Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (
its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian
state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
of
West Bengal
West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
. It lies on the eastern bank of the
Hooghly River
The Hooghly River (, also spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') is the westernmost distributary of the Ganges, situated in West Bengal, India. It is known in its upper reaches as the Bhagirathi. The Bhagirathi splits off from the main branch of the G ...
, west of the border with
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
. It is the primary
financial
Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...
and
commercial
Commercial may refer to:
* (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services
** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money
* a dose of advertising ...
centre of
eastern and
northeastern India.
Kolkata is the
seventh most populous city in India with an estimated
city proper
A city proper is the geographical area contained within city limits. The term ''proper'' is not exclusive to city, cities; it can describe the geographical area within the boundaries of any given locality. The United Nations defines the term as " ...
population of 4.5 million (0.45 crore) while its metropolitan region
Kolkata Metropolitan Area
The Kolkata Metropolitan Area (abbreviated KMA; formerly Calcutta Metropolitan Area), also known as Greater Kolkata, is the urban agglomeration of the city of Kolkata (Calcutta) in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the third most populous ...
is the
third most populous metropolitan region of
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
with a metro population of over 15 million (1.5 crore).
Kolkata is regarded by many sources as the cultural capital of
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and a historically and culturally significant city in the historic
region of Bengal.
[—]
—
—
—
—
The three villages that predated Calcutta were ruled by the
Nawab of Bengal
The Nawab of Bengal (, ) was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India. In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the ''de facto'' independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa which constitute the mod ...
under
Mughal suzerainty
A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy">polity.html" ;"title="state (polity)">state or polity">state (polity)">st ...
. After the Nawab granted the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
a trading
license
A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...
in 1690, the area was developed by the Company into
Fort William. Nawab
Siraj ud-Daulah
Mir Syed Jafar Ali Khan Mirza Muhammad Siraj-ud-Daulah (1733 – 2 July 1757), commonly known as Siraj-ud-Daulah or Siraj ud-Daula, was the last independent Nawab of the Bengal Subah. The end of his reign marked the start of the rule of th ...
occupied the fort in 1756 but was defeated at the
Battle of Plassey
The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company, under the leadership of Robert Clive, over the Nawab of Bengal and his French Indies Company, French allies on 23 June 1757. The victory was made possible by the de ...
in 1757, after his general Mir Jafar mutinied in support of the company, and was later made the Nawab for a brief time. Under
company
A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...
and later
crown rule, Calcutta served as the de facto
capital of India until 1911. Calcutta was the second largest city in the
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
, after
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, and was the centre of bureaucracy, politics, law, education, science and
the arts
The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive range of m ...
in India. The city was associated with many of the figures and movements of the
Bengali Renaissance
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 ...
. It was the hotbed of the
Indian nationalist movement.
The
partition of Bengal in 1947 affected the fortunes of the city. Following independence in 1947, Kolkata, which was once the premier centre of Indian commerce, culture, and politics, suffered many decades of
political violence
Political violence is violence which is perpetrated in order to achieve political goals. It can include violence which is used by a State (polity), state against other states (war), violence which is used by a state against civilians and non-st ...
and
economic stagnation before it rebounded.
In the late 20th century, the city hosted the
government-in-exile of Bangladesh during the
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...
in 1971.
It was also flooded with Hindu
refugees from East Bengal (present-day Bangladesh) in the decades following the 1947
partition of India
The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...
, transforming its landscape and shaping its politics. The city was overtaken by
Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
(formerly Bombay) as India's largest city.
A demographically diverse city, the
culture of Kolkata features idiosyncrasies that include distinctively
close-knit neighbourhoods (''paras'') and
freestyle conversations (''adda''). Kolkata's architecture includes many imperial landmarks, including the
Victoria Memorial,
Howrah Bridge
The Howrah Bridge is a balanced steel bridge over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India. Commissioned in 1943, the bridge was originally named the New Howrah Bridge, because it replaced a pontoon bridge at the same location linking the both ...
and the
Grand Hotel. The city's heritage includes India's only
Chinatown
Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...
and remnants of
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, Armenian, Greek and Anglo-Indian communities. The city is closely linked with
Bhadralok culture and the
Zamindars of Bengal, including
Bengali Hindu
Bengali Hindus () are adherents of Hinduism who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. They make up the majority in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Assam's Barak Valley ...
,
Bengali Muslim
Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work./ref> are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest ...
and tribal aristocrats. The city is often regarded as India's cultural capital.
Kolkata is home to institutions of national importance, including the
Academy of Fine Arts, the
Asiatic Society
The Asiatic Society is an 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 philologist Will ...
, the
Indian Museum
Indian Museum (formerly called Imperial Museum of Calcutta) is a grand museum in Central Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is the ninth oldest museum in the world and the oldest, as well as the largest museum in Asia, by size of collection. It ...
and the
National Library of India. The
University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...
, first modern university in south Asia and its affiliated colleges produced many leading figures of South Asia. It is the centre of the Indian Bengali film industry, which is known as
Tollywood. Among scientific institutions, Kolkata hosts the
Geological Survey of India, the
Botanical Survey of India
Botanical Survey of India (BSI) is a governmental research institution in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was founded on 13 February 1890 during British Raj in India and now is under the Government of India Ministry of Environment, Forest an ...
, 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 the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Government of India as a premier Indian organisation in zoological research and studies to promote the survey, explora ...
, the
Horticultural Society, the
Institution of Engineers, the
Anthropological Survey of India
The Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) is an Indian government organisation involved in anthropological studies and field data research, primarily engaged in physical anthropology and cultural anthropology, while maintaining a strong focu ...
and the Indian Public Health Association. The
Port of Kolkata is India's oldest operating port. 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. Kolkata is known for its grand celebrations of the Hindu festival of
Durga Puja
Durga Puja (ISO 15919, ISO: , ), also known as Durgotsava or Shaaradotsava, is an annual festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which pays homage to the Hinduism, Hindu goddess Durga, and is also celebrated because of Durga's victo ...
, which is recognized by UNESCO for its importance to world heritage. Kolkata is also known as the ''
''City of Joy''''.
Etymology
The word ''Kolkata'' ( ) derives from ''
Kôlikata'' ( ), the Bengali language name of one of three villages that predated the arrival of the British; the other two villages were
Sutanuti 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 goddessKali
Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...
'. Similarly, it can be a variation of ''Kalikshetra'' (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
: कालीक्षेत्र, lit. 'area of Goddess Kali').
* Another theory is that the name derives from
Kalighat.
* Alternatively, the name may have been derived from the Bengali term ''kilkila'' (), or 'flat area'.
* The name may have its origin in the words ''khal'' ( ) meaning 'canal', followed by ''kaṭa'' ( ), which may mean 'dug'.
* According to another theory, the area specialised in the production of
quicklime
Calcium oxide (formula: Ca O), commonly known as quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. It is a white, caustic, alkaline, crystalline solid at room temperature. The broadly used term '' lime'' connotes calcium-containin ...
or ''koli chun'' ( ) and coir or ''kata'' ( ); 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. Both English variants are used.
History
The discovery and
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
study of
Chandraketugarh, north of Kolkata, provide evidence that the region in which the city stands has been inhabited for over two millennia.
Kolkata or Kalikata in its earliest mentions, is described to be a village surrounded with jungle on the bank of river Ganga as a renowned port, commercial hub and a Hindu pilgrimage site for
Kalighat Temple. The first mention of the Kalikata village was found in
Bipradas Pipilai
Bipradas Pipilai was a 15th-century poet. He was the son of Mukunda Pipilai, the family hailed from Baduria-Batagram in 24 Parganas, now in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali ...
's ''Manasa Vijay'' (1495), where he describes how
Chand Sadagar used to stop in Kalighat to worship
Goddess Kali during his path to trade voyage.
Later Kalikata was also found to be mentioned in
Mukundaram Chakrabarti's ''
Chandimangal
The Chandimangal () is an important subgenre of mangalkavya, the most significant genre of medieval Bengali literature. The texts belonging to this subgenre eulogize ''Chandi'' or ''Abhaya'', primarily a folk goddess, but subsequently identified w ...
'' (1594),
Todar Mal's taxation-list in 1596 and Krishnaram Das's ''Kalikamangal'' (1676–77).
Kalighat was then considered a safe place for businessmen. They used to carry on trade through the Bhagirathi and took shelter there at night.
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 h ...
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 that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
, which was consolidating its trade business in Bengal.
Job Charnock is often regarded as the founder of the city; however, 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,
Gobindapur and
Sutanuti. Kalikata was a fishing village, where a handful of merchants began their operations by building a factory;
Sutanuti was a riverside weavers' village; and Gobindapur was a trading post for Indian merchant princes. These villages were part of an estate belonging to the
Sabarna Roy Choudhury family of ''
zamindar
A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...
s''. The estate was sold to the East India Company in 1698.
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 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; his capture of Fort William 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, West Bengal, Fort William, Calcutta, measuring , in which troops of Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawabs of Bengal, Nawab of Bengal, held British Prisoner of war, prisoners of war on the night ...
.
A force of Company soldiers (''
sepoy
''Sepoy'' () is a term related to ''sipahi'', denoting professional Indian infantrymen, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire and the Maratha.
In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its Euro ...
s'') and British troops led by
Robert Clive
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British List of governors of Bengal Presidency, Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for l ...
recaptured the city the following year.
Per the 1765
Treaty of Allahabad following the
battle of Buxar
The Battle of Buxar was fought between 22 and 23 October 1764, between the forces of the British East India Company, under the command of Major Hector Munro, against the combined armies of Balwant Singh, Maharaja of the Benaras State; Mir Qa ...
, 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 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 and
Dalhousie Square; 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 . 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
The Bengal Renaissance (), also known as the Bengali Renaissance, was a cultural, social, intellectual, and artistic movement that took place in the Bengal region of the British Raj, from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. Histo ...
brought about an increased sociocultural sophistication among city denizens. In 1883, Calcutta was host to the first national conference of the
Indian National Association, which was the first avowed nationalist organisation in India.
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 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 in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed.
The first nationalistic ...
. The city and its port were bombed several times by the
Japanese between 1942 and 1944, during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Millions starved to death during the
Bengal famine of 1943 (at the same time of the war) 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
The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...
led to further clashes and a demographic shift—many Muslims left for
East Bengal
East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...
(later
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...
, present day
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
), while hundreds of thousands of Hindus fled into the city.
During the 1960s and 1970s, severe power shortages, strikes and a violent
Marxist
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
–
Maoist
Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic o ...
movement by groups known as the
Naxalite
Naxalism is the communist ideology of the Naxalites or Naxals, a grouping of political and insurgent groups from India. It is influenced by Maoist political sentiment and ideology.
Inspired by Maoism, Charu Majumdar wrote the Historic Eight ...
s damaged much of the city's infrastructure, resulting in economic stagnation.
[—]
—
— During East Pakistan's secessionist
war of independence
Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...
in 1971, the city was home to the
government-in-exile of Bangladesh.
During the war, refugees poured into West Bengal and strained Kolkata's infrastructure. The
Eastern Command of the Indian military, which is based in Fort William, played a pivotal role in the
Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 and securing the
surrender of Pakistan. During the mid-1980s,
Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
(then called Bombay) overtook Kolkata as India's most populous city. In 1985, Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian statesman and pilot who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassination of his mother, then–prime ...
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
The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a political party in India. The CPI considers the Foundation of the Communist Party of India, December 26, 1925 Cawnpore (Kanpur) conference as its foundation date. Between 1946 and 1951, the CPI led m ...
(CPM). It was the world's longest-serving democratically elected communist government, during which Kolkata was a key base for
Indian communism.
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. 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. The election was held in six phases between 18 Ap ...
, Left Front was succeeded by the
Trinamool Congress
The All India Trinamool Congress (; AITC), simply known as Trinamool Congress, is an Indian political party that is mainly influential in the Federated state, state of West Bengal. It was founded by Mamata Banerjee on 1 January 1998 as a Lis ...
.
Geography
Spread roughly meridionally along the east bank of the
Hooghly River
The Hooghly River (, also spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') is the westernmost distributary of the Ganges, situated in West Bengal, India. It is known in its upper reaches as the Bhagirathi. The Bhagirathi splits off from the main branch of the G ...
, Kolkata sits within the lower
Ganges Delta
The Ganges Delta (also known the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, the Sundarbans Delta or the Bengal Delta) is a river delta predominantly covering the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Be ...
of eastern India approximately 75 km (47 mi) west of the international border with Bangladesh; 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, 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 We ...
(1975). As with most of the
Indo-Gangetic Plain
The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the Northern Plain or North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain spanning across the northern and north-eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. It encompasses North India, northern and East India, easte ...
, the soil and water are predominantly
alluvial
Alluvium (, ) 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. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...
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; of these the top is
Quaternary
The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...
, followed by of
Tertiary
Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to:
* Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago
* Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...
sediments,
trap wash of
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...
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 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...
-
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...
Gondwana
Gondwana ( ; ) was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia (continent), Australia, Zea ...
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 and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government ...
, on a scale ranging from in order of increasing susceptibility to earthquakes, the city lies inside
seismic zone III.
Climate
Kolkata is subject to a
tropical savanna climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...
that is designated ''Aw'' under the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
. According to a
United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...
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 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 through 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 and
1864
Events
January
* January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster ("Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song "Beautiful Dream ...
that killed thousands. More recently,
Cyclone Aila in 2009 and
Cyclone Amphan 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
Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless gas with a pungent smell that is responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is r ...
and
nitrogen dioxide
Nitrogen dioxide is a chemical compound with the formula . One of several nitrogen oxides, nitrogen dioxide is a reddish-brown gas. It is a paramagnetic, bent molecule with C2v point group symmetry. Industrially, is an intermediate in the s ...
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.
Cityscape and urban structure

Kolkata, which is under the jurisdiction of the
Kolkata Municipal Corporation
Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is the local government of the Indian city of Kolkata, the List of Indian state and union territory capitals, 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 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,
Rajabazar,
Maniktala,
Ultadanga,
Shyambazar,
Shobhabazar,
Bagbazar
Bagbazar (also spelt Baghbazar) is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. The area, under Shyampukur police station of Kolkata Police, has been, along with neighb ...
,
Cossipore,
Sinthee etc. The north suburban areas like
Dum Dum
Dum Dum is a city and a municipality in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Author ...
,
Baranagar,
Belgharia,
Sodepur,
Khardaha,
New Barrackpore,
Madhyamgram,
Barrackpore
Barrackpore (), also known as Barrackpore,is a city and municipality in North 24 Parganas district in the India, Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Barrackpore subdivision. The city is a part of the area covered by Ko ...
,
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, 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 cle ...
on its east;
Rajiv Gandhi Sarani is on its west. The
West Bengal Secretariat,
General Post Office
The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...
,
Reserve Bank of India
Reserve Bank of India, abbreviated as RBI, is the central bank of the Republic of India, and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system and Indian rupee, Indian currency. Owned by the Ministry of Finance (India), Min ...
,
Calcutta High Court,
Lalbazar 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,
Abanindranath Thakur Sarani, Dr. Martin Luther King Sarani, Dr. Upendra Nath Brahmachari Sarani,
Shakespeare Sarani and
Acharay Jagadish Chandra Basu Road.

South Kolkata developed after India gained independence in 1947; it includes upscale neighbourhoods such as
Bhowanipore
Bhowanipore (also Bhowanipur; ) is a neighbourhood of South Kolkata in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
History
In 1717, the East India Company obtained the right to rent from 38 villages surrounding their settlement from ...
,
Alipore
Alipore is a neighbourhood of Kolkata, South Kolkata in Kolkata district in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal.
It is flanked by the Tolly Nullah to the north, Bhowanipore to the east, the Diamond Harbour R ...
,
Ballygunge,
Kasba,
Dhakuria,
Santoshpur,
Garia,
Golf Green,
Tollygunge,
New Alipore,
Behala,
Barisha etc. The south suburban areas like
Maheshtala,
Budge Budge,
Rajpur Sonarpur,
Baruipur etc. are also within the city of Kolkata (as a metropolitan structure).
The
Maidan 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 and
Kolkata Race Course are located at the southern end of the Maidan. Among the other parks are
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
in Bidhannagar and
Millennium Park
Millennium Park is a public park located in the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas of Chicago, community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in July 2004, is a prominent civic center near t ...
on Rajiv Gandhi Sarani, along the Hooghly River.
Metropolitan area and satellite cities
The
Kolkata metropolitan area
The Kolkata Metropolitan Area (abbreviated KMA; formerly Calcutta Metropolitan Area), also known as Greater Kolkata, is the urban agglomeration of the city of Kolkata (Calcutta) in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the third most populous ...
is spread over
and comprises 4 municipal corporations (including Kolkata Municipal Corporation), 37
local municipalities and 24
panchayat samitis, .
The urban agglomeration encompassed 72 cities and 527 towns and villages, .
Suburban areas in the Kolkata metropolitan area incorporate parts of the following districts:
North 24 Parganas,
South 24 Parganas,
Howrah
Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...
,
Hooghly and
Nadia.
Two planned townships in the greater Kolkata region are
Bidhannagar
Bidhannagar (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bidhānanagar''), also known as Salt Lake City, is a city and a municipal corporation of North 24 Parganas district in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters ...
, also known as Salt Lake City and located north-east of the city; and
Rajarhat, also called
New Town
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz
* New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013
* New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...
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 municipal corporations or authorities.
Economy

Kolkata is the commercial and financial hub of
East
East 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 fact that ea ...
and
Northeast India
Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...
and home to the
Calcutta Stock Exchange.
It is a major commercial and military port, and is one of five cities in eastern India (alongside
Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...
,
Guwahati
Guwahati () the largest 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 seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...
,
Imphal
Imphal (; , ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (officially known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the former Kingdom of Manipur, surrounded by a ...
, and
Kushinagar) 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, 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 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), and have ranked it
third-most productive metro area of India.
[—]
—
—
Flexible production has been the norm in Kolkata, which has an
informal sector that employs more than 40% of the labour force.
One unorganised group,
roadside hawkers, generated business worth 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 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 portion of the economy in d ...
(agriculture, forestry, mining, etc.); 15.49% worked in the
secondary sector (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 ...
(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 per day.
Major manufacturing companies in the city are
Alstom
Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...
,
Larsen & Toubro,
Fosroc,
Videocon. 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,
CESC Limited,
Exide Industries,
Emami,
Eveready Industries India,
Lux Industries,
Rupa Company,
Berger Paints,
Birla Corporation,
Britannia Industries
Britannia Industries Limited is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational food products company, which sells biscuits, breads and dairy products. Founded in 1892, it is one of India's oldest existing companies and currently part of t ...
and
Purushottam Publishers are headquartered in the city.
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...
India,
PwC India,
Tata Global Beverages, and
Tata Steel
Tata Steel Limited is an Indian multinational steel-making company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, with its primary operations based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. It is a subsidiary of the Tata Group.
Formerly known as Tata Iron and Steel ...
have their registered office and zonal headquarters in Kolkata. Kolkata hosts the headquarters of two major banks:
UCO Bank, and
Bandhan Bank.
Reserve Bank of India
Reserve Bank of India, abbreviated as RBI, is the central bank of the Republic of India, and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system and Indian rupee, Indian currency. Owned by the Ministry of Finance (India), Min ...
,
State Bank of India
State Bank of India (SBI) is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational Public sector undertakings in India, public sector bank and financial service body headquartered in Mumbai. It is the largest bank in India with a 23% market shar ...
have its eastern zonal office in Kolkata.
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,
National Insurance Company,
Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers,
Tea Board of India,
Geological Survey of India,
Zoological Survey of India
The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), founded on 1 July 1916 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Government of India as a premier Indian organisation in zoological research and studies to promote the survey, explora ...
,
Botanical Survey of India
Botanical Survey of India (BSI) is a governmental research institution in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was founded on 13 February 1890 during British Raj in India and now is under the Government of India Ministry of Environment, Forest an ...
,
Jute Corporation of India, National Test House,
Hindustan Copper
Hindustan Copper Ltd. (HCL) is a central public sector undertaking under the ownership of the Ministry of Mines, Government of India. HCL is the only vertically integrated government-owned-copper producer in India engaged in a wide spectru ...
and the
Ordnance Factories Board
The Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination & Services) (abbreviated: DOO(C&S)) is an authority under the Department of Defence Production (DDP) of Ministry of Defence (MoD), Government of India. Its primary work is to management, give instructi ...
of the
Indian Ministry of Defence.
Demographics
Population
The
demonym
A demonym (; ) or 'gentilic' () is a word that identifies a group of people ( inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place ( hamlet, village, town, city, region, ...
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
A sex ratio is 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. However, many species deviate from an even sex ratio, ei ...
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
slum
A slum is a highly populated Urban area, urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are p ...
s.
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 (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, ; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic Church, Roman Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of ...
was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...
for founding and working with the
Missionaries of Charity
The Missionaries of Charity () is a Catholic centralised religious institute of consecrated life of Pontifical Right for women
established in 1950 by Mother Teresa, now known in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta. , it consisted o ...
in Kolkata—an organisation "whose primary task was to love and care for those persons nobody was prepared to look after".
Language
Bengali, the official state language, is the dominant language in Kolkata.
English is also used, particularly by the white-collar workforce.
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
and
Urdu
Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
are spoken by a sizeable minority.
Bengali Hindus
Bengali Hindus () are adherents of Hinduism who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. They make up the majority in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Assam's Barak Valle ...
form the majority of Kolkata's population;
Marwaris,
Biharis and Urdu-speaking
Muslims
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
compose large minorities. Among
Kolkata's smaller communities are
Chinese,
Tamils
The Tamils ( ), also known by their endonym Tamilar, are a Dravidian peoples, Dravidian ethnic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. The Tamil language is o ...
,
Nepalis
Nepali or Nepalese () are the permanent citizens of Nepal under Nepali nationality law. The term ''Nepali'' strictly refers to ''nationality'', meaning people holding citizenship of Nepal. Conversely, people without Nepalese citizenship but wi ...
,
Pathans/Afghans (locally known as ''Kabuliwala'')
Odias,
Telugus
Telugu people (), also called Āndhras, are an ethno-linguistic group who speak the Telugu language and are native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Yanam district of Puducherry. They are the most populous of the four ...
,
Gujaratis,
Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indian people are a distinct minority group, minority community of mixed-race British and Indian ancestry. During the colonial period, their ancestry was defined as British paternal and Indian maternal heritage; post-independence, "Angl ...
s,
Armenians
Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...
,
Bengali Muslims
Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work.are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest et ...
,
Greeks
Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
,
Tibetans
Tibetans () are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 7.7 million. In addition to the majority living in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans live in t ...
,
Maharashtrians,
Konkanis,
Malayalees
The Malayali people (; also spelt Malayalee and sometimes known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India, occupying its south ...
,
Punjabis
The Punjabis (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ; romanised as Pañjābī) are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region, comprising areas of northwestern India and eastern Paki ...
and
Parsis
The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...
.
The number of Armenians, Greeks, Jews 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; , there were 25 Jews in the city. India's sole
Chinatown
Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...
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, also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispu ...
, and immigration to foreign countries for better economic opportunities.
The Chinese community traditionally worked in the local tanning industry and ran Chinese restaurants.
Religion
According to the 2011 census, 76.51% of the population is
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, 20.60%
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, 0.88%
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, 0.47%
Jain, 0.31%
Sikh
Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
and 0.11%
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
.
[ Scroll down to "Religion in Kolkata"] 1.12% did not state a religion in the census.
Government and public services
Civic administration

Kolkata is administered by several government agencies. The
Kolkata Municipal Corporation
Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is the local government of the Indian city of Kolkata, the List of Indian state and union territory capitals, 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
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
, 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; the
Kolkata Police area and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area, or "Kolkata city"; and the
Kolkata metropolitan area
The Kolkata Metropolitan Area (abbreviated KMA; formerly Calcutta Metropolitan Area), also known as Greater Kolkata, is the urban agglomeration of the city of Kolkata (Calcutta) in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the third most populous ...
, 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 in the Indian state of West Bengal
West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a S ...
, is responsible for the
statutory planning
Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportati ...
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
The All India Trinamool Congress (; AITC), simply known as Trinamool Congress, is an Indian political party that is mainly influential in the state of West Bengal. It was founded by Mamata Banerjee on 1 January 1998 as a breakaway faction f ...
controls the KMC; the mayor is
Firhad Hakim, while the deputy mayor is Atin Ghosh. The city has an apolitical
titular 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
The Government of West Bengal, also known as the West Bengal Government, is the Administrative division, principal administrative authority of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal, created by the Constitution ...
, 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 (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paścimabaṅga Vidhānasabhā'') is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of West Bengal, located in eastern India. It consists of 294 members directly elected from single-seat ...
; the state secretariat, which is housed in the Writers' Building; and the
Calcutta High Court. Most government establishments and institutions are housed in the centre of the city in B. B. D. Bagh (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
Supreme may refer to:
Entertainment
* Supreme (character), a comic book superhero created by Rob Liefeld
* ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film
* Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer
* "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams
* ...
which was established in 1774. The Calcutta High Court has jurisdiction over the state of
West Bengal
West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
and the
Union Territory
Among the states and union territories of India, a Union Territory (UT) is a region that is directly governed by the Government of India, central government of India, as opposed to the states, which have their own State governments of India, s ...
of the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India comprising 572 islands, of which only 38 are inhabited. The islands are grouped into two main clusters: the northern Andaman Islands and the southern Nicobar Islands, separated by a ...
. Kolkata has lower courts: the
Court of Small Causes 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 of ...
rules in criminal cases. The
Kolkata Police
The Kolkata Police () (formerly "Calcutta Police"), is the Law enforcement in India, territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and crime prevention within the Kolkata metropolitan region, metropolitan area of the city of Kolkata, ...
, 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, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...
, and 11 representatives to the state legislative assembly.
The Kolkata police district registered 15,510
Indian Penal Code
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) was the official criminal code of the Republic of India, inherited from British India after independence. It remained in force until it was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in December 2023 ...
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
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation 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
Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...
to
Varanasi
Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or 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 tradition of I ...
(then
Benares
Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges, Ganges river in North India, northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hinduism, Hindu world.*
*
*
* The city ...
).
Electricity is supplied by the privately operated
Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation, or CESC, to the city proper; the
West Bengal State Electricity Board supplies it in the suburbs. Fire services are handled by the
West Bengal Fire Service, a state agency.
, the city had 16 fire stations.
State-owned
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (commonly known as BSNL) () is an Indian Public Sector Undertakings in India, central public sector undertaking, under the ownership of Department of Telecommunications, which is part of the Ministry of Communicatio ...
, or BSNL, as well as private enterprises, among them
Vodafone Idea,
Bharti Airtel
Bharti Airtel Limited is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational Telecommunications in India, telecommunications company based in New Delhi. It operates in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa, as well as the Channel Islands. ...
,
Reliance Jio 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 family of standards to describe the protocols for second-generation (2G) digital cellular networks, as used by mobile devices such as mobile phones and Mobile broadband modem, mobile broadba ...
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 Communications Limited (previously known as Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited) is an Indian telecommunications company. It was a government-owned telecommunications service provider before being sold to the Tata Group in 2002 under the Third ...
,
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 (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...
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 simply the 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 o ...
'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
Public transport is provided by the
Kolkata Suburban Railway
The Kolkata Suburban Railway (colloquially called Kolkata local trains or simply locals) is a suburban rail, suburban and regional rail system serving the Kolkata metropolitan area and its surroundings in West Bengal, India. Its network has 45 ...
, the
Kolkata Metro
The Kolkata Metro is a Urban rail transit in India, rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata and the Kolkata metropolitan area, Kolkata Metropolitan Region in West Bengal, India. Opened in 1984, it was the first operational rapid trans ...
,
trams
A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
,
rickshaws, taxis and buses. The suburban rail network connects the city's distant suburbs.
Rail
Rapid transit
Kolkata Metro
The Kolkata Metro is a Urban rail transit in India, rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata and the Kolkata metropolitan area, Kolkata Metropolitan Region in West Bengal, India. Opened in 1984, it was the first operational rapid trans ...
is the rapid transit system of Kolkat. According to a 2013 survey conducted by the
International Association of Public Transport
The International Association of Public Transport (; UITP) is a non-profit member-led organisation for public transport authorities, networks and operators, policy decision-makers, scientific institutes and the public transport supply and service ...
, in terms of a public transport system, Kolkata ranks top among the six Indian cities surveyed. The Kolkata Metro, in operation since 1984, is the oldest underground mass transit system in India. The fully operational blue line spans the north–south length through the middle of the city. In 2020, part of the Second line was inaugurated to cover part of
Salt Lake city
Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
, Kolkata metro area. This east–west green line connects two satellite cities of Kolkata namely Salt Lake and Howrah. Other operational lines are Purple line and Orange line.
Commuter rail
Kolkata Suburban Railway
The Kolkata Suburban Railway (colloquially called Kolkata local trains or simply locals) is a suburban rail, suburban and regional rail system serving the Kolkata metropolitan area and its surroundings in West Bengal, India. Its network has 45 ...
is the
largest and second busiest suburban railway network in the country by number of stations and track length, and also one of the largest in the world. Kolkata has five long-distance inter-city railway stations, located at (the largest and busiest railway complex in India, ), (2nd busiest in India, ), , and , 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 is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...
regional divisions namely the Kolkata Metro,
Eastern Railway and the
South Eastern Railway.
Kolkata has international rail connectivity with
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...
, the capital of Bangladesh.
Tram

Kolkata is the only Indian city with a tram network, which was operated by the
Calcutta Tramways Company. It has now amalgamated to
West Bengal Transport Corporation.
There are three operational routes:
Tollygunge to
Ballygunge,
Gariahat to
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 cle ...
,
Shyambazar to
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 cle ...
. Trams are environment friendly but due to slow-moving and traffic congestion, tram attracts less passengers. Water-logging, caused by heavy rains during the
summer monsoon, sometimes interrupt transportation networks.
Roads and expressways

Kolkata along its
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
is home to the second largest road network in India. , total road network in the city's
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
is , while the city proper has road network of .
The city has witnessed a steady increase in the number of registered vehicles: from 17 lakhs in 2019 to 21 lakhs in 2022, an 18.52 per cent jump. With 2,448 vehicles per kilometre of road, Kolkata has the highest car density in India.
This leads major traffic congestion. 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 cle ...
and
Howrah
Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...
. The Kolkata–Delhi and Kolkata–
Chennai
Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
prongs of the
Golden Quadrilateral
The Golden Quadrilateral (; abbreviated GQ) is a network of National Highway (India), national highways connecting major cities of India. It roughly forms a quadrilateral with major cities – Delhi (north), Kolkata (east), Mumbai (west) and ...
, and
National Highway 12 start from the outskirts of the city.
, Kolkata has one state expressway and two national
expressways, all in its metropolitan area.
Kalyani Expressway is only state expressway, which is partially operational and partially under construction. The national expressways are
Belghoria (part of
AH1 and
NH12), operational and
Kona Expressway (part of
NH12), at grade road operational but elevated corridor under construction. Some national expressways are planned or in various stages of construction to connect directly with many major metropolises and cities of India. Those are:
Varanasi–Kolkata Expressway and Patna Kolkata Expressway.
Kolkata has international road connectivity to
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...
,
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
by
Jessore Road; to
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
,
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and
Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
by Kolkata-Thailand-Bangkok Trilateral Highway (an extension of
IMT Highway) and to
Nepal
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
and
Bhutan
Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...
by
NH12 and proposed
Haldia–Raxaul Expressway.

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 other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...
s, which often ply specific routes, and yellow metered taxis. Almost all of Kolkata's taxis are antiquated
Hindustan Ambassadors 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 tricycle designed to carry passengers on a vehicle for hire, for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bi ...
s and
hand-pulled rickshaws are patronised by the public for short trips.
Air
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, located in Dum Dum, about north-east of the city centre, operates domestic and international flights. In 2013, the airport was upgraded to handle increased air traffic.
Water
The
Port of Kolkata, 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 (), officially named Sri Vijaya Puram, 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 headqu ...
, capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands; freighter service to ports throughout India and around the world is operated by the
Shipping Corporation of India.
Ferry services connect Kolkata with its twin city of
Howrah
Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...
, located across the Hooghly River.
Healthcare

, 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 hospitals in the state. The
Calcutta Medical College, 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
Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...
.
The
total fertility rate
The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that are born to a woman over her lifetime, if they were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through their lifetime, and they were t ...
in Kolkata was 1.4, the lowest among the eight cities surveyed.
In Kolkata, 77% of the married women used
contraceptive
Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...
s, which was the highest among the cities surveyed, but use of modern contraceptive methods was the lowest (46%).
The
infant mortality rate in Kolkata was live births, and the mortality rate for children under five was live births.
Among the surveyed cities, Kolkata stood second (5%) for children who had not had any vaccinations under the
Universal Immunization Programme .
Kolkata ranked second with access to an ''
anganwadi
Anganwadi () is a type of rural child care centre in India. It was started by the Indian government in 1975 as part of the Integrated Child Development Services program to combat child hunger and malnutrition. ''Anganwadi'' in Hindi means ...
'' 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 thei ...
(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 a ...
,
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 t ...
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—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 mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...
,
asthma
Asthma is a common 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 wh ...
,
goitre and other
thyroid disorders were found in large numbers of people.
Tropical diseases like
malaria
Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
,
dengue and ''
chikungunya
Chikungunya is an infection caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV). The disease was first identified in 1952 in Tanzania and named based on the Kimakonde words for "to become contorted". Chikungunya has become a global health concern due to ...
'' 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
The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
; it has been designated a district prone to high risk. , because of
higher air pollution, the
life expectancy
Human life expectancy is a statistical measure of the estimate of the average remaining years of life at a given age. The most commonly used measure is ''life expectancy at birth'' (LEB, or in demographic notation ''e''0, where '' ...
of a person born in the city is four years fewer than in the suburbs.
Education

Kolkata's schools are run by the state government or private organisations, many of which are religious.
Bengali and English are the primary languages of instruction;
Urdu
Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
and
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
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
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,
La Martinière Calcutta,
Calcutta Boys' School,
St. James' School (Kolkata),
St. Xavier's Collegiate School and
Loreto House, have been ranked amongst the best schools in the country.
, 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 (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...
, founded in 1857, is the first modern university in South Asia.
Presidency College, Kolkata (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 (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...
until 2010 when it was converted to
Presidency University, Kolkata in 2010.
Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) is the second oldest engineering institution of the country located in Howrah. An
Institute of National Importance
In India, an Institution of National Importance (INI) refers to a premier public higher education institution granted special status by an act of the Parliament of India. Such institutions are recognized for their pivotal role in developing high ...
, BESU was converted to India's first
IIEST.
Jadavpur University is known for its arts, science, and engineering faculties. The
Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, which was the first of the
Indian Institutes of Management
The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are Centrally Funded Business Schools for management offering undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral and executive programmes along with some additional courses in the field of business administra ...
, was established in 1961 at
Joka, a locality in the south-western suburbs. Kolkata also houses the
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, which was started here in the year 2006.

The
West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences is one of India's
autonomous law schools, and the
Indian Statistical Institute
The Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) is a public research university headquartered in Kolkata, India with centers in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Tezpur. It was declared an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India und ...
is a public research institute and university. State owned
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, 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
Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute and
University of Engineering & Management (UEM).
Notable scholars
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 an Indian theoretical physicist and mathematician. He is best known for his work on quantum mechanics in the early 1920s, in developing the foundation for Bose–Einstein statist ...
,
Meghnad Saha
Meghnad Saha (6 October 1893 – 16 February 1956) was an Indian astrophysicist and politician who helped devise the theory of Thermal ionization, thermal ionisation. His Saha ionization equation, Saha ionisation equation allowed astronomers to ...
,
and
Jagadish Chandra Bose
Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose (; ; 30 November 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a polymath with interests in biology, physics and writing science fiction. He was a pioneer in the investigation of radio microwave optics, made significant contributions ...
;
chemist
Prafulla Chandra Ray;
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 fi ...
and
Anil Kumar Gain;
physician
Upendranath Brahmachari
Rai Bahadur Sir Upendranath Brahmachari ; 19 December 1873 – 6 February 1946) was a prominent Indian physician and scientist. In 1922, he synthesised urea-stibamine (carbostibamide) and demonstrated its effectiveness in treating kala-azar ( ...
;
educator
Ashutosh Mukherjee; and Nobel laureates
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...
,
C. V. Raman,
and
Amartya Sen
Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher. Sen has taught and worked in England and the United States since 1972. In 1998, Sen received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions ...
.
Research institutes
Kolkata houses many research institutes, including the following:
*
All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health
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Bose Institute
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Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI)
*
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
*
Dr. B C Roy Post Graduate Institute of Paediatric Sciences
*
Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS)
** Nobel laureate
Sir C. V. Raman did his groundbreaking work in
Raman effect at IACS.
*
Indian Centre for Space Physics
* Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB)
* Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER)
* Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM)
* National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Kolkata
* Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP)
* S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS)
* Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC)
Culture

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 [or literary] capital of India".
The presence of ''para (Bengali), 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 ''adda (Indian), addas'', or leisurely chats, that often take the form of freestyle intellectual conversation. The city has a tradition of political graffiti depicting everything from outrageous slander to witty banter and limericks, caricatures and propaganda.
Kolkata has many buildings adorned with Indo-Islamic architecture, Indo-Islamic and Indo-Saracenic architecture, Indo-Saracenic 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
Indian Museum (formerly called Imperial Museum of Calcutta) is a grand museum in Central Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is the ninth oldest museum in the world and the oldest, as well as the largest museum in Asia, by size of collection. It ...
houses large collections that showcase Indian natural history and Indian art. Marble Palace (Kolkata), Marble Palace is a classic example of a European mansion that was built in the city. The
Victoria Memorial, a places of interest in Kolkata, place of interest in Kolkata, has a museum documenting the city's history. The
National Library of India is the leading public library in the country while Science City, Kolkata, Science City is the largest science centre in the Indian subcontinent.
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 locality of the city houses multiple production companies of ''Jatra (Bengal), jatra'', a tradition of folk drama popular in rural Bengal. Kolkata is the home of the Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema industry, dubbed "Tollywood" for Tollygunj, where most of the state's film studios are located.
Parallel cinema, Its long tradition of art films includes globally acclaimed film directors such as Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha and contemporary directors such as Aparna Sen, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Goutam Ghose and Rituparno Ghosh.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, Bengali literature was modernised through the works of authors such as Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Michael Madhusudan Dutt,
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...
, Kazi Nazrul Islam and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Coupled with social reforms led by Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda and others, this constituted a major part of the
Bengal Renaissance
The Bengal Renaissance (), also known as the Bengali Renaissance, was a cultural, social, intellectual, and artistic movement that took place in the Bengal region of the British Raj, from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. Histo ...
. 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.

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 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.

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.

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
Durga Puja (ISO 15919, ISO: , ), also known as Durgotsava or Shaaradotsava, is an annual festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which pays homage to the Hinduism, Hindu goddess Durga, and is also celebrated because of Durga's victo ...
, 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, 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 International Film Festival, Nandikar's National Theatre Festival, Statesman Vintage & Classic Car Rally and Gandhi Jayanti.
Media
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 (India), The Telegraph'' are two major English-language newspapers that are produced and published from the city. Other popular English-language newspapers published and sold in the city include ''The Times of India'', ''Hindustan Times'', ''The Hindu'', ''The Indian Express'' and ''The Asian Age''.
As the largest trading centre in East India, the city 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
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
,
Urdu
Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
, Gujarati language, Gujarati, Odia language, Odia, Punjabi language, Punjabi and Chinese languages, are read by minorities.
Major periodicals based in the city 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 (AIR), 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

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 India's top football clubs such as Mohun Bagan AC, East Bengal Club and the Mohammedan SC (Kolkata), Mohammedan SC. The Calcutta Football League, the oldest football league in Asia, was started in 1898. Mohun Bagan AC, one of the oldest football clubs in Asia, is the only organisation to be dubbed as "National Club of India". Two clubs of the city - Mohun Bagan Super Giant and East Bengal FC compete in the Indian Super League (ISL). Football matches between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, called 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.
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 (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders and also the Cricket Association of Bengal which regulates cricket in West Bengal and the Bengal cricket team. Tournaments, especially those involving cricket, football, badminton and carrom, are regularly organised here on an inter-locality or inter-club basis.
The Maidan, 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.
The 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. 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, P. K. Banerjee and Subrata Bhattacharya.
Notable people
International relations
Foreign missions
There are 70 diplomatic missions in Kolkata, of which 24 are consulate missions, 2 are high commissions and rest are honorary consulates. The U.S. Consulate in Kolkata dates from 19 November 1792 and is the United States Department of State, U.S. Department of State's second oldest consulate in the world and the oldest U.S. Consulate in
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. The Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) is in charge of immigration and registration activities in the city.
Deputy High Commissioners
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Consulate Generals
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Sister cities
Kolkata has Twin towns and sister cities, sister city relationships with the following cities of the world:
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Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...
, Bangladesh
* Kunming, China (October 2013)
* Thessaloniki, Greece (January 2005)
* Naples, Italy
* Karachi, Pakistan
* Incheon, South Korea
* Odesa, Ukraine
* Jersey City, New Jersey, United States
* Long Beach, California, United States
* Dallas, Texas, United States
See also
*
West Bengal
West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
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Kolkata district
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Port of Kolkata
* Cult Critic Review Aggregator
* List of people from Kolkata
* List of tallest buildings in Kolkata
* List of cities in West Bengal by population
* List of districts of West Bengal
* List of children's museums in India
Notes
References
Further reading
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External links
Kolkata Municipal Corporation– Incredible India
{{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