock exchange under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is the second oldest stock exchange in Asia. It was founded on 1 December 186 ...
.
It is a major commercial and military port, and is one of five cities in eastern India (alongside
Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...
,
Guwahati
Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...
,
Imphal
Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal/; English pronunciation: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (also known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the f ...
, and
Kushinagar
Kushinagar ( Hindustani: or ; Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is a town in the Kushinagar district in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is an important and popular Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha attained ''parinirvana''.
Etym ...
) to have
an international airport. Once India's leading city, Kolkata experienced a steady economic decline in the decades following India's independence due to steep population increases and a rise in militant
trade-unionism
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...
, which included frequent strikes that were backed by left-wing parties.
From the 1960s to the late 1990s, several factories were closed and businesses relocated.
The lack of capital and resources added to the depressed state of the city's economy and gave rise to an unwelcome sobriquet: the "dying city". The city's fortunes improved after the
Indian economy
The economy of India has transitioned from a mixed planned economy to a mixed middle-income developing social market economy with notable state participation in strategic sectors.
*
*
*
* It is the world's fifth-largest economy by nomin ...
was liberalised in the 1990s and changes in economic policy were enacted by the West Bengal state government.
Recent estimates of the economy of Kolkata's metropolitan area have ranged from $150 to $250 billion (
PPP GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
), and have ranked it
third-most productive metro area of India.
[—]
—
—
![The 42](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/The_42.jpg)
Flexible production has been the norm in Kolkata, which has an
informal sector
An informal economy (informal sector or grey economy) is the part of any economy that is neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government.
Although the informal sector makes up a significant portion of the economies in developing countrie ...
that employs more than 40% of the labour force.
One unorganised group,
roadside hawkers, generated business worth 87.72 billion ( 2 billion) in 2005.
, around 0.81% of the city's workforce was employed in the
primary sector
The primary sector of the economy includes any Industry (economics), industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining.
The primary sector tends to make up a larger portio ...
(agriculture, forestry, mining, etc.); 15.49% worked in the
secondary sector
In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructi ...
(industrial and manufacturing); and 83.69% worked in the
tertiary sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...
(service industries).
, the majority of households in slums were engaged in occupations belonging to the informal sector; 36.5% were involved in servicing the urban middle class (as maids, drivers, etc.) and 22.2% were
casual labourers.
About 34% of the available labour force in Kolkata slums were unemployed.
According to one estimate, almost a quarter of the population live on less than 27 rupees (equivalent to 45 US cents) per day.
Major manufacturing companies in the city are
Alstom,
Larsen & Toubro
Larsen & Toubro Ltd, commonly known as L&T, is an Indian multinational conglomerate company, with business interests in engineering, construction, manufacturing, technology, information technology and financial services, headquartered in Mumba ...
,
Fosroc
Fosroc is a British manufacturer of specialised construction chemicals that cater to a range of sectors including commercial, industrial, residential, marine and infrastructure.
Fosroc has offices and manufacturing locations across Europe, the ...
,
Videocon
Videocon Industries Limited is an Indian multinational conglomerate, headquartered in Mumbai. The group had 17 manufacturing sites in India and plants in Mainland China, Poland, Italy and Mexico. It was the third largest picture tube manufact ...
. As in many other Indian cities, information technology became a high-growth sector in Kolkata starting in the late 1990s; the city's IT sector grew at 70% per annum—a rate that was twice the national average.
The 2000s saw a surge of investments in the real estate, infrastructure, retail, and hospitality sectors;
several large shopping malls and hotels were launched. Companies such as
ITC Limited
ITC Limited is an Indian conglomerate company headquartered in Kolkata. ITC has a diversified presence across industries such as FMCG, hotels, software, packaging, paperboards, specialty papers and agribusiness. The company has 13 businesses in ...
,
CESC Limited
The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC) is the Kolkata-based flagship company of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, born from the erstwhile RPG Group, under the chairmanship of businessman Sanjiv Goenka. It is an Indian electricity gene ...
,
Exide Industries
Exide Industries Ltd, is an Indian multinational storage battery manufacturer company, headquartered in Kolkata. It is the largest manufacturer of automotive and industrial lead-acid batteries in India and fourth largest in the world. It has ...
,
Emami
Emami Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Kolkata, India. This group trades with their tag name Himani. The company has seven manufacturing units across India and one overseas unit. The Company caters to a num ...
,
Eveready Industries India
Eveready Industries India Ltd. (EIIL) is an Indian company that manufactures and markets Batteries, Flashlights, Lighting solutions (Lamps and Luminaires). The Eveready brand has been present in India since 1905. EIIL's principal activities are th ...
,
Lux Industries
Lux industries, previously known as Biswanath Hosiery Mills, is an Indian underwear company headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Its offerings include various kinds of hosiery products for men, women and children. It is one of the old ...
,
Rupa Company
Rupa and Company Limited is one of the leading Knitwear brands in India. The Company covers the entire range of knitted garments from comfort innerwear to cool casual wear. It all started as a dream of three farsighted visionary men who changed t ...
,
Berger Paints
Berger Paints Ltd is an Indian multinational paint company, based in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. This company has 16 manufacturing units in India, 2 in Nepal, 1 each in Poland and Russia. It has manufacturing units at Howrah and Rishra, A ...
,
Birla Corporation
Birla Corporation Limited is an Indian-based flagship company of the M P Birla group of companies, founded by Shri Ghanshyam Das Birla in the late 1910s and carried on by Madhav Prasad Birla.
In the 1890s, Birla Corporation was a jute manufact ...
,
Britannia Industries
Britannia Industries Limited is an Indian company specialised in food industry, part of the Wadia Group headed by Nusli Wadia. Founded in 1892 and headquartered in Kolkata, it is one of India's oldest existing companies and best known for it ...
and
Purushottam Publishers
Purushottam Publishers is an independent publishing house and media company headquartered in Baranagar, West Bengal, India, publishing K-12 school textbooks, academic research and career guidebooks for University and College level and General bo ...
are headquartered in the city.
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
India,
PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounti ...
India,
Tata Global Beverages
Tata Consumer Products is an Indian fast-moving consumer goods company and a part of the Tata Group. Its registered office is located in Kolkata while its corporate headquarters is in Mumbai. It is the world's second-largest manufacturer and di ...
, and
Tata Steel
Tata Steel Limited is an Indian multinational steel-making company, based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand and headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of the Tata Group.
Formerly known as Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO), Tata S ...
have their registered office and zonal headquarters in Kolkata. Kolkata hosts the headquarters of three major public-sector banks:
Allahabad Bank
Allahabad Bank was an Indian nationalised bank with its headquarters in Kolkata, India. Founded in Allahabad in 1865 and nationalized by the government of India in 1969, the bank provided banking and financial services for 155 years until it w ...
,
UCO Bank
UCO Bank, formerly United Commercial Bank, is an Indian public sector bank, established in 1943 in Kolkata. During FY 2020–21, its total business was 3.24 lakh crore. Based on 2020 data, it is ranked 80 on the Fortune India 500 list. UCO B ...
, and the
United Bank of India
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...
; and a private bank
Bandhan Bank
Bandhan Bank Ltd. is a banking and financial services company, headquartered in Kolkata. Bandhan Bank is present in 34 out of 36 states and union territories of India, with 5,646 banking outlets and more than 2.77 crore customers. Having re ...
.
Reserve Bank of India
The Reserve Bank of India, chiefly known as RBI, is India's central bank and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is responsible f ...
has its eastern zonal office in Kolkata, and
India Government Mint, Kolkata is one of the four mints in India. Some of the oldest public sector companies are headquartered in the city such as the
Coal India Limited
Coal India Limited (CIL) is an Indian central public sector undertaking under the ownership of the Ministry of Coal, Government of India. It is headquartered at Kolkata. It is the ''largest government-owned-coal-producer'' in the world. It is ...
,
National Insurance Company
National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) is a central public sector undertaking under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is headquartered at Kolkata and was established in 1906 by Gordhandas Dutia and Jeevan Das Dut ...
,
Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers
Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd, abbreviated as GRSE, is one of India's leading shipyards, located in Kolkata. It builds and repairs commercial and naval vessels. GRSE also builds export ships.
Founded in 1884 as a small privately-o ...
,
Tea Board of India
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and norther ...
,
Geological Survey of India
The Geological Survey of India (GSI) is a scientific agency of India. It was founded in 1851, as a Government of India organization under the Ministry of Mines, one of the oldest of such organisations in the world and the second oldest survey ...
,
Zoological Survey of India
The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), founded on 1 July 1916 by Government of India Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, as premier Indian organisation in zoological research and studies to promote the survey, exploration and r ...
,
Botanical Survey of India
Botanical Survey of India (BSI) located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was founded on 13 February 1890, is Government of India Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change's organization for survey, research and conservation of pl ...
,
Jute Corporation of India, National Test House,
Hindustan Copper and the
Ordnance Factories Board of the
Indian Ministry of Defence.
Demographics
Population
The
demonym for residents of Kolkata are ''Calcuttan'' and ''Kolkatan''. According to provisional results of the 2011 national census, Kolkata district, which occupies an area of , had a population of
4,486,679;
its population density was .
This represents a decline of 1.88% during the decade 2001–11. The
sex ratio
The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species d ...
is 899 females per 1000 males—lower than the national average.
The ratio is depressed by the influx of working males from surrounding rural areas, from the rest of West Bengal; these men commonly leave their families behind. Kolkata's literacy rate of 87.14%
exceeds the national average of 74%.
The final population totals of census 2011 stated the population of city as 4,496,694.
The urban agglomeration had a population of 14,112,536 in 2011.
, about one-third of the population, or 15 lakh (1.5 million) people, lived in 3,500 unregistered
squatter-occupied and 2,011 registered
slums.
The authorised slums (with access to basic services like water, latrines, trash removal by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation) can be broadly divided into two groups—''bustees'', in which slum dwellers have some long term tenancy agreement with the landowners; and ''udbastu colonies'', settlements which had been leased to refugees from present-day Bangladesh by the government.
The
unauthorised slums (devoid of basic services provided by the municipality) are occupied by squatters who started living on encroached lands—mainly along canals, railway lines and roads.
According to the 2005 National Family Health Survey, around 14% of the households in Kolkata were poor, while 33% lived in slums, indicating a substantial proportion of households in slum areas were better off economically than the bottom quarter of urban households in terms of wealth status.
Mother Teresa
Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was ...
was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...
for founding and working with the
Missionaries of Charity
The Missionaries of Charity ( la, Congregatio Missionariarum a Caritate) is a Catholic centralized religious institute of consecrated life of Pontifical Right for women
established in 1950 by Mother Teresa, now known in the Catholic Church as ...
in Kolkata—an organisation "whose primary task was to love and care for those persons nobody was prepared to look after".
Languages
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
, the official state language, is the dominant language in Kolkata.
English is also used, particularly by the white-collar workforce.
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
and
are spoken by a sizeable minority.
Bengali Hindus
Bengali Hindus ( bn, বাঙ্গালী হিন্দু/বাঙালি হিন্দু, translit=Bāṅgālī Hindu/Bāṅāli Hindu) are an ethnoreligious population who make up the majority in the Indian states of West Beng ...
form the majority of Kolkata's population;
Marwaris
The Marwari or Marwadi (Hindi: मारवाड़ी, Urdu: مارواڑی) are an Indian ethnic group that originate from the Rajasthan region of India. Their language, also called Marwari, comes under the umbrella of Rajasthani languages ...
,
Biharis
The Biharis () is a demonym given to the inhabitants of the Indian state of Bihar. Bihari people can be separated into three main Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic groups, Bhojpuris, Maithils and Magadhis. They are also further divided into a v ...
and Urdu-speaking
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
compose large minorities. Among
Kolkata's smaller communities are
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
,
Tamils
The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...
,
Nepalis
Nepalis (English: Nepalese ; ne, नेपाली) are the citizens of Nepal under the provisions of Nepali nationality law. The country is home to people of many different national origins who are the descendants of immigrants from India, ...
,
Pathans/Afghans (locally known as ''Kabuliwala'')
Odias
The Odia (), formerly spelled Oriya, is an Indo-Aryan ethnic group native to the Indian state of Odisha who speak Odia language. They constitute a majority in the eastern coastal state, with significant minority populations in neighboring An ...
,
Telugus
Telugu people ( te, తెలుగువారు, Teluguvāru), or Telugus, or Telugu vaaru, are the largest of the four major Dravidian ethnolinguistic groups in terms of population. Telugus are native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh ...
,
Gujaratis
The Gujarati people or Gujaratis, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who reside in or can trace their ancestry or heritage to the present-day western Indian state of Gujarat. They primarily speak Gujarati, an Indo-Aryan language. While G ...
,
Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indian people fall into two different groups: those with mixed Indian and British ancestry, and people of British descent born or residing in India. The latter sense is now mainly historical, but confusions can arise. The '' Oxford English ...
s,
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diasp ...
,
Bengali Muslims
Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...
,
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
,
Tibetans
The Tibetan people (; ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans liv ...
,
Maharashtrians
The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as ...
,
Konkanis,
Malayalees
The Malayali people () (also spelt Malayalee and also known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India, occupying its southwestern Malabar coast. They are predomina ...
,
Punjabis and
Parsis
Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...
.
The number of Armenians, Greeks,
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and other foreign-origin groups declined during the 20th century.
The
Jewish population of Kolkata was 5,000 during World War II, but declined after
Indian independence and the establishment of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
; by 2013, there were 25 Jews in the city. India's sole
Chinatown is in eastern Kolkata;
once home to 20,000 ethnic Chinese, its population dropped to around 2,000
as a result of multiple factors including repatriation and denial of Indian citizenship following the 1962
Sino-Indian War
The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tibet ...
, and immigration to foreign countries for better economic opportunities.
The Chinese community traditionally worked in the local tanning industry and ran Chinese restaurants.
![South City Towers, Kolkata](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/South_City_Towers%2C_Kolkata.JPG)
Religions
According to the 2011 census, 76.51% of the population is
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
, 20.60%
Muslim, 0.88%
Christian and 0.47%
Jain
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
.
[ Scroll down to "Religion in Kolkata"] The remainder of the population includes
Sikhs,
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
s, and other religions which accounts for 0.45% of the population; 1.09% did not state a religion in the census.
Kolkata reported 67.6% of
Special and Local Laws crimes registered in 35 large Indian cities during 2004.
Government and public services
Civic administration
![Calcutta High Court](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Calcutta_High_Court.jpg)
Kolkata is administered by several government agencies. The
Kolkata Municipal Corporation
Kolkata Municipal Corporation (abbreviated KMC; also Calcutta Municipal Corporation) is the local government of the Indian city of Kolkata, the state capital of West Bengal. This civic administrative body administers an area of . Its motto, ' ...
, or KMC, oversees and manages the civic infrastructure of the city's 16 boroughs, which together encompass 144 wards.
Each ward elects a councillor to the KMC. Each borough has a committee of councillors, each of whom is elected to represent a ward. By means of the borough committees, the corporation undertakes urban planning and maintains roads, government-aided schools, hospitals, and municipal markets.
As Kolkata's apex body, the corporation discharges its functions through the mayor-in-council, which comprises a mayor, a deputy mayor, and ten other elected members of the KMC.
The functions of the KMC include water supply, drainage and sewerage, sanitation, solid waste management, street lighting, and building regulation.
Kolkata's administrative agencies have areas of jurisdiction that do not coincide. Listed in ascending order by area, they are:
Kolkata district
Kolkata district (formerly known as Calcutta district) is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal, headquartered in Kolkata.
History
Long before the British came to India, the ''zamindari'' (land lordship) of all lands from Barisha to ...
; the
Kolkata Police area and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area, or "Kolkata city"; and the
Kolkata metropolitan area
Kolkata Metropolitan Area (abbreviated KMA; formerly Calcutta Metropolitan Area), also known as Greater Kolkata, is the urban agglomeration of the city of Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the third most populous metropolitan ar ...
, which is the city's urban agglomeration. The agency overseeing the latter, the
Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority
Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) is the statutory planning and development authority for the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA) in the state of West Bengal, India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a coun ...
, is responsible for the
statutory planning and development of greater Kolkata. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation was ranked first out of 21 cities for best governance and administrative practices in India in 2014. It scored 4.0 on 10 compared to the national average of 3.3.
The Kolkata Port Trust, an agency of the central government, manages the city's river port. , the
All India Trinamool Congress controls the KMC; the mayor is
Firhad Hakim
Firhad Hakim 1 January 1959) is an Indian politician serving as the current and 38th Mayor of Kolkata.
He is also serving as Cabinet Minister of
Urban Development and Municipal Affairs and Housing, Government of West Bengal. He is a MLA of ...
, while the deputy mayor is Atin Ghosh. The city has an apolitical
titular
Titular may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Title character in a narrative work, the character referred to in its title
Religion
* Titular (Catholicism), a cardinal who holds a titulus, one of the main churches of Rome
** Titular bisho ...
post, that of the
Sheriff of Kolkata
The Sheriff of Kolkata is an apolitical titular position of authority bestowed for one year on a prominent citizen of Kolkata (Calcutta). The Sheriff has an office and staff in Calcutta High Court but does not have executive powers. Mumbai (Bo ...
, which presides over various city-related functions and conferences.
As the seat of the
Government of West Bengal, Kolkata is home to not only the offices of the local governing agencies, but also the
West Bengal Legislative Assembly
The West Bengal Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located in the B. B. D. Bagh area of Kolkata, the capital of the state. Members of the Legislative assembly are directly elected by t ...
; the state secretariat, which is housed in the
Writers' Building
The Writers' Buildings, often shortened to just Writers, is the official secretariat building of the state government of West Bengal in Kolkata, India. The 150-meter long building covers the entire northern stretch of the iconic Lal Dighi pond a ...
; and the
Calcutta High Court. Most government establishments and institutions are housed in the centre of the city in
B. B. D. Bagh
B. B. D. Bagh, formerly called Tank Square and then Dalhousie Square (1847 to 1856), is the shortened version for Benoy-Badal-Dinesh Bagh. It is the seat of power of the state government, as well as the central business district of Kolkata in ...
(formerly known as Dalhousie Square). The
Calcutta High Court is the oldest
High Court in India. It was preceded by the
Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William which was established in 1774. The Calcutta High Court has jurisdiction over the state of
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
and the
Union Territory of the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...
. Kolkata has lower courts: the
Court of Small Causes
In Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi cities, the Small Causes Court is responsible for adjudicating matters related to civil cases. The court is responsible for cases relating to tax, (family matters are not dealt by small causes court), property ...
and the City Civil Court decide civil matters; the
Sessions Court
A Sessions Court or even known as the Court of Sessions Judge is a court of law which exists in several Commonwealth countries. A Court of Session is the highest criminal court in a district and the court of first instance for trying serious offe ...
rules in criminal cases. The
Kolkata Police
The Kolkata Police Force (KPF) is one of the two presidency police forces of the Indian state of West Bengal. Kolkata Police has the task of policing the metropolitan area (apart from Bidhannagar and New Town, which are served by the Bidhannaga ...
, headed by a police commissioner, is overseen by the
West Bengal Ministry of Home Affairs. The Kolkata district elects two representatives to India's lower house, the
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...
, and 11 representatives to the state legislative assembly.
The Kolkata police district registered 15,510
Indian Penal Code
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) is the official criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. The code was drafted on the recommendations of first law commission of India established ...
cases in 2010, the 8th-highest total in the country.
In 2010, the crime rate was 117.3 per 100,000, below the national rate of 187.6; it was the lowest rate among India's largest cities.
Utility services
![Kolkatavsnl](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Kolkatavsnl.JPG)
The
Kolkata Municipal Corporation
Kolkata Municipal Corporation (abbreviated KMC; also Calcutta Municipal Corporation) is the local government of the Indian city of Kolkata, the state capital of West Bengal. This civic administrative body administers an area of . Its motto, ' ...
supplies the city with potable water that is sourced from the
Hooghly River; most of it is treated and purified at the Palta pumping station located in North 24 Parganas district. Roughly 95% of the 4,000 tonnes of refuse produced daily by the city is transported to the dumping grounds in
Dhapa, which is east of the town. To promote the recycling of garbage and sewer water, agriculture is encouraged on the dumping grounds.
Parts of the city lack proper sewerage, leading to unsanitary methods of waste disposal.
In 1856, the Bengal Government appointed
George Turnbull to be the Commissioner of Drainage and Sewerage to improve the city's sewerage. Turnbull's main job was to be the Chief Engineer of the
East Indian Railway Company
The East Indian Railway Company, operating as the East Indian Railway (reporting mark EIR), introduced railways to East India and North India, while the Companies such as the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, South Indian Railway, Bombay, Barod ...
responsible for building the first railway from
Howrah to
Varanasi
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic t ...
(then
Benares
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic tra ...
).
Electricity is supplied by the privately operated
Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation
The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC) is the Kolkata-based flagship company of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, born from the erstwhile RPG Group, under the chairmanship of businessman Sanjiv Goenka. It is an Indian electricity gene ...
, or CESC, to the city proper; the
West Bengal State Electricity Board
West Bengal State Electricity Board (WBSEB) was a state government electricity regulation board in West Bengal in India. It was formed on 1 May 1955. In 2007, the Government of West Bengal unbundled the erstwhile WBSEB into two companies namel ...
supplies it in the suburbs. Fire services are handled by the
West Bengal Fire Service
The West Bengal Fire Service is the state owned service that provides firefighting, rescue and emergency medical services to the state of West Bengal, India including the city of Kolkata. There are over 350 fire appliances at their disposal.
...
, a state agency.
, the city had 16 fire stations.
State-owned
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited
Bharat, or Bharath, may refer to:
* Bharat (term), the name for India in various Indian languages
** Bharata Khanda, the Sanskrit name for the Indian subcontinent (or South Asia)
* Bharata, the name of several legendary figures or groups:
** Bhar ...
, or BSNL, as well as private enterprises, among them
Vodafone Idea
Vodafone Idea (or Vi, and/but stylised as ''V!'') is an Indian telecom operator with its headquarters based in Mumbai and Gandhinagar. It is a pan-India integrated GSM operator offering 2G, 3G, 4G, 4G+, VoLTE, and VoWiFi service. As of 31 ...
,
Bharti Airtel
Bharti Airtel Limited, commonly known as (d/b/a) Airtel, is an Indian multinational telecommunications services company based in New Delhi. It operates in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa, as well as the Channel Islands. Currently, ...
,
Reliance Jio
Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, doing business as Jio, is an Indian telecommunications company and a subsidiary of Jio Platforms, headquartered in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It operates a national LTE network with coverage across all ...
are the leading telephone and cell phone service providers in the city.
with Kolkata being the first city in India to have cell phone and
4G connectivity, the
GSM
The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such ...
and
CDMA
Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communicatio ...
cellular coverage is extensive. , Kolkata has 7 percent of the total broadband internet consumers in India; BSNL, VSNL, Tata Indicom, Sify, Hathway, Airtel, and Jio are among the main vendors.
Military and diplomatic establishments
The
Eastern Command of the
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
is based in the city.
Being one of India's major city and the largest city in eastern and north-eastern India, Kolkata hosts diplomatic missions of many countries such as
Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, People's Republic of China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States. The
U.S Consulate in Kolkata is the
US Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...
's second-oldest Consulate and dates from 19 November 1792.
The Diplomatic representation of more than 65 Countries and International Organization is present in Kolkata as Consulate office, honorary Consulate office, Cultural Centre, Deputy High Commission and Economic section and Trade Representation office.
Transport
![Kolkata Tram](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Kolkata_Tram.jpg)
Public transport is provided by the
Kolkata Suburban Railway, the
Kolkata Metro
The Kolkata Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. , it has two operational lines, a line from Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash and a line from Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah, for a total of . Four ...
,
trams
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ar ...
,
rickshaws
A rickshaw originally denoted a two- or three-wheeled passenger cart, now known as a pulled rickshaw, which is generally pulled by one person carrying one passenger. The first known use of the term was in 1879. Over time, cycle rickshaws (also ...
, taxis and buses. The suburban rail network connects the city's distant suburbs.
![Kolkata-metro-1200](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Kolkata-metro-1200.jpg)
According to a 2013 survey conducted by the
International Association of Public Transport
The International Association of Public Transport (UITP, from the french: L’Union internationale des transports publics) is a non-profit advocacy organization for public transport authorities and operators, policy decision-makers, scientific in ...
, in terms of a public transport system, Kolkata ranks among the top of the six Indian cities surveyed. The
Kolkata Metro
The Kolkata Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. , it has two operational lines, a line from Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash and a line from Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah, for a total of . Four ...
, in operation since 1984, is the oldest underground mass transit system in India. It spans the north–south length of the city. In 2020, part of the Second line was inaugurated to cover part of Salt Lake. This east–west line will connect Salt Lake with Howrah. The two lines cover a distance of . , four Metro rail lines were under construction.
![The new DEMU bullet train at sealdah station 2014-06-03 12-27](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/The_new_DEMU_bullet_train_at_sealdah_station_2014-06-03_12-27.jpg)
Kolkata has five long-distance railway stations, located at
Howrah (the largest railway complex in India),
Sealdah
Sealdah is a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Etymology
Jackals (''sheal'' in Bengali) howled around Sealdah. Antiquarians identify it as Shrigaldwipa (Jackal Island). Nearby Beliaghata w ...
,
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
,
Shalimar Shalimar or Shalamar refers to three historic royal gardens (or Baghs) of the Mughal Empire in South Asia:
* Shalimar Bagh, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India; built in 1619
* Shalimar Gardens, Lahore, Pakistan; a UNESCO World Heritage Site built i ...
and
Santragachi
Santragachi, or Santragachhi, is a residential neighbourhood in Howrah, Howrah district, West Bengal, India. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Santragachi Junction in Santragachi is one of t ...
, which connect Kolkata by rail to most cities in West Bengal and to other major cities in India. The city serves as the headquarters of three railway zones out of eighteen of the
Indian Railways
Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tota ...
regional divisions—the
Kolkata Metro
The Kolkata Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. , it has two operational lines, a line from Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash and a line from Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah, for a total of . Four ...
Railways,
Eastern Railway and the
South-Eastern Railway.
Kolkata has rail and road connectivity with
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...
, the capital of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
.
Bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
es, which are the most commonly used mode of transport, are run by government agencies and private operators. Kolkata is the only Indian city with a tram network, which was operated by the
Calcutta Tramways Company
Calcutta Tramways Company (CTC) was a state-run company that operated trams and buses in and around Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta) in West Bengal, India. The Kolkata tram is the only operating tramway in India and is the oldest electric t ...
. It has now renamed to
West Bengal Transport Corporation
West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) is a West Bengal state government undertaken corporation. It plies buses, trams and ferries in the state. It was formed by merging existing state transport agencies, namely the Calcutta State Transpo ...
.
The slow-moving tram services are restricted to certain areas of the city. Water-logging, caused by heavy rains during the
summer monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...
, sometimes interrupt transportation networks. Hired public conveyances include
auto rickshaw
An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...
s, which often ply specific routes, and yellow metered taxis. Almost all of Kolkata's taxis are antiquated
Hindustan Ambassador
The Hindustan Ambassador is an automobile manufactured by Hindustan Motors of India from 1957 to 2014, with improvements and changes over its production lifetime. The Ambassador was based on the Morris Oxford series III model, first made by M ...
s by make; newer air-conditioned
radio taxis are in service as well. In parts of the city,
cycle rickshaw
The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of hatchback tricycle designed to carry passengers on a for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bikecab, ...
s and
hand-pulled rickshaws are patronised by the public for short trips.
![Air-conditioned Public Bus - Salt Lake Cirty - Kolkata 2015-09-14 3471](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Air-conditioned_Public_Bus_-_Salt_Lake_Cirty_-_Kolkata_2015-09-14_3471.JPG)
Due to its diverse and abundant public transportation, privately owned vehicles are not as common in Kolkata as in other major Indian cities.
The city has witnessed a steady increase in the number of registered vehicles; 2002 data showed an increase of 44% over a period of seven years.
, after adjusting for population density, the city's "road space" was only 6% compared to 23% in Delhi and 17% in Mumbai.
The
Kolkata Metro
The Kolkata Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. , it has two operational lines, a line from Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash and a line from Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah, for a total of . Four ...
has somewhat eased traffic congestion, as has the addition of new roads and
flyovers. Agencies operating long-distance bus services include the
West Bengal Transport Corporation
West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) is a West Bengal state government undertaken corporation. It plies buses, trams and ferries in the state. It was formed by merging existing state transport agencies, namely the Calcutta State Transpo ...
and various private operators. The city's main bus terminals are located at
Esplanade
An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cl ...
and
Babughat
Babughat (also Babooghat, or Baje Kadamtala Ghat, and ''Baboo Raj Chandra Ghat'') is one of the many ghats built during British Raj, along the bank of Hooghly River on Strand Road, Kolkata at B. B. D. Bagh, Kolkata.
The ghat has a tall colo ...
. The Kolkata–
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
and Kolkata–
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
prongs of the
Golden Quadrilateral
The Golden Quadrilateral ( hi, स्वर्णिम चतुर्भुज, Svarnim Chaturbhuj; abbreviated GQ) is a national highway network connecting several major industrial, agricultural and cultural centres of India. It forms a ...
, and
National Highway 12 start from the city.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport is an international airport located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, serving the Kolkata Metropolitan Area and is the aviation hub for eastern and northeastern India. It is located approximatel ...
, located in
Dum Dum
Dum Dum is a city and a municipality of Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of Kolkata urban area and also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA).
Etymology
During the 19th ...
, about north-east of the city centre, operates domestic and international flights. In 2013, the airport was upgraded to handle increased air traffic.
![Khidirpore Dock 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Khidirpore_Dock_01.jpg)
The
Port of Kolkata
Port of Kolkata or Kolkata Port, officially known as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Trust (formerly Kolkata Port Trust), is the only riverine major port of India, located in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal, around from the sea. It is the olde ...
, established in 1870, is India's oldest and the only major river port.
The Kolkata Port Trust manages docks in Kolkata and
Haldia.
The port hosts passenger services to
Port Blair
Port Blair () is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (''tehsil'') of the islands, the headquarters for the district of South An ...
, capital of the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...
; freighter service to ports throughout India and around the world is operated by the
Shipping Corporation of India
The Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) is a government corporation that operates and manages vessels servicing both national and international lines. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Shipping, Government of India, with its headquart ...
.
Ferry services connect Kolkata with its twin city of
Howrah, located across the Hooghly River.
Healthcare
![Mchbuilding](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Mchbuilding.JPG)
, the healthcare system in Kolkata consists of 48 government hospitals, mostly under the
Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of West Bengal, and 366 private medical establishments;
these establishments provide the city with 27,687 hospital beds.
For every 10,000 people in the city, there are 61.7 hospital beds,
[The population (4,486,679) and hospital beds (27,687) have been used to derive this rate.] which is higher than the national average of 9 hospital beds per 10,000. Ten
medical and dental colleges are located in the Kolkata metropolitan area which act as
tertiary referral hospital
A tertiary referral hospital (also called a tertiary hospital, tertiary referral center, tertiary care center, or tertiary center) is a hospital that provides tertiary care, which is a level of health care obtained from specialists in a large ho ...
s in the state. The
Calcutta Medical College
Calcutta Medical College, officially Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, is a public medical school and hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is the oldest existing hospital in Asia. The institute was established on 28 January 1835 ...
, founded in 1835, was the first institution in Asia to teach modern medicine.
However, These facilities are inadequate to meet the healthcare needs of the city. More than 78% in Kolkata prefer the private medical sector over the public medical sector,
due to the overburdening of the public health sector, the lack of a nearby facility, and excessive waiting times at government facilities.
According to the Indian 2005 National Family Health Survey, only a small proportion of Kolkata households were covered under any health scheme or
health insurance.
The
total fertility rate
The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime if:
# she were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through her lifetime
# she were t ...
in Kolkata was 1.4, the lowest among the eight cities surveyed.
In Kolkata, 77% of the married women used
contraceptives, which was the highest among the cities surveyed, but use of modern contraceptive methods was the lowest (46%).
The
infant mortality rate
Infant mortality is the death of young children under the age of 1. This death toll is measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the probability of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births. The under-five morta ...
in Kolkata was live births, and the mortality rate for children under five was live births.
![IPGMER SSKM Woodburn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/IPGMER_SSKM_Woodburn.jpg)
Among the surveyed cities, Kolkata stood second (5%) for children who had not had any vaccinations under the
Universal Immunization Programme Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) is a vaccination programme launched by the Government of India in 1985. It became a part of Child Survival and Safe Motherhood Programme in 1992 and is currently one of the key areas under National Rural Health ...
.
Kolkata ranked second with access to an ''
anganwadi
An Anganwadi is a type of rural child care centre in India. They were started by the Indian government in 1975 as part of the Integrated Child Development Services program to combat child hunger and malnutrition. ''Anganwadi'' in H ...
'' centre under the
Integrated Child Development Services
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) is a government program in India which provides nutritional meals, preschool education, primary healthcare, immunization, health check-up and referral services to children under 6 years of age and their ...
(ICDS) programme for 57% of the children between 0 and 71 months.
The proportion of
malnourished
Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues ...
,
anaemic and
underweight
An underweight person is a person whose body weight is considered too low to be healthy. A person who is underweight is malnourished.
Assessment
The body mass index, a ratio of a person's weight to their height, has traditionally been used ...
children in Kolkata was less in comparison to other surveyed cities.
About 18% of the men and 30% of the women in Kolkata are
obese
Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...
—the majority of them belonging to the non-poor strata of society.
In 2005, Kolkata had the highest percentage (55%) among the surveyed cities of
anaemic women, while 20% of the men in Kolkata were
anaemic.
Diseases like
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
,
asthma
Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...
,
goitre
A goitre, or goiter, is a swelling in the neck resulting from an enlarged thyroid gland. A goitre can be associated with a thyroid that is not functioning properly.
Worldwide, over 90% of goitre cases are caused by iodine deficiency. The term is ...
and other
thyroid disorders were found in large numbers of people.
Tropical diseases like
malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
,
dengue
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms typically begin three to fourteen days after infection. These may include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic ...
and ''
chikungunya
Chikungunya is an infection caused by the ''Chikungunya virus'' (CHIKV). Symptoms include fever and joint pains. These typically occur two to twelve days after exposure. Other symptoms may include headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, and a ra ...
'' are prevalent in Kolkata, though their incidence is decreasing. Kolkata is one of the districts in India with
a high number of people with
AIDS; it has been designated a district prone to high risk. As of 2014, because of
higher air pollution, the
life expectancy
Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth ...
of a person born in the city is four years fewer than in the suburbs.
Education
![IIMKolkata](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/IIMKolkata.jpg)
Kolkata's schools are run by the state government or private organisations, many of which are religious.
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
and English are the primary languages of instruction;
and
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
are also used, particularly in central Kolkata.
Schools in Kolkata follow the
"10+2+3" plan. After completing their secondary education, students typically enroll in schools that have a higher secondary facility and are affiliated with the
West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education
The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) came into existence in 1975. It is an autonomous examining authority, which is responsible for conducting examinations for standard XII for both government and private schools aff ...
, the
ICSE, or the
CBSE.
They usually choose a focus on liberal arts, business, or science. Vocational programs are also available.
Some Kolkata schools, for example
South Point School
South Point is a higher-secondary co-educational private school located in Kolkata, West Bengal and affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education, consisting of three organisations – South Point School (Nursery to Class V), South Poi ...
,
La Martiniere Calcutta
''La Martiniere ''(informally known as LMC) is an elite, independent private day school located in Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal. It comprises two single-gender boys and girls schools. It was established in 1836 in accordance with the will of ...
,
Calcutta Boys' School
The Calcutta Boys' School is an independent private day school located in Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal. was founded by the Rev. James Mills Thoburn (Methodist Missionary to India, and later Missionary Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Chur ...
,
St. James' School (Kolkata),
St. Xavier's Collegiate School and
Loreto House
Loreto House was established in 1842 in Kolkata, by the Sisters of Loreto belonging to the institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the oldest and the first Loreto institution to be established in India and was one of the few all-girls Catho ...
, have been ranked amongst the best schools in the country.
![Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Kolkata Campus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Indian_Institute_of_Foreign_Trade%2C_Kolkata_Campus.jpg)
, the Kolkata urban agglomeration is home to 14 universities run by the state government.
The colleges are each affiliated with a university or institution based either in Kolkata or elsewhere in India.
Aliah University which was founded in 1780 as ''Mohammedan College of Calcutta'' is the oldest post-secondary educational institution of the city.
The
University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, ...
, founded in 1857, is the first modern university in
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
.
Presidency College, Kolkata
Presidency University, Kolkata (formerly known as Presidency College, Kolkata) is a second major public state aided research university located in College Street, Kolkata. Considered as one of best colleges when Presidency College was affili ...
(formerly Hindu College between 1817 and 1855), founded in 1855, was one of the oldest colleges in India. It was affiliated with the
University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, ...
until 2010 when it was converted to
Presidency University, Kolkata
Presidency University, Kolkata (formerly known as Presidency College, Kolkata) is a second major public state aided research university located in College Street, Kolkata. Considered as one of best colleges when Presidency College was affili ...
in 2010.
Bengal Engineering and Science University
Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur (IIEST Shibpur), erstwhile Bengal Engineering College (also known as B.E. College), formerly Bengal Engineering and Science University (also known as BESU), is a public research u ...
(BESU) is the second oldest engineering institution of the country located in
Howrah. An
Institute of National Importance
Institute of National Importance (INI) is a status that may be conferred on a premier public higher education institution in India by an act of Parliament of India, an institution which "serves as a pivotal player in developing highly skilled per ...
, BESU was converted to India's first
IIEST.
Jadavpur University
Jadavpur University is a public state university located in Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established in 1905 as ''Bengal Technical Institute'' and was converted into Jadavpur University in 1955. In 2022, it was ranked fourth am ...
is known for its arts, science, and engineering faculties. The
Indian Institute of Management Calcutta
Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM Calcutta or IIM-C) is a public business school located in Joka, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was the first Indian Institute of Management to be established, and has been recognized as an Instit ...
, which was the first of the
Indian Institutes of Management
The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are central government-owned-public business schools for management offering undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral and executive programmes along with some additional courses in the field of busines ...
, was established in 1961 at
Joka, a locality in the south-western suburbs. Kolkata also houses the
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade
The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) is a leading business school of India. Established in 1963, it works as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. It also functions as a civil services tr ...
, which was started here in the year 2006.
The
West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences
The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS or NUJS) is a premier public law school in India, also known as Columbia of East, and is an elite National Law University located in Bidhannagar, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. I ...
is one of India's
autonomous law schools, and the
Indian Statistical Institute
Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) is a higher education and research institute which is recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the 1959 act of the Indian parliament. It grew out of the Statistical Laboratory set up by Prasanta ...
is a public research institute and university. State owned
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (MAKAUT), formerly known as West Bengal University of Technology (WBUT), is a public state university located in Kalyani, West Bengal, India. It is funded completely by the Government of West B ...
, West Bengal (MAKAUT, WB), formerly West Bengal University of Technology (WBUT) is the largest Technological University in terms of student enrollment and number of Institutions affiliated by it. Private institutions include the
and
University of Engineering & Management (UEM).
![Presidency University - Kolkata 7367](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Presidency_University_-_Kolkata_7367.JPG)
Notable scholars who were born, worked or studied in Kolkata include physicists
Satyendra Nath Bose
Satyendra Nath Bose (; 1 January 1894 – 4 February 1974) was a Bengali mathematician and physicist specializing in theoretical physics. He is best known for his work on quantum mechanics in the early 1920s, in developing the foundation for ...
,
Meghnad Saha
Meghnad Saha (6 October 1893 – 16 February 1956) was an Indian astrophysicist who developed the Saha ionization equation, used to describe chemical and physical conditions in stars. His work allowed astronomers to accurately relate the spe ...
,
and
Jagadish Chandra Bose;
chemist
Prafulla Chandra Roy
Sir Prafulla Chandra Ray, CIE, FNI, FRASB, FIAS, FCS (also spelled Prafulla Chandra Rây and Prafulla Chandra Roy; bn, প্রফুল্ল চন্দ্র রায় ''Praphulla Chandra Rāy''; 2 August 1861 – 16 June 1944 ...
;
statisticians
Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis
Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis OBE, FNA, FASc, FRS (29 June 1893– 28 June 1972) was an Indian scientist and statistician. He is best remembered for the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure, and for being one of the members of the fir ...
and
Anil Kumar Gain
Anil Kumar Gain FRSS FCPS (1 February 1919 – 7 February 1978) (also spelt Anil Kumar Gayen) was an Indian mathematician and statistician best known for his works on the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient in the field of applied ...
;
physician
Upendranath Brahmachari
Rai Bahadur Sir Upendranath Brahmachari ( bn, উপেন্দ্রনাথ ব্রহ্মচারী) (19 December 1873 – 6 February 1946) was a leading Indian physician and scientist of his time. He synthesised Urea-Stibamine (car ...
;
educator
Ashutosh Mukherjee; and Nobel laureates
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
,
C. V. Raman
Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (; 7 November 188821 November 1970) was an Indian physicist known for his work in the field of light scattering.
Using a spectrograph that he developed, he and his student K. S. Krishnan discovered that when ...
,
and
Amartya Sen
Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher, who since 1972 has taught and worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. Sen has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, econom ...
.
![Amity University, Kolkata](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Amity_University%2C_Kolkata.jpg)
Kolkata houses many research institutes like
Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science
Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in basic sciences under the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, situated at the heart of ...
(IACS),
Indian Institute of Chemical Biology
Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB) is a biomedical research centre in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Established in 1935 as Indian Institute of Experimental Medicine (IIEM), it was inducted under the aegis of Council of Scientific & ...
(IICB),
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research
Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) are a group of premier public research institutions in India. The institutes were established by the Government of India through the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHR ...
(IISER),
Bose Institute,
Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics
The Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP) is an institution of basic research and training in physical and biophysical sciences located in Bidhannagar, Kolkata, India. The institute is named after the famous Indian physicist Meghnad Saha.
...
(SINP),
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta (CSSSC) is a social science and humanities research and teaching institute in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
History
Established in 1973 jointly by the Indian Council of Social Science Research and ...
,
All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health,
Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute
Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI) is a Kolkata-based National research institute under Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India. Established in 1950, it focuses on the area of glass, ceramics, mica, refractories ...
(CGCRI),
S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences
S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS) is an autonomous research institute dedicated to basic research in mathematics sciences under the Department of Science and Technology of Government of India. It is located in West Beng ...
(SNBNCBS),
Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management
The Indian Institute of Social Welfare & Business Management (IISWBM) is a public business school in Kolkata, India. The school is the first institute in Asia to offer an MBA degree.
It was ranked 34th among management schools by the Busines ...
(IISWBM),
,
Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre
The Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) is a research and development unit of the Department of Atomic Energy. The VECC is located in Kolkata, India and performs research in basic and applied nuclear sciences and development of the latest n ...
(VECC) and
Indian Centre for Space Physics
The Indian Centre for Space Physics (ICSP) is an Indian non-profit research organisation dedicated to carrying out advanced research in astronomy, astrophysics and space science. It is a sister institute of the University of Calcutta and the Uni ...
. Nobel laureate
Sir C. V. Raman
Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (; 7 November 188821 November 1970) was an Indian physicist known for his work in the field of light scattering.
Using a spectrograph that he developed, he and his student K. S. Krishnan discovered that when ...
did his groundbreaking work in
Raman effect
Raman scattering or the Raman effect () is the inelastic scattering of photons by matter, meaning that there is both an exchange of energy and a change in the light's direction. Typically this effect involves vibrational energy being gained by a ...
in IACS.
Culture
![Victoria Memorial Illuminated at Night](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Victoria_Memorial_Illuminated_at_Night.jpg)
Kolkata is known for its literary, artistic and revolutionary heritage; as the former capital of India, it was the birthplace of modern Indian literary and artistic thought.
Kolkata has been called the "City of Furious, Creative Energy"
as well as the "cultural
r literary
R, or r, is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ar'' (pronounced ), plural ''ars'', or in Irela ...
capital of India".
The presence of ''
paras'', which are neighbourhoods that possess a strong sense of community, is characteristic of the city.
Typically, each ''para'' has its own community club and on occasion, a playing field.
Residents engage in ''
addas'', or leisurely chats, that often take the form of freestyle intellectual conversation.
The city has a tradition of political
graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
depicting everything from outrageous slander to witty banter and limericks, caricatures and propaganda.
![Indian Museum Interior View](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Indian_Museum_Interior_View.jpg)
Kolkata has many buildings adorned with
Indo-Islamic and
Indo-Saracenic
Indo-Saracenic architecture (also known as Indo-Gothic, Mughal-Gothic, Neo-Mughal, or Hindoo style) was a revivalist architectural style mostly used by British architects in India in the later 19th century, especially in public and government ...
architectural motifs. Several well-maintained major buildings from the colonial period have been declared "heritage structures"; others are in various stages of decay. Established in 1814 as the nation's oldest museum, the
Indian Museum
The Indian Museum in Central Kolkata, West Bengal, India, also referred to as the Imperial Museum at Calcutta in colonial-era texts, is the ninth oldest museum in the world, the oldest and largest museum in India as well as in Asia. It has rare ...
houses large collections that showcase
Indian natural history
Natural history in the Indian subcontinent has a long heritage with a recorded history going back to the Vedic era. Natural history research in early times included the broad fields of palaeontology, zoology and botany. These studies would today b ...
and
Indian art.
Marble Palace
Marble Palace (Мраморный дворец) is one of the first Neoclassical palaces in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is situated between the Field of Mars and Palace Quay, slightly to the east from New Michael Palace.
Design and pre-1917 o ...
is a classic example of a European mansion that was built in the city. The
Victoria Memorial
The Victoria Memorial is a large marble building on the Maidan in Central Kolkata, built between 1906 and 1921. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria, Empress of India from 1876 to 1901.
The largest monument to a monarch anywhere ...
, a
place of interest in Kolkata, has a museum documenting the city's history. The
National Library of India
The National Library of India is a library located in Belvedere Estate, Alipore, Kolkata, India. It is India's largest library by volume and public record. The National Library is under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Currently, Dr. ...
is the leading public library in the country while
Science City is the largest science centre in the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
.
![India Education](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/National_Library%2C_Calcutta_2007.jpg)
The popularity of commercial theatres in the city has declined since the 1980s.
Group theatres of Kolkata, a cultural movement that started in the 1940s contrasting with the then-popular commercial theatres, are theatres that are not professional or commercial, and are centres of various experiments in theme, content, and production;
group theatres use the
proscenium stage to highlight socially relevant messages.
Chitpur
Chitpur (or Chitpore) is a neighbourhood in North Kolkata in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Sometimes, the entire area along Chitpur Road is referred to as Chitpur, although the various localities have distinctive names.
Hi ...
locality of the city houses multiple production companies of ''
jatra'', a tradition of folk drama popular in rural Bengal. Kolkata is the home of the
Bengali cinema industry, dubbed "Tollywood" for
Tollygunj
Tollygunge (Bengali: টালিগঞ্জ; nicknamed 'Mini Mumbai' or 'Mini Bombay') is a locality of South Kolkata, in West Bengal, India. It is famed as the centre of the Indian film industry, known as Tollywood, Marathi Cinema, South Indi ...
, where most of the state's film studios are located.
Its long tradition of
art film
An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...
s includes globally acclaimed film directors such as
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning director
Satyajit Ray,
Ritwik Ghatak
Ritwik Kumar Ghatak (; 4 November 19256 February 1976) was a noted Indian film director, screenwriter, and playwright. Along with prominent contemporary Bengali filmmakers Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinha and Mrinal Sen, his cinema is primarily rememb ...
,
Mrinal Sen
Mrinal Sen (''Beng.'' মৃণাল সেন; 14 May 1923 – 30 December 2018) was an Indian film director, and screenwriter known for his work primarily in Bengali, and few Hindi and Telugu language films. Regarded as one of the finest Ind ...
,
Tapan Sinha
Tapan Sinha (2 October 1924 – 15 January 2009) was one of the most prominent Indian film directors of his time forming a legendary quartet with Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen. He was primarily a Bengali filmmaker who worked both ...
and contemporary directors such as
Aparna Sen
Aparna Sen (, ''Ôporna Shen'') is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has received several accolades as an actress and filmmaker, including nine National Film Awards, five F ...
,
Buddhadeb Dasgupta
Buddhadeb Dasgupta (11 February 1944 – 10 June 2021) was an Indian filmmaker and poet best known for his Bengali-language films like ''Bagh Bahadur'', '' Tahader Katha'', ''Charachar'' and ''Uttara''. Five of his films have won the National ...
,
Goutam Ghose
Goutam Ghose (also spelled Gautam Ghosh born 24 July 1950) is an Indian film director, Actor, music director and cinematographer, who works primarily in Bengali cinema. He is the only Indian to have received the "Vittorio Di Sica" Award, Italy ...
and
Rituparno Ghosh
Rituparno Ghosh (31 August 1963 – 30 May 2013) was an Indian film director, actor, writer and lyricist. After pursuing a degree in economics, he started his career as a creative artist at an advertising agency. He received recognition for his ...
. During the 19th and 20th centuries,
Bengali literature was modernised through the works of authors such as
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar CIE ( bn, ঈশ্বর চন্দ্র বিদ্যাসাগর; 26 September 1820 – 29 July 1891), born Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay, was an Indian educator and social reformer of the nineteenth century ...
,
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (also Chattopadhayay) CIE (26 or 27 June 1838 – 8 April 1894) was an Indian novelist, poet, Essayist and journalist.Staff writer"Bankim Chandra: The First Prominent Bengali Novelist" ''The Daily Star'', 30 June 2011 ...
,
Michael Madhusudan Dutt
Michael Madhusudan Dutt ((Bengali: মাইকেল মধুসূদন দত্ত); (25 January 1824 – 29 June 1873) was a Bengali poet and playwright. He is considered one of the pioneers of Bengali literature.
Early life
Dutt ...
,
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
,
Kazi Nazrul Islam
, pseudonym = bn, ধূমকেতু, Dhūmketu
, image = Nazrul.jpg
, image_size =
, caption = Nazrul in Chittagong, 1926
, birth_date = 11 ''Joiṣṭhyô'', 1306 '' Bônggabdô ...
and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Coupled with social reforms led by Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda and others, this constituted a major part of the
Bengal Renaissance
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
. The middle and latter parts of the 20th century witnessed the arrival of post-modernism, as well as literary movements such as those espoused by the ''Kallol'' movement, Hungry generation, hungryalists and the Little magazine movement#Bengali little magazine movement, little magazines. Large majority of publishers of the city is concentrated in and around College Street (Kolkata), College Street, "... a half-mile of bookshops and bookstalls spilling over onto the pavement", selling new and used books.
![Durga Puja DS](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Durga_Puja_DS.jpg)
Kalighat painting originated in 19th century Kolkata as a local style that reflected a variety of themes including mythology and quotidian life.
The Government College of Art & Craft, Government College of Art and Craft, founded in 1864, has been the cradle as well as workplace of eminent artists including Abanindranath Tagore, Jamini Roy and Nandalal Bose. The art college was the birthplace of the Bengal school of art that arose as an avant garde and nationalist movement reacting against the prevalent academic art styles in the early 20th century.
The Academy of Fine Arts, Calcutta, Academy of Fine Arts and other art galleries hold regular art exhibitions. The city is recognised for its appreciation of ''Rabindra sangeet'' (songs written by Rabindranath Tagore) and Indian classical music, with important concerts and recitals, such as Dover Lane Music Conference, being held throughout the year; Bengali popular music, including Baul, ''baul'' folk ballads, ''kirtans'' and ''Gajan (festival), Gajan'' festival music; and modern music, including Bengali-language ''adhunik'' songs.
Since the early 1990s, Indian rock#Rock scenes, new genres have emerged, including one comprising alternative folk–rock Rock music of West Bengal, Bengali bands.
Another new style, ''jibonmukhi gaan'' ("songs about life"), is based on realism (arts), realism.
![Sandesh - Oberoi Grand - Kolkata 2013-05-23 8046](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Sandesh_-_Oberoi_Grand_-_Kolkata_2013-05-23_8046.JPG)
Key elements of Bengali cuisine, Kolkata's cuisine include rice and a fish curry known as ''machher jhol'',
which can be accompanied by desserts such as ''Rasgulla, roshogolla'', ''Sandesh (confectionery), sandesh'', and a sweet yoghurt known as ''Mitha Dahi, mishti dohi''. Bengal's large repertoire of seafood dishes includes various preparations of ''ilish'', a fish that is a favourite among Calcuttans. Street foods such as ''beguni'' (fried battered eggplant slices), kati roll, ''kati'' roll (flatbread roll with vegetable or chicken, mutton or egg stuffing), ''Panipuri, phuchka'' (a deep-fried crêpe with tamarind sauce) and Indian Chinese cuisine from
Chinatown are popular.
![Dance with Rabindra Sangeet - Kolkata 2011-11-05 6669](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Dance_with_Rabindra_Sangeet_-_Kolkata_2011-11-05_6669.JPG)
Though Bengali women traditionally wear the ''sari'', the ''shalwar kameez'' and Western attire is gaining acceptance among younger women. Western-style dress has greater acceptance among men, although the traditional ''dhoti'' and ''kurta'' are seen during festivals. Durga Puja, held in September–October, is Kolkata's most important and largest festival; it is an occasion for glamorous celebrations and artistic decorations. The Bengali New Year, known as Pohela Boishakh, Poila Boishak, as well as the harvest festival of Poush Parbon are among the city's other festivals; also celebrated are Kali Puja, Diwali, Chhath, Chhaith, Jivitputrika, Jitiya, Holi, Jagaddhatri Puja, Saraswati Puja, Rathayatra, Janmashtami, Maha Shivratri, Vishwakarma Puja, Lakshmi Puja, Ganesh Chathurthi, Makar Sankranti, Gajan (festival), Gajan, Kalpataru Day, Bhai Phonta, Maghotsab, Eid ul-Fitr, Eid, Muharram, Christmas, Buddha Purnima and Mahavir Jayanti. Cultural events include the Rabindra Jayanti, Independence Day (India), Independence Day (15 August), Republic Day (26 January), Kolkata Book Fair, the Dover Lane Music Festival, the Kolkata Film Festival, Nandikar's National Theatre Festival, Statesman Vintage & Classic Car Rally and Gandhi Jayanti.
Media
![Akashvani Bhawan Kolkata 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Akashvani_Bhavan%2C_Kolkata.jpg)
The first newspaper in India, the ''Hicky's Bengal Gazette, Bengal Gazette'' started publishing from the city in 1780.
Among Kolkata's widely circulated Bengali-language newspapers are ''Anandabazar Patrika'', ''Bartaman'', Ei Samay Sangbadpatra, ''Sangbad Pratidin'', ''Aajkaal'', ''Dainik Statesman'' and ''Ganashakti''.
''The Statesman (India), The Statesman'' and ''The Telegraph (Calcutta), The Telegraph'' are two major English-language newspapers that are produced and published from Kolkata. Other popular English-language newspapers published and sold in Kolkata include ''The Times of India'', ''Hindustan Times'', ''The Hindu'', ''The Indian Express'' and the ''Asian Age''.
As the largest trading centre in East India, Kolkata has several high-circulation financial dailies, including ''The Economic Times'', ''The Financial Express (India), The Financial Express'', ''Business Line'' and ''Business Standard''.
Vernacular newspapers, such as those in the
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
,
, Gujarati language, Gujarati, Odia language, Odia, Punjabi language, Punjabi and Chinese languages, are read by minorities.
Major periodicals based in Kolkata include ''Desh (magazine), Desh'', ''Sananda (magazine), Sananda'', ''Saptahik Bartaman'', ''Unish-Kuri'', ''Anandalok'' and ''Anandamela''.
Historically, Kolkata has been the centre of the Little magazine movement#Bengali little magazine movement, Bengali little magazine movement.
All India Radio, the national state-owned radio broadcaster, airs several AM broadcasting, AM radio stations in the city. Kolkata has List of FM radio stations in India#Kolkata, 10 local radio stations broadcasting on frequency modulation, FM, including three from AIR. India's state-owned television broadcaster, Doordarshan, provides two free-to-air terrestrial channels, while a mix of Bengali, Hindi, English, and other regional channels are accessible via Cable television, cable subscription, direct-broadcast satellite services, or IPTV, internet-based television. List of Bengali-language television channels#News channels, Bengali-language 24-hour television news channels include ABP Ananda, News18 Bangla, Kolkata TV, Zee 24 Ghanta, TV9 Bangla and Republic Bangla.
Sports
![Salt Lake Stadium during FIFA U17 World Cup 2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Salt_Lake_Stadium_during_FIFA_U17_World_Cup_2017_....jpg)
The most popular sports in Kolkata are association football, football and cricket. Unlike most parts of India, the residents show significant passion for football. Indian Football Association, the oldest football association of the country is based here. It administers football in West Bengal. Kolkata is home to the country's top football clubs such as Mohun Bagan A.C., East Bengal Club and the Mohammedan Sporting Club (Kolkata), Mohammedan Sporting Club.ATK Mohun Bagan FC and East Bengal FC are two clubs of the city compete in Indian Super League. The Calcutta Football League, which was started in 1898, is the oldest football league in Asia. Mohun Bagan A.C., one of the oldest football clubs in Asia, is the only organisation to be dubbed a "National Club of India". Football matches between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, dubbed as the Kolkata Derby, witness large audience attendance and rivalry between patrons. The multi-use Salt Lake Stadium, also known as Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, is India's second largest stadium by seating capacity. Most matches of the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup were played in this stadium including both Semi-final matches and the Final match. Kolkata also accounted for 45% of total attendance in 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup with an average of 55,345 spectators. The Calcutta Cricket and Football Club is the second-oldest cricket club in the world.
![Day night test at Eden gardens](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Day_night_test_at_Eden_gardens.jpeg)
As in the rest of India, cricket is popular in Kolkata and is played on various grounds throughout the city. Kolkata is home to Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders and the Bengal cricket team; the Cricket Association of Bengal, which regulates cricket in West Bengal, is also based in the city. Tournaments, especially those involving cricket, football, badminton and carrom, are regularly organised here on an inter-locality or inter-club basis.
The
Maidan
Maidan is an originally Persian word for a town square or public gathering place, adopted by various other languages: Urdu (''maidān''); Arabic (''maydān''); Turkish ; Bangla ময়দান, meaning field, and Crimean Tatar, from which ...
, a vast field that serves as the city's largest park, hosts several minor football and cricket clubs and coaching institutes. Eden Gardens, which has a capacity of 80,000 ,
hosted the final match of the 1987 Cricket World Cup.
Kolkata's Netaji Indoor Stadium served as host of the 1981 Asian Basketball Championship, where India's national basketball team finished 5th, ahead of teams that belong to Asia's basketball elite, such as Iran national basketball team, Iran. The city has three 18-hole golf courses. The oldest is at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club, the first golf club built outside the United Kingdom. The other two are located at the Tollygunge Club and at Fort William (India), Fort William. The Royal Calcutta Turf Club hosts horse racing and polo matches. The Calcutta Polo Club is considered the oldest extant polo club in the world.
The Calcutta Racket Club is a squash (sport), squash and racquet club in Kolkata. It was founded in 1793, making it one of the oldest rackets clubs in the world, and the first in the Indian subcontinent. The Calcutta South Club is a venue for national and international tennis tournaments; it held the first grass-court national championship in 1946. In the period 2005–2007, Sunfeast Open, a tier-III tournament on the Women's Tennis Association circuit, was held in the Netaji Indoor Stadium; it has since been discontinued.
The Calcutta Rowing Club hosts Sport rowing, rowing heats and training events. Kolkata, considered the leading centre of rugby union in India, gives its name to the oldest international tournament in rugby union, the Calcutta Cup. The Automobile Association of Eastern India, established in 1904, and the Bengal Motor Sports Club are involved in promoting motor sports and car rallies in Kolkata and West Bengal.
The Beighton Cup, an event organised by the Bengal Hockey Association and first played in 1895, is India's oldest field hockey tournament; it is usually held on the Mohun Bagan Ground of the Maidan.
Athletes from Kolkata include Sourav Ganguly, Pankaj Roy and Jhulan Goswami, who are former List of India national cricket captains, captains of the India national cricket team, Indian national cricket team; India at the Olympics, Olympic tennis bronze medalist Leander Paes, golfer Arjun Atwal, and former footballers Sailen Manna, Chuni Goswami, Pradip Kumar Banerjee, P. K. Banerjee and Subrata Bhattacharya (footballer), Subrata Bhattacharya.
Notable people
Sister cities
*
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...
,
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
* Kunming, China (October 2013)
* Thessaloniki, Greece (January 2005)
* Naples, Italy
* Karachi, Pakistan
* Incheon, South Korea
* Odessa, Ukraine
* Jersey City, New Jersey, United States
* Long Beach, California, United States
* Dallas, Texas, United States
See also
*List of children's museums in India
*List of people from Kolkata
*List of tallest buildings in Kolkata
*
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
References
Further reading
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External links
Kolkata Municipal Corporation*
– Incredible India
City Mayors: Richest cities in the world in 2020 by GDP
{{Authority control
Kolkata,
Cities and towns in Kolkata district
Indian capital cities
Metropolitan cities in India
Port cities in India
Capitals of former nations
Former national capitals
Former capital cities in India
Populated places established in 1690
1690 establishments in Asia
1690 establishments in the British Empire
1690s establishments in India
Capitals of Bengal
Subdivisions of West Bengal
Subdivisions in Kolkata district
Cities in West Bengal