East India is a

region of India The administrative divisions of India are subnational administrative units of India; they are composed of a nested hierarchy of administrative divisions. Indian states and territories frequently use different local titles for the same level ...

consisting of the Indian states of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

and

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

and also the union territory of the

Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...

. The region roughly corresponds to the historical region of

Magadha Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...

from which it inherits its various

Eastern Indo-Aryan languages The Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, also known as Māgadhan languages, are spoken throughout the eastern Indian subcontinent (East India and Assam, Bangladesh), including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bengal, Tripura, Assam, and Odisha; alongs ...

. The states of

and

lie on the

Indo-Gangetic plain The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain encompassing northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including most of northern and eastern India, around half of Pakistan, virtually all of Bangla ...

is situated on the

Chota Nagpur Plateau The Chota Nagpur Plateau is a plateau in eastern India, which covers much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar. The Indo-Gangetic plain lies to the north and east of the plateau, and the bas ...

lies on the

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...

and the

Deccan Plateau The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...

. West Bengal's capital

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

is the largest city of this region. The Kolkata Metropolitan Area is the country's third largest. The region is bounded by

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

and the state of

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

in the north, the states of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

and

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...

on the west, the state of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

in the south and the country of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

in the east. It is also bounded by the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...

in the south-east. It is connected to the

Seven Sister States , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

Northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

by the narrow

Siliguri Corridor The Siliguri Corridor, also known as the Chicken's Neck, is a stretch of land around the city of Siliguri in West Bengal, India. at the narrowest section, this geo-political and geo-economical corridor connects the eight states of northeast I ...

in the north east of West Bengal. East India has the fourth-largest gross domestic product than any other region in India. The region was ruled by several empires, including

Gangaridai Gangaridai ( gr, Γανγαρίδαι; Latin: ''Gangaridae'') is a term used by the ancient Greco-Roman writers (1st century BCE-2nd century AD) to describe a people or a geographical region of the ancient Indian subcontinent. Some of these wri ...

Nandas The Nanda dynasty ruled in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent during the fourth century BCE, and possibly during the fifth century BCE. The Nandas overthrew the Shaishunaga dynasty in the Magadha region of eastern India, and expanded ...

Mauryans The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

, Guptas,

Palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval ''Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson, ...

, Senas, Eastern Gangas,

Gajapatis The Gajapati Empire or the Suryavamsa (IAST: Sūryavaṃśa, "Solar dynasty") dynasty was a medieval dynasty from the Indian subcontinent, it originated in the region of Trikalinga (most of the present-day Odisha and North coastal Andhra) ...

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

Bengal Sultanate The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

and the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

History

During the Neolithic period, agriculture started in South Asia. Neolithic settlements have been found in

Chirand Chirand is an archaeological site in the Saran district of Bihar, India, situated on the northern bank of the Ganga River. It has a large pre-historic mound which is known for its continuous archaeological record from the Neolithic age (about ...

. In the Kabra-Kala mound at the confluence of the

Son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...

and North Koel rivers in

Palamu district Palamu district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India. It was formed in 1892. The administrative headquarter of the district is Medininagar (formerly DaltonGanj), situated on the Koel River. History The Palamu district ha ...

, various antiquities and art objects from the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

to medieval periods have been found; the pot-sherds of

redware Redware as a single word is a term for at least two types of pottery of the last few centuries, in Europe and North America. Red ware as two words is a term used for pottery, mostly by archaeologists, found in a very wide range of places. Howeve ...

black and red ware Black and red ware (BRW) is a South Asian earthenware, associated with the neolithic phase, Harappa, Bronze Age India, Iron Age India, the megalithic and the early historical period. Although it is sometimes called an archaeological culture, the ...

, black ware, black slipped ware, and NBP ware are from the

Chalcolithic The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...

to late medieval periods. There are ancient cave paintings in Isko,

Hazaribagh district Hazaribagh district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India and the district headquarter located in Hazaribagh town. It is currently a part of the Red Corridor. Etymology The district is named after its headquarters, the tow ...

, from the Meso-chalcolithic period (9,000–5,000 BC). From Kuchai, near Baripada, various

tools like hoes,

chisel A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge (such that wood chisels have lent part of their name to a particular grind) of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal by hand, stru ...

s, pounders, mace heads,

grinding stone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...

s and also pieces of pottery. Prehistoric paintings and inscriptions have also been found in Garjan Dongar in

Sundergarh district Sundargarh District is a district in the northwestern part of Odisha state in eastern India. Sundargarh district is bounded by Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh in the west, Jashpur district of Chhattisgarh in the North-West, Simdega district o ...

, and Ushakothi in Sambalpur district and Vimkramkhol in

Jharsuguda district Jharsuguda is a district in Odisha, India with Jharsuguda town as its headquarters. This region is rich in coal and other mineral reserves. Of late, many small and medium scale iron and steel units have been set up in the vicinity of Jharsugud ...

. There has been an uncertainty about the inscriptions at Ushakothi and Vimkramkhol regarding whether they are in a proto-

Brahmi script Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' o ...

. Yogimath near

Khariar Khariar (also called Khadial, Rajkhariar and Rajakhariar) is a city and a Notified Area Council in Nuapada District of the Indian state of Odisha. History The region of Khariar was under the rule of the Chauhan dynasty of Patna State which was ...

has cave paintings from the Neolithic. There is Chalcolithic sites in

Pandu Rajar Dhibi Pandu Rajar Dhibi in the valley of the river Ajay is an Archaeological site in Ausgram II block in the Sadar North subdivision of Purba Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It was the first Chalcolithic site discovered in W ...

in the lower Ajay valley in West Bengal. Iron slag,

microlith A microlith is a small stone tool usually made of flint or chert and typically a centimetre or so in length and half a centimetre wide. They were made by humans from around 35,000 to 3,000 years ago, across Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. Th ...

s, and

potsherds This page is a glossary of archaeology, the study of the human past from material remains. A B C D E F ...

from 1400 BCE, according to carbon dating, were discovered in

Singhbhum district Singhbhum was a district of India during the British Raj, part of the Chota Nagpur Division of the Bengal Presidency. It was located in the present-day Indian state of Jharkhand. Chaibasa was the district headquarters. Located in the southern li ...

. During the late Vedic period, several janapadas emerged in India. In the 6th century BCE, the mahajanapadas emerged in several parts of the Indian subcontinent. The region was the historical centre of the

Nanda Nanda may refer to: Indian history and religion * Nanda Empire, ruled by the Nanda dynasty, an Indian royal dynasty ruling Magadha in the 4th century BCE ** Mahapadma Nanda, first Emperor of the Nanda Empire ** Dhana Nanda (died c. 321 BCE), last ...

Maurya The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

Shunga is a type of Japanese erotic art typically executed as a kind of ukiyo-e, often in woodblock print format. While rare, there are also extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate ukiyo-e. Translated literally, the Japanese word ''shunga' ...

Gupta Gupta () is a common surname or last name of Indian origin. It is based on the Sanskrit word गोप्तृ ''goptṛ'', which means 'guardian' or 'protector'. According to historian R. C. Majumdar, the surname ''Gupta'' was adopted by se ...

and

Pala Pala may refer to: Places Chad *Pala, Chad, the capital of the region of Mayo-Kebbi Ouest Estonia * Pala, Kose Parish, village in Kose Parish, Harju County * Pala, Kuusalu Parish, village in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County *Pala, Järva County, vi ...

empires that ruled much of the Indian sub-continent at their prime. In medieval India, it was incorporated into the Mughal,

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

and then the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

empire. After independence in 1947, the states joined the Indian Union and took their current form after the States Reorganisation Act of 1956. Today, they continue to face problems of overpopulation, environmental degradation and pervasive corruption despite significant economic and social progress. After the Kalinga War the Maurya king

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...

sent emissaries to spread Buddhism across Asia. The university of Nalanda was in

. Chinese travellers visited Buddhist and Hindu temples and libraries in the universities of Magadha Empire. The Emperor of Kalinga Mahameghavahana Aira

Kharavela Kharavela (also transliterated Khārabēḷa) was a monarch of Kalinga in present-day Odisha, India, who ruled during the second or first century BCE. The primary source for Kharavela is his rock-cut Hathigumpha inscription. The inscription is ...

was one of the most powerful monarchs of ancient India. The

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

thirkhankar

Mahaveer Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6 ...

was born here and founded

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...

Islamic invasions in the 13th century resulted in the collapse of Hindu kings and most Buddhists, especially in

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

, converted to Islam. East India including Bihar and West Bengal was part of the Mughal Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries. Odisha remained a powerful Hindu dynasty under the rule of Soma/Keshari Dynasty, Eastern Ganga Dynasty, Surya Dynasty till the end of the 16th century. The mighty Nalanda University existed at

Nalanda Nalanda (, ) was a renowned ''mahavihara'' (Buddhist monastic university) in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India.Bakhtiar Khilji during the 12th century and also defeated

Sena Dynasty The Sena dynasty was a Hindu dynasty during the early medieval period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries. The empire at its peak covered much of the north-eastern region of the Indian subcont ...

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری) (1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان) , was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...

, who became king of India after defeating

Humayun Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northern ...

, founded the city of

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

on the ruins of ancient

Pataliputra Pataliputra ( IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at the ...

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

arrived during the 7th century AD and became dominant gradually since the early 13th century with the advent of Muslim rulers as well as

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

missionaries such as

Shah Jalal Jalāl Mujarrad Kunyāʾī (), popularly known as Shah Jalal, was a celebrated Sufi figure of Bengal. His name is often associated with the Conquest of Sylhet and the spread of Islam into the region, part of a long history of interactions betw ...

in the region. Later, Muslim rulers, starting from the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

initiated the preaching of Islam by building mosques. From the 14th century onward, it was ruled by the

, founded by king Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah, beginning a period of the country's economic prosperity and military dominance over the regional empires, which was referred by the Europeans to as the richest country to trade with. Afterwards, the entire East India came under the

, becoming as the most advanced parts in the world.

Bengal Subah The Bengal Subah ( bn, সুবাহ বাংলা; fa, ), also referred to as Mughal Bengal ( bn, মোগল বাংলা), was the largest subdivision of the Mughal Empire (and later an independent state under the Nawabs of Ben ...

generated almost half of the empire's

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...

and 12% of the world's GDP, larger than the entirety of western

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. With the arrival of the Europeans in the 17th century, outposts were established in Odisha Coast and Bengal. The European traders established their trade centres in the ports of Balasore,

Pipili Pipili is a town and a NAC under jurisdiction of Puri district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is famous for designing beautiful Applique handicrafts. It is a town of artisans famous for their colourful fabrics. Geography Pipili is located a ...

Palur Palur is a small village in Chengalpattu district in India. Suburban trains running between Chennai Beach - Chengalpattu - Tirumalpur section and Chengalpattu - Arakkonam Arakkonam () is a railway town and suburb of Chennai within Chennai ...

in the Odisha Coast during the rule of the last independent Hindu king Gajapati Prataprudra Dev. The Portuguese were in Chittagong, Dutch in Chinsura, French in Pondicherry and the English founded

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

. The Maratha Invasion of Bengal badly affected the economy of Bengal and it is estimated that 400,000 people were butchered by the Hindu Maratha bargis and many women and children gang raped, and the genocide has been considered to be among the deadliest massacres in Indian history. In 1756, the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

defeated the local Indian Muslim rulers in

Plassey Palashi or Plassey ( bn, পলাশী, Palāśī, translit-std=ISO, , ) is a village on the east bank of Bhagirathi River, located approximately 50 kilometres north of the city of Krishnanagar in Kaliganj CD Block in the Nadia Distric ...

and established British Rule in the subcontinent. Its capital Calcutta grew into one of the world's greatest ports. Tea from Calcutta was off-loaded by American separatists in the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

in the 1770s. In the 19th century, Calcutta's traders and merchants traded with the rest of the British Empire, continental Europe, the United States and China. Indentured Indian labourers from Bihar, sailed to new homes in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, Surinam and South Africa. India's independence movement had strong roots in East India. The feudal land system, established through the Permanent Settlement of Bengal, was unpopular among the peasant cultivators and the numerous agricultural labourers found all over Bihar and Bengal (Khetmazdoors). The Indian Rebellion of 1857 started in

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. British war propaganda asserted there were atrocities by the mutinous soldiers in the

Black Hole of Calcutta The Black Hole of Calcutta was a dungeon in Fort William, Calcutta, measuring , in which troops of Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, held British prisoners of war on the night of 20 June 1756. John Zephaniah Holwell, one of the Britis ...

. Eventually the British prevailed, and Calcutta remained capital of Britain's Asian dominions until 1911. During

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

's independence movement, the Bihari village of Champaran was an important supporter of non-violent resistance. Great poets of the stature of

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

championed the movement for self-rule. The Partition also had its roots in undivided Eastern India. The

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties Subcontinent ; British India *All-India Muslim League, Mohammed Ali Jinah, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan. **Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organ ...

was founded in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

in 1906. In the 1937 provincial elections, it came to power in Bengal in alliance with the Krishak Praja Party. in 1944, it gained an absolute majority in the Bengal Assembly, and Hussein Suhrawardy became the

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

. After widespread communal violence during the

Direct Action Day Direct Action Day (16 August 1946), also known as the 1946 Calcutta Killings, was a day of nationwide communal riots. It led to large-scale violence between Muslims and Hinduism in India, Hindus in the city of Calcutta (now known as Kolkata) ...

protests in

, leading to further communal violence across

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, the creation of Pakistan became inevitable. In 1947, further communal violence displaced millions as independence and

partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

of British India occurred. Some Bihari and Bengali Muslims fled to the newly created

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

. Most East Bengal Hindus fled to India. The 1950s saw industrial progress in East India. These were cut short with the conflict in neighbouring

and by the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

movement at home. In 1971, in the course of Bangladesh's independence struggle, millions of refugees poured into East India.

and

struggled with economic issues during the

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...

and in the beginning of post independent India. But in recent years, these two states have shown impressive growth record and developed steadily. The economic boom since 2005 started to spread new malls, highways, airports and IT office complexes, but not evenly across the region. Jharkhand became a separate state on 15 November 2000. In the modern times, these states have seen rapid transformation and home to several mineral and metal based industries, coal based thermal powers units,

oil refineries An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, lique ...

ports A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

, textile industries and well established public and private educational institutes. Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand rank 14th, 16th and 18th in the

List of Indian states by GDP These are lists of Indian states and union territories by their nominal gross state domestic product (GSDP). GSDP is the sum of all value added by industries within each state or union territory and serves as a counterpart to the national gr ...

has shown consistent growth in the state GDP and received the recognition of the fastest-growing economy among the states in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Education

Nalanda Nalanda (, ) was a renowned ''mahavihara'' (Buddhist monastic university) in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India.Puspagiri and

Vikramshila Vikramashila (Sanskrit: विक्रमशिला, IAST: , Bengali language, Bengali:- বিক্রমশিলা, Romanization, Romanisation:- Bikrômôśilā ) was one of the three most important Buddhist Mahavihara, monasteries i ...

universities were the famed institutions of higher learning in ancient India located in Eastern India. One of the first great universities in recorded history was the ancient Nalanda University located in Bihar and another institute of higher learning was the ancient

Puspagiri University Pushpagiri ( Odia: ପୁଷ୍ପଗିରି) was an ancient Indian mahavihara or monastic complex located atop Langudi Hill (or Hills) in Jajpur district of Odisha, India. Pushpagiri was mentioned in the writings of the Chinese traveller X ...

recently discovered in Odisha. Education in the eastern part of India has seen rapid transformation. Several new educational institutes have been established to cater the needs of students. East India is now the home to some of the great Indian universities and Institutions of National Importance. Some prominent institutions of higher learning located in the states of Eastern India are listed below. Nalanda Univercity

Bihar

Software Technology Park of India, Patna

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna All India Institute of Medical Sciences Patna (AIIMS Patna), previously Jaya Prakash Narayan All India Institute of Medical Sciences (JPNAIIMS), is a medical college and medical research public institute located in Phulwari Sharif, Patna, Bi ...

Aryabhatta Knowledge University Aryabhatta Knowledge University (AKU Patna) is a collegiate public state university located in Mithapur, Patna, Bihar, India. It was named after the Indian astronomer Aryabhatta. Apart from a few notable exceptions, AKU has authority over tec ...

, Patna *

Birla Institute of Technology, Patna Birla Institute of Technology, Patna is an educational institute offering undergraduate and postgraduate courses located in Patna, Bihar, India. It is an off campus of Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi. History Birla Institute of T ...

* Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Technology, Hajipur *

Chanakya National Law University Chanakya National Law University (CNLU) is a public law school and a National Law University in Patna, Bihar, India. It was established in 2006 by the Government of Bihar (Bihar Act 24 of 2006) as a public university dedicated to the field ...

Chandragupt Institute of Management Chandragupt Institute of Management Patna (CIMP) was established in 2008 as an autonomous institution under the Societies Act, with active support from the government of Bihar. It is an AICTE-approved and NBA accredited institution, offers a two ...

Indian Institute of Management Bodh Gaya The Indian Institute of Management Bodh Gaya (IIM-BG) is an autonomous public business school in Bodh Gaya, Bihar in India. It is the 16th Indian Institute of Management (IIM). The institution was mentored by Indian Institute of Management Calc ...

Indian Institute of Technology Patna Indian Institute of Technology Patna (abbreviated IIT Patna or IITP) is a public technical university located at Bihta near Patna, Bihar. It is recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India. It is one of the ne ...

Institute of Hotel Management, Hajipur Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, Hajipur (IHMCT&AN), generally known as IHM Hajipur, is a hospitality management school located in Hajipur, Bihar.

Muzaffarpur Institute of Technology Muzaffarpur Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as MIT, Muzaffarpur) is a public, coeducational engineering college in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India. It is administered by the Department of Science and Technology, Bihar and funded by Go ...

* Nalanda University * National Institute of Fashion Technology, Patna *

National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Hajipur National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Hajipur (NIPER Hajipur) is a public pharmaceutical education and research university located in Hajipur, Bihar, India. Established in 2007, it is one of the seven National Institutes o ...

National Institute of Technology, Patna National Institute of Technology Patna (NIT Patna), formerly Bihar School of Engineering and Bihar College of Engineering, is a public engineering institution located in Patna in the Indian state of Bihar. It was renamed as NIT Patna, by the G ...

Patna Medical College and Hospital Patna Medical College and Hospital (abbreviated as PMCH) was established in 1925 and originally known as Prince of Wales Medical College, is a medical college located in Patna, the state capital of Bihar, India. It is located on the southern b ...

Patna University Patna University is a public state university in Patna, Bihar, India. It was established on 1 October 1917 during the British Raj. It is the first university in Bihar and the seventh oldest university in the Indian subcontinent in the modern er ...

Purnea University Purnea University is a collegiate public state university located in Purnia, Bihar, India. It has jurisdiction over Purnia, Araria, Kishanganj and Katihar districts. It was established by an act of State Legislature in 2018. As a collegiate uni ...

Vidya Vihar Institute of Technology Vidya Vihar Institute of Technology is an engineering college established in 2009 by Vidya Vihar educational trust at Purnea, Bihar. It is affiliated to Aryabhatta Knowledge University, Patna and has approval of AICTE The All India Council ...

Purnia Purnia ()(also romanized as Purnea) is a city that serves as the administrative headquarters of both Purnia district and Purnia division in the Indian state of Bihar. Total geographical area of Purnia Urban Agglomeration is which is nex ...

Jharkhand

* Al Kabir Polytechnic,

Jamshedpur Jamshedpur (, ) or Tatanagar is the largest and most populous city in Jharkhand and the first planned industrial city in India. It is a Notified Area Council and Municipal Corporation and also the headquarter of the East Singhbhum district. It ...

* All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Deoghar *

Binod Bihari Mahto Koyalanchal University Binod Bihari Mahto Koyalanchal University is a state university located in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India. History Binod Bihari Mahto Koyalanchal University, Dhanbad came into existence by the Jharkhand Government notification of 23 March 2017, pu ...

Dhanbad Dhanbad is the second-most populated city in the Indian state of Jharkhand after Jamshedpur. It ranks as the 42nd largest city in India and is the 33rd largest million-plus urban agglomeration in India. Dhanbad shares its land borders with P ...

Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra (BIT Mesra) is a public deemed institute in Jharkhand, India. It was established in 1955 at Mesra, Ranchi, Mesra, Ranchi, by the industrialist Birla family, B. M. Birla. The institute was later headed by Ga ...

Deoghar Deoghar (pronounced ''Devaghar'') is a major city in Jharkhand, India. It is a holy sacred place of Hinduism. It is one of the 12 ''Jyotirlinga''s sites of Hinduism (Baidyanath Temple). The sacred temples of the city make this a place for pil ...

Birsa Agricultural University Birsa Agricultural University is an agricultural university at Kanke, Ranchi in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It was established on 26 June 1981, after its formal inauguration by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Overview Its primary objective ...

Ranchi Ranchi (, ) is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Odisha, western West Bengal and the eastern area ...

* Birsa Institute of Technology Sindri,

, AKA BIT Sindri *

Central University of Jharkhand The Central University of Jharkhand (CUJ) is a Central University, India, central university located in Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. It was established in 2009. History CUJ was established in 2009 under the first schedule of the ''Central Univers ...

Indian Institute of Management Ranchi The Indian Institute of Management Ranchi (IIM Ranchi, IIM-R) is a public business school located in Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. IIM Ranchi was established in Ranchi on 15 December 2009 and began classes on 6 July 2010, under the 11th Five Year ...

, AKA IIM Ranchi * Indian Institute of Technology, AKA IIT Dhanbad, formerly

Indian School of Mines University Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad (abbreviated IIT (ISM), Dhanbad) is a prestigious public technical university located in Dhanbad, India. It has main campus of 218 acres in Sardar Patel Nagar area of Dhanbad an ...

* Karim City College,

* Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, Jamshedpur *

National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur (NIT Jamshedpur or NITJSR), is an Institute of National Importance for Technical Education located at Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India. Established as a Regional Institute of Technology on 15 August 1960 ...

* National Institute of Foundry and Forge Technology, Ranchi * Patliputra Medical College and Hospital,

* Phulo Jhano Murmu Medical College and Hospital, Dumka *

Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences The Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), established on 15 August 2002 by upgrading the then Rajendra Medical College and Hospital (RMCH) originally setup in 1960, is a medical institute of in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, India ...

Sido Kanhu Murmu University Sido Kanhu Murmu University (SKMU), formerly Siddhu Kanhu University, is a public university situated in the Santhal Parganas region of Jharkhand state in eastern India. It has its headquarters at Dumka, the second capital of Jharkhand. The univ ...

Dumka Dumka ( Santali: ᱫᱩᱢᱠᱟᱹ), the headquarters of the Dumka district and Santhal Pargana region, is a city in the state of Jharkhand, India. It was made the headquarters of the Santhal Pargana region, which was carved out of the Bha ...

Vinoba Bhave University Vinoba Bhave University is a state university located at Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, India, about 100 km from Ranchi, the state capital. The university offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels, manages and maintains 12 con ...

Hazaribagh Hazaribagh is a city and a municipal corporation in Hazaribagh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is the divisional headquarters of North Chotanagpur division. It is considered as a health resort and is also popular for Hazaribagh ...

* Xavier Institute of Social Service (XISS),

* XLRI - Xavier School of Management,

Odisha

Ravenshaw Convention Centre,Ravenshaw University,Cuttack

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar All India Institute of Medical Sciences Bhubaneswar (AIIMS Bhubaneswar), formerly Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose All India Institute of Medical Sciences, is a medical college and medical research public university located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, ...

* Army Air Defence College, Gopalpur, Brahmapur *

Berhampur University Berhampur University is a Public teaching-cum-affiliating university in Brahmapur, Odisha, India inaugurated by former Governor of Odisha, Dr. A.N. Khosla. History Berhampur University was established on 2 January 1967 as an affiliating univ ...

Berhampur Brahmapur (; also known as Berhampur) is a city on the eastern coastline of Ganjam district of the Indian state of Odisha. Bramhapur is most famous for its street food, silk sarees or pato sarees, temples and many historical places. Bramhapur al ...

Biju Patnaik University of Technology Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) is a public state university located in Rourkela, Odisha, India. It was established on 21 November 2002 and was named after Biju Patnaik, the former Chief Minister of Odisha. History It came into be ...

Rourkela Rourkela is a planned city located in the northern district Sundargarh of Odisha, India. It is the third-largest Urban Agglomeration in Odisha after Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. It is situated about west of state capital Bhubaneswar and is surro ...

* Central University of Odisha,

Koraput Koraput is a town and a Municipality in Koraput district in the Indian state of Odisha. Koraput town is the district headquarter of Koraput district. History The district of Koraput derives its name from its headquarters the present town of ...

* Centurion University of Technology and Management,

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...

College of Engineering and Technology, Bhubaneswar Odisha University of Technology and Research (OUTR) formerly College of Engineering and Technology, Bhubaneswar (CETB) is a public technical unitary university under the state government of Odisha located in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha, I ...

Hi-Tech Medical College & Hospital, Bhubaneswar Hi-Tech Medical College & Hospital (HMCH) is a private, profit, self-financing medical institution based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. Hi-Tech Medical College & Hospital is functioning from 2005 under Utkal University affiliation and recognize ...

* Indian Institute for Production Management,

Indian Institute of Mass Communication Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) is an Indian media centre of learning and civil service training institute for the Indian Information Service Cadre funded and promoted by the Government of India in New Delhi. The IIMC is an auton ...

, Dhenkanal *

Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (IIT Bhubaneswar) is a public technical university established by the government of India in 2008, located at Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. The institute admits a students for bachelor's, master's progra ...

Indian Institutes of Management The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are central government-owned-public business schools for management offering undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral and executive programmes along with some additional courses in the field of busines ...

Sambalpur Sambalpur () is the fifth largest city in the Indian State of Odisha. It is located on the banks of river Mahanadi, with a population of 335,761 (as per 2011 census). Prehistoric settlements have been recorded there. It is the home of the Sam ...

Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) are a group of premier public research institutions in India. The institutes were established by the Government of India through the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHR ...

Institute of Medical Sciences and Sum Hospital The Institute of Medical Sciences and Sum Hospital (IMS and SUM Hospital) is the medical school of the Siksha 'O' Anusandhan in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. This institute gained permission in 2007 from Medical Council of India The Medic ...

Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar ( or, ପଦାର୍ଥ ବିଜ୍ଞାନ ଅନୁଷ୍ଠାନ) is an autonomous research institution of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India. The institute was founded by Profes ...

International Institute of Information Technology, Bhubaneswar International Institute of Information Technology, Bhubaneswar (IIIT-BH or IIIT-BBSR) is a state university located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. It is a University Grants Commission (India) (UGC) recognised Unitary Technical University. The ca ...

Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), formerly KIIT University, is a private deemed university located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. It primarily emphasizes on higher education and research in engineering and science. It offers 3 ...

, AKA KIIT University,

Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) is the medical school of the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology situated in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. This institute began offering MBBS courses in medical stream courses in 2007. Its si ...

* National Institute of Fashion Technology,

* National Institute of Science and Technology,

National Institute of Science Education and Research The National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) is an autonomous premier public research institute in Jatani, Odisha, India under the umbrella of Department of Atomic Energy, Govt. of India. The institute is a constituen ...

, Bhubaneswar *

National Institutes of Technology The National Institutes of Technology (NITs) are the central government-owned-public technical institutes under the ownership of Ministry of Education, Government of India. They are governed by the National Institutes of Technology, Scienc ...

, Rourkela * National Law University Odisha *

North Orissa University Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University (MSCB University), formerly North Orissa University (NOU), is a public university in the regional city of Baripada in the state of Odisha, India. This university mainly provides higher education ...

, Baripada *

Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) was established in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India in 1962. It is the second oldest agricultural university in the country. It is dedicated to agriculture related research, extension and educatio ...

Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College (PRMMCH) is a full-fledged tertiary Government Medical College located in Rangamatia situated from the district headquarter of Mayurbhanj District, Baripada, Odisha. It is one of the notable government m ...

Baripada *

Ravenshaw University Ravenshaw University, formerly known as Ravenshaw college, is a co-educational state university situated in Cuttack, Odisha on the eastern coast of India. Founded as Ravenshaw College in 1868, the institution became a university in 2006. The un ...

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...

Regional Institute of Education The Regional Institute of Education (RIE, formerly known as Regional College of Education), is a constituent unit of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi. The RIEs are set up in 1963 by Government of India ...

Sambalpur University Sambalpur University is located in Burla town, of district Sambalpur, India, in the state of Odisha. Popularly known as Jyoti Vihar, it offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels. The governor of Odisha is the chancellor of ...

Siksha 'O' Anusandhan Shiksha 'O' Anusandhan (SOA), formerly Siksha 'O' Anusandhan University (SOA University), is a private deemed university located at Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. The university is composed of nine degree-granting schools and colleges and has ...

Sri Sri University Sri Sri University is an Indian university established on 26 December 2009. The university came into operation in the year 2012. At present, the university is offering different courses in areas of management, architecture, humanities, agricul ...

* Srirama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital,

Utkal University Utkal University (UU) is a Public university in Bhubaneswar, Khordha district, Khordha, Odisha, and is the oldest university in Odisha, the state, and the 17th-oldest university in India. It is a teaching-cum-affiliating university. The pre ...

Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VSSIMSAR), formerly Burla Medical College (BMC) and Veer Surendra Sai Medical College and Hospital (VSSMCH), popularly known as VIMSAR, is a government-run Medical Institute and h ...

, Burla *

Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology, formerly known as the University College of Engineering, Burla, is a state university located in Burla, Sambalpur, Odisha, India. Established in 1956, it is the oldest engineering college in Odisha. U ...

, Burla *

Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB) is a premier Business School located in Bhubaneswar, the capital of the eastern Indian state of Odisha featuring regularly among the top 20 bschools in India. Established in the year 1987, XIMB ...

West Bengal

Adamas University Adamas University is a private university located on Barrackpore-Barasat road in Barasat, West Bengal, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the ...

* Aliah University,

Amity University, Kolkata Amity University, Kolkata is a private university in Kolkata in the state of West Bengal, India. It was founded in 2015 and is the eighth university to be established by the Amity Education Group. History The Amity Group's was established in Ko ...

Asansol Engineering College The Asansol Engineering College or AEC is a private engineering college in Asansol, West Bengal, India. It offers different undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Engineering and Technology and other allied fields. It was established in 1998 ...

Asansol Asansol is a (Tier-II) metropolitan city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the second largest and most populated city of West Bengal and the 33rd largest urban agglomeration in India. Asansol is the district headquarters of Paschim Bar ...

Calcutta National Medical College The Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital (CNMCH), colloquially known as Chittaranjan Hospital, is a leading public medical education and research institution in Kolkata. It was established by the amalgamation of the National Medical ...

* Government College of Engineering & Textile Technology Serampore * Government College of Engineering & Textile Technology, Berhampore * Haldia Institute of Technology, Haldia *

Heritage Institute of Technology, Kolkata Heritage Institute of Technology, popularly known as HITK or HIT is a self-financed institute in the state of the West Bengal. Heritage Institute of Technology is ranked one of the best amongst engineering colleges in Eastern India.The campus i ...

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) is a leading business school of India. Established in 1963, it works as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. It also functions as a civil services tr ...

Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in basic sciences under the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, situated at the heart of ...

Indian Institute of Chemical Biology Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB) is a biomedical research centre in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Established in 1935 as Indian Institute of Experimental Medicine (IIEM), it was inducted under the aegis of Council of Scientific & ...

Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur (IIEST Shibpur), erstwhile Bengal Engineering College (also known as B.E. College), formerly Bengal Engineering and Science University (also known as BESU), is a public research u ...

, formerly Bengal Engineering and Science University *

Indian Institute of Management Calcutta Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM Calcutta or IIM-C) is a public business school located in Joka, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was the first Indian Institute of Management to be established, and has been recognized as an Institut ...

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) is a public institute of technology established by the Government of India in Kharagpur, West Bengal, India. Established in 1951, the institute is the first of the IITs to be established ...

Indian Statistical Institute Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) is a higher education and research institute which is recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the 1959 act of the Indian parliament. It grew out of the Statistical Laboratory set up by Prasanta ...

Jadavpur University Jadavpur University is a public state university located in Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established in 1905 as ''Bengal Technical Institute'' and was converted into Jadavpur University in 1955. In 2022, it was ranked fourth am ...

Jalpaiguri Government Engineering College The Jalpaiguri Government Engineering College, abbreviated as JGEC, is an autonomous college, owned fully by Government of West Bengal, and affiliated to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology. The courses conducted by JGEC have the ...

JIS University JIS University is a private university located near Agarpara, West Bengal, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous count ...

Kalyani Government Engineering College Kalyani Government Engineering College (KGEC), Kalyani, West Bengal, India offers undergraduate (B.Tech.) and postgraduate (M.Tech., M.C.A.) engineering degree courses affiliated to the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology(MAKAUT) ...

Kazi Nazrul University Kazi Nazrul University (KNU) is a Public Collegiate university in Asansol, West Bengal. The university has been named after the poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. The university was established under the Kazi Nazrul University Act, 2012. Assent of the Go ...

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (MAKAUT), formerly known as West Bengal University of Technology (WBUT), is a public state university located in Kalyani, West Bengal, India. It is funded completely by the Government of West B ...

Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata Calcutta Medical College, officially Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, is a public medical school and hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is the oldest existing hospital in Asia. The institute was established on 28 January 1835 by L ...

Narula Institute of Technology Narula Institute of Technology (better known as NiT, Kolkata) is an autonomous private engineering college in West Bengal, India, situated in Agarpara, Kolkata. The college is affiliated with the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technolog ...

National Institute of Technology, Durgapur National Institute of Technology Durgapur (also known as NIT Durgapur or NITDGP), formerly known as Regional Engineering College, Durgapur (also known as REC Durgapur or RECDGP), is a public technical university in the city of Durgapur in We ...

Presidency University, Kolkata Presidency University, Kolkata (formerly known as Presidency College, Kolkata) is a second major public state aided research university located in College Street, Kolkata. Considered as one of best colleges when Presidency College was affili ...

Rabindra Bharati University Rabindra Bharati University is a public research university in Kolkata, India. It was founded on May 8, 1962, under the Rabindra Bharati Act of the Government of West Bengal in 1961, to mark the birth centenary of the poet Rabindranath Tagore. ...

* S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences *

Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics The Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP) is an institution of basic research and training in physical and biophysical sciences located in Bidhannagar, Kolkata, India. The institute is named after the famous Indian physicist Meghnad Saha. ...

Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) is a film and television institute located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Named after Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, the institute provides higher and professional education and technical expe ...

Sidho Kanho Birsha University Sidho Kanho Birsha University (SKBU) is a public state university located in Purulia district of West Bengal, India. It was established under an Act of the West Bengal Legislature on April, 2010. It offers different undergraduate and postgraduat ...

Purulia Purulia is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Purulia district. It is located on the north of the Kangsabati River. Geography Location Purulia is located at . It has an average ele ...

University of Burdwan The University of Burdwan (also known as Burdwan University or B. U.) is a public university in Purba Bardhaman, West Bengal, India. It was established by the West Bengal Government as a teaching and affiliating university on 15 June 1960 with ...

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

University of Engineering & Management (UEM), Kolkata The University of Engineering & Management (UEM), Kolkata is a private university located in New Town, Kolkata. It provides engineering, technological & management education. It was established in 2015 by IEM Trust, Act no. XXV and it is the th ...

University of Gour Banga University of Gour Banga is a public state university located in Malda, West Bengal, India. It is one of the newest state universities established in 2008 by the Government of West Bengal on Act XXVI 2007. History The university completed ...

, Malda *

University of Kalyani The University of Kalyani, established in 1960, is a Government of West Bengal administered, UGC affiliated, NAAC accredited, collegiate Public Research university in Kalyani, West Bengal, India. It offers courses at the Undergraduate, Pos ...

University of North Bengal University of North Bengal (abbreviated as NBU) is a public state collegiate major research university in North Bengal region of West Bengal, which is located in Raja Rammohanpur, Siliguri, Darjeeling district, in the Indian state of West Be ...

Siliguri Siliguri, ) is a major tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms twin cities, "Twin Cities" with the neighboring district capital of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts in the Indian sta ...

Vidyasagar University Vidyasagar University was established by an Act of the West Bengal legislature which was notified in the '' Calcutta Gazette'' on 24 June 1981. It is an affiliating university in Paschim Medinipur district of southern West Bengal, India. It ...

Visva-Bharati University Visva-Bharati () is a public central university and an Institution of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it ''Visva-Bharati'', which means the communion of the w ...

Bolpur Bolpur is a city and a municipality in Birbhum district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bolpur subdivision. Bolpur municipal area includes Santiniketan, Sriniketan and Prantik. The city is known as a Cultural a ...

West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS or NUJS) is a premier public law school in India, also known as Columbia of East, and is an elite National Law University located in Bidhannagar, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. I ...

Urban areas

There were many ancient cities established in Eastern India. Prominent among them were

, Bangarh,

Tamralipta Tamralipta or Tamralipti ( pi, Tāmaliti) was a port city and capital of Suhma Kingdom in ancient Bengal, located on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. The Tamluk town in present-day Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, is generally identified as the sit ...

Champapuri Champapuri is a village in Bhagalpur district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the site of the ancient city of Champa, the capital of the Anga mahajanapada. Champapuri is claimed to be the only place where all the five kalyanas- garbha, j ...

Chandraketugarh Chandraketugarh is a 2,500 years old archaeological site located near the Bidyadhari river, about north-east of Kolkata, India, in the district of North 24 parganas, near the township of Berachampa and the Harua Road railhead. Once it was a ...

Dantapura Kalinga is a kingdom described in the legendary Indian text ''Mahabharata''. They were a warrior clan who settled in and around the historical Kalinga region, present-day Odisha and northern parts of Andhra Pradesh. Kalinga clan warriors side ...

, Gauda,

Katak Kattak ( ਕੱਤਕ, ) is the eighth month of the Nanakshahi calendar. This month coincides with Kartik in the Hindu calendar and the Indian national calendar, and October and November in the Gregorian and Julian calendars and is 30 days lon ...

Sisupalgarh Sisupalgarh or Sisupalagada is situated in Khurda District in Odisha, India and houses ruined fortifications. It used to be the capital of ancient Kalinga. It is identified with Kalinganagara of Kharavela and Tosali of Ashoka. It is one of ...

Tosali Tosali or Toshali was an ancient city in the present day Odisha state in eastern India. It was the capital of the eastern province of the Kalinga Kingdom. While some scholars tried to identify this ancient city with Dhauli, 7 km away from ...

, Gaya,

Jaugada Jaugada ("Jaugarh", ancient Samapa) is a ruined fortress in the Ganjam district in Odisha, India. Jaugada lies 35 km north-west of Brahmapur and 160 km south-west of Bhubaneshwar. Once a provincial Mauryan fortified capital of the n ...

, Pandua,

Rajapura Rajapura was a term used in the Mahabharata to describe either a major city of the Kalingas or the royal palace of the Kalinga in the city Rajahmandry, believed to be the capital of the Kalingas. Rajapura has also been listed as one of the capit ...

, Asurgarh and Vaishali.

West Bengal

's capital

, the capital of

until 1911, is the biggest metropolis and economically dominant city of the region and third largest in India and one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. It is also the main centre of commerce or the commercial capital of Eastern and north Eastern India. Kolkata is very fast transforming itself to become city equipped with every facilities for IT and ITES and also financial outsourcing hub and its satellites Salt Lake and Rajarhat-New Town are taken the burdens of India's IT and financial boom. There are many

Satellite town Satellite cities or satellite towns are smaller municipalities that are adjacent to a principal city which is the core of a metropolitan area. They differ from mere suburbs, subdivisions and especially bedroom communities in that they have muni ...

also situated in Kolkata, some of them are Salt Lake, Rajarhat-New Town,

Kolkata West International City Kolkata West International City is a satellite township development of Kolkata, located at Salap in Howrah district. The project is under construction in the form of a joint-venture between KMDA and Singapore-based congomolarate Universal Succes ...

, Kalyani, Calcutta Riverside. It is also known as City Of Joy. However, the mid-sized cities of

Durgapur Durgapur () is a planned tier-II urban agglomeration and a major industrial city in Paschim Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the fourth largest urban agglomeration after Kolkata, Asansol and Siliguri in West Bengal ...

are rapidly growing urban areas.

is the highest contributor of GDP among all other eastern state for India and it is also one of the Fastest-growing states in India. West Bengal is the hub of industry and economic activities in Eastern India and it is also the home to the tallest skylines located in this region and are also one of the tallest buildings in the country. It is also the home of history of rising India. Howrah Bridge, Kolkota

The

Kolkata metropolitan area Kolkata Metropolitan Area (abbreviated KMA; formerly Calcutta Metropolitan Area), also known as Greater Kolkata, is the urban agglomeration of the city of Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the third most populous metropolitan are ...

is spread over and comprises 3 municipal corporations (including Kolkata Municipal Corporation), 39 local municipalities and 24

panchayat samiti Panchayat samiti is a rural local government (panchayat) body at the intermediate tehsil (taluka/mandal) level in India. It works for the villages of the tehsil that together are called a development block. It has been said to be the "panchayat ...

s, . 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 state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River opposite its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively it lies within Howrah district, and is th ...

, Hooghly and

Nadia Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both. In Slavic, names similar to ''Nadia'' mean "hope" in many Slavic languages: ...

. Kolkata, which is under the jurisdiction of the

Kolkata Municipal Corporation Kolkata Municipal Corporation (abbreviated KMC; also Calcutta Municipal Corporation) is the local government of the Indian city of Kolkata, the state capital of West Bengal. This civic administrative body administers an area of . Its motto, ' ...

( KMC), has an area of . The east–west dimension of the city is comparatively narrow, stretching from the Hooghly River in the west to roughly the

Eastern Metropolitan Bypass The Eastern Metropolitan Bypass (known simply as both ''E.M. Bypass'' and ''EM Bypass'') is a (Including Kamalgazi to Baruipur extension) major road on the east side of Kolkata. It connects Ultadanga (North Kolkata) to Baruipur Puratan Baz ...

in the east—a span of . The north–south distance is greater, and its axis is used to section the city into North, Central and South Kolkata. Kolka

Vidyasagar Setu - River Hooghly 2014-01-01 1889

North Kolkata is the oldest part of the city. Characterised by 19th-century architecture and narrow alleyways, it includes areas such as

Jorasanko Jorasanko is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India. It is so called because of the two (''jora'') wooden or bamboo bridges (''sanko'') that spanned a small stream at this point. History Apart from the disti ...

Maniktala Maniktala is a residential area of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India. Etymology The tomb of Manik Pir is located in lane near Maniktala crossing. Some people say, the neighbourhood is named after Manik Pir. Others say, M ...

Ultadanga Ultadanga is one of the most crowded junctions in Kolkata. The place is located at the north-eastern fringe of the city and marks the limit of Kolkata district. Prominent places in Ultadanga are Telenga Bagan and Muchi Bazar. Etymology Ultad ...

Shyambazar Shyambazar is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The area, under Shyampukur police station of Kolkata Police, has been, along with neighbouring Bagbazar, the citadel of the Bengali ari ...

Shobhabazar Shobhabazar (also spelt Sovabazar; bn, শোভাবাজার) is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district, in the Indian state of West Bengal. History Sheths and Basaks, well-to-do traders at Saptagram, were among the first ...

Bagbazar Bagbazar (also spelt Baghbazar) is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The area, under Shyampukur police station of Kolkata Police, has been, along with neighbouring Shyambazar, the citadel o ...

Cossipore Kashipur (also spelt Cossipur, Kashipur) is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. One of the oldest neighbourhoods of the metropolis, it has a police station. History The East India Company o ...

Sinthee Sinthee or Sinthi is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India. History The East India Company obtained from the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar, in 1717, the right to rent from 38 villages surrounding their settleme ...

etc. The north suburban areas like

Dum Dum Dum Dum is a city and a municipality of Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of Kolkata urban area and also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Etymology During the 19th ...

Baranagar ("City of hogs") , settlement_type = City , image_seal = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , pushpin_map = India West Bengal#India3#Asia , pushpin_label_ ...

Belgharia Belgharia is a locality in Kamarhati Municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) and a vital locality in Kolkata metropol ...

Sodepur Sodepur or Sodpur is a locality in Panihati, Panihati Municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is close to Kolkata and also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropo ...

, Khardaha,

New Barrackpore New Barrackpore is a city and a municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is close to Kolkata & a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. It is the capital of Kolkata. Geo ...

Madhyamgram Madhyamgram is a city and a municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is close to Kolkata and also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). History Madhyamgram wa ...

, Barrackpore, Barasat etc. are also within the city of Kolkata (as a metropolitan structure). Central Kolkata hosts the central business district. It contains

B.B.D. Bagh B. B. D. Bagh, formerly called Tank Square and then Dalhousie Square (1847 to 1856), is the shortened version for Benoy-Badal-Dinesh Bagh. It is the seat of power of the state government, as well as the central business district of Kolkata in ...

, formerly known as Dalhousie Square and the

Esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

on its east; Strand Road is on its west. The West Bengal Secretariat, General Post Office,

Reserve Bank of India The Reserve Bank of India, chiefly known as RBI, is India's central bank and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is responsible for ...

, 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

Chowringhee Road Chowringhee Road (also spelt ''Chourangi Road''), located in the Chowringhee neighbourhood of Kolkata, is the arterial road running from the eastern fringes of Esplanade southwards up to the crossing with Lower Circular Road (AJC Bose Roa ...

Camac Street Abanindranath Thakur Sarani (renamed from ''Camac Street'') is a street running in the central business district of Kolkata, India, from Park Street (Allen Park) to Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road (Nizam Palace). The road was named after ...

, Wood Street, Loudon Street,

Shakespeare Sarani Shakespeare Sarani (earlier Theatre Road) is a street running in the central business district of Kolkata, India, from Park Circus to Chowringhee Road (Birla Planetarium). It was renamed on 24 April 1964 after William Shakespeare, to mark the f ...

AJC Bose Road Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road (earlier known as Lower Circular Road) and its continuation northwards called Acharya Prafulla Chandra Road (earlier known as Upper Circular Road), are together the longest and the most important north-south ...

etc. The

Maidan Maidan is an originally Persian word for a town square or public gathering place, adopted by various other languages: Urdu (''maidān''); Arabic (''maydān''); Turkish ; Bangla ময়দান, meaning field, and Crimean Tatar, from which ...

is a large open field in the heart of the city that has been called the "lungs of Kolkata" and accommodates sporting events and public meetings. The

Victoria Memorial The Victoria Memorial is a large marble building on the Maidan in Central Kolkata, built between 1906 and 1921. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria, Empress of India from 1876 to 1901. The largest monument to a monarch anywhere ...

and

Kolkata Race Course Kolkata Race Course in Hastings, Kolkata, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy ...

are located at the southern end of the Maidan. Among the other parks are

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

in Bidhannagar and

Millennium Park Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in 2004 and intended to celebrate the third millennium, is a prominent civic center nea ...

on Strand Road, along the Hooghly River. South Kolkata includes many posh neighbourhoods such as

Bhawanipore Bhowanipore (also Bhowanipur; bn, ভবানীপুর) is a neighbourhood of South Kolkata in Kolkata district of West Bengal, India. History In 1717, the East India Company obtained the right to rent from 38 villages surrounding their s ...

Alipore Alipore (Pron:ˌɑ:lɪˈpɔ:) is a neighbourhood in south Kolkata, in Kolkata district, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is flanked by the Tolly Nullah to the north, Bhowanipore to the east, the Diamond Harbour Road to the west and New ...

Ballygunge Ballygunge is a locality of South Kolkata, in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India. History The East India Company obtained from the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar, in 1717, the right to rent from 38 villages surrounding their settlement. Of the ...

, Kasba,

Dhakuria Dhakuria is a locality in the city of Kolkata, (previously Calcutta), in West Bengal, India. It is located in the southern part of the city and is surrounded by Ballygunge and Kasba in the north, Haltu in the east, Jadavpur/ Garia in the sout ...

, Santoshpur,

Garia Garia ( Bengali:গড়িয়া) is a neighborhood in southern Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is bordered by the neighborhoods of Jadavpur in the north, Bansdroni/Tollygunge in the north-west, Santoshpur/ Mukundapur in the north-east a ...

Tollygunge Tollygunge (Bengali: টালিগঞ্জ; nicknamed 'Mini Mumbai' or 'Mini Bombay') is a locality of South Kolkata, in West Bengal, India. It is famed as the centre of the Indian film industry, known as Tollywood, Marathi Cinema, South Indi ...

Behala Behala is a locality of South West Kolkata, in the Indian state of West Bengal. Behala is a part of Kolkata Municipal Corporation area. It is broadly spread across Ward Nos. 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130 ...

etc. The south suburban areas like

Maheshtala Maheshtala () is a city and a municipality of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is situated on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River. It is a part of the area covered by the Kolkata Metropolitan Development ...

, Budge Budge,

Rajpur Sonarpur Rajpur Sonarpur () is a city and a municipality of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Rajpur and Sonarpur are two separat ...

, Baruipur etc. are also within the city of Kolkata (as a metropolitan structure).

is the district headquarters of Paschim Bardhaman District in West Bengal. It is the second largest city in West Bengal after Kolkata and the 39th largest urban agglomeration in India. According to a 2010 report prepared by the International Institute for Environment and Development, a UK-based policy research non-governmental think tank, Asansol is ranked 11th among Indian cities. and 42nd in the world in its list of 100 fastest-growing cities. As per the recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission, Asansol has been listed as a Y-category city for calculation of HRA (House Rent Allowance) for public servants. It is one of the three non-Z category cities in West Bengal apart from Kolkata, which belong to the X category making it a tier-II city. Durgapur Steel Plant

is by far the most industrialised city in Eastern India and the second planned city in India. It started with the first prime minister of independent India,

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

. His dream of transforming the backward agricultural country into an industrially advanced nation was picked up in West Bengal by Dr. B.C. Roy. At the earlier stages for the selection of a proper site for a new industrial township. Modernist American architect Joseph Allen Stein, invited to head the newly formed Department of Architecture and Planning at the Bengal Engineering College in Calcutta, plunged into a major project as soon as he reached India in 1952 – the designing of Durgapur city with Benjamin Polk, another American architect already living in Calcutta. Thereafter it was the task of local leaders such as Ananda Gopal Mukherjee and bureaucrats such as K.K. Sen to get Durgapur going.

Bihar & Jharkhand

Bihar has

Bhagalpur Bhagalpur is a city in the Indian state of Bihar, situated on the southern banks of the river Ganges. It is the 2nd largest city of Bihar by population and also the headquarters of Bhagalpur district and Bhagalpur division. Known as the Silk ...

Darbhanga Darbhanga is the fifth-largest city and municipal corporation in the Indian state of Bihar situated centrally in Mithila region. Darbhanga is the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. It was the seat of the erstw ...

Muzaffarpur Muzaffarpur () is a city located in Muzaffarpur district in the Tirhut region of the Indian state of Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Tirhut division, the Muzaffarpur district and the Muzaffarpur Railway District. It is the fourth m ...

, Gaya,

Hajipur Hajipur (, ) is the headquarters and largest city of Vaishali district of the state of Bihar in India. Hajipur is the 16th most populous city of Bihar, besides being the second-fastest developing city, next to Patna. It had a total population ...

and

as important urban areas. In

the major urban areas are mainly dominated by industrial cities such as

, Bokaro Steel City,

and

is the capital of the

, its most populous city and the second most populous city in Eastern India. It is the administrative, industrial and educational centre of the state. Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world. Ancient Patna, known as Pataliputra, was the capital of the Magadha Empire under the Haryanka, Nanda, Mauryan, Shunga, Gupta and Pala.

was a seat of learning and fine arts. The modern city of Patna is situated on the southern bank of the Ganges. The city also straddles the rivers Sone, Gandak and Punpun. The city is approximately 35 km long and 16 km to 18 km wide. It is the second largest city of Eastern India. In June 2009, the World Bank ranked Patna second in India (after

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

) for ease of starting a business. As of 2004–2005, Patna had the highest per capita gross district domestic product in Bihar, at 63,063. Using fi gures for assumed average annual growth, Patna is the 21st fastest-growing city in the world and 5th fastest-growing city in India by the City Mayors' Foundation. Patna registered an average annual growth of 3.72% during 2006–2010. The city is also home to many tutorials and coaching institutes who prepare students for various entrance exams. IIT NIT NIFT AIIMS and other leading educational institutions are running successfully in Patna. City is also developing excellent road infrastructure to boom its economy.

Ganga expressway Ganga Expressway is an under-construction 594 km long, 6-lane wide (expandable to 8) greenfield expressway in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Phase-1 will connect Bijauli village on NH-334 in Meerut district with Judapur Dandu village on ...

and elevated corridors are under some of the ongoing projects in the city. A world class museum is also on its way to completion. The old museum of the city will be replaced by one of the biggest mall in east India.

Patna Metro Patna Metro is a rapid transit system currently under construction in the city of Patna in Bihar, India. It will be owned and operated by the state-run Patna Metro Rail Corporation and is expected to run on two corridors by 2027. It is being co ...

rail corporations is also going to start soon by 2021. It would be the second metro railway in Eastern India after Kolkata and the third in North India after Delhi and Lucknow. IT parks are also developing in and around the city. Patna recorded a per capita of Rs 63,063. The per capita level for 2007 was higher than

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

, which are both leading centres for global software development. The Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain pilgrim centres of Vaishali, Rajgir, Nalanda, Gaya, Bodhgaya, and Pawapuri are nearby and Patna is also a sacred city for Sikhs as the last Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, was born here.

Odisha

Royal Lagoon Bhubaneswar underconstruction

is the capital of the

. Other Important Cities are

Brahmapur Brahmapur may refer to the following places: * Brahmapur, Bihar * Brahmapur, Nepal * Brahmapur, Odisha ** Brahmapur railway station * Brahmapur, West Bengal See also * Brahampur, Phagwara Brahampur is a village in Tehsil Phagwara, Kapurtha ...

Paradeep Paradeep, also spelt Paradip (originally Paradweep, also spelt Paradwip), is a major seaport city and municipality, from Jagatsinghpur city in Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha, India. Paradeep Municipality was constituted as an NAC on 27 Sep ...

, Jajpur,

Bhadrak Bhadrak is a city of Odisha state in eastern India. The city is the district headquarters of Bhadrak district. According to legend, the city derives its name from the Goddess Bhadrakali, whose temple is on the banks of the Salandi River. Hi ...

, Balasore,

and

Puri Puri () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is als ...

. The Capital city has a long history of over 2000 years starting with Chedi dynasty (around the 2nd century BCE) who had

near present-day Bhubaneswar as their capital. Historically, Bhubaneswar has been known by different names such as Toshali, Kalinga Nagari, Nagar Kalinga,

Ekamra Kanan Ekamra Kanan or Ekamra Kanan Botanical Gardens is a botanical garden and a park located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. This is the biggest park and one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city. The park was established in 1985 and is sp ...

, Ekamra Kshetra and Mandira Malini Nagari (city of temples) or the temple city of India. The largest city of Odisha, Bhubaneswar today is a center of economic and religious importance in the region. With the

economic liberalisation Economic liberalization (or economic liberalisation) is the lessening of government regulations and restrictions in an economy in exchange for greater participation by private entities. In politics, the doctrine is associated with classical liber ...

policy adopted by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

in the '90s, Bhubaneswar received large investments in the fields of

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

, IT and higher education, particularly in science and engineering. The city is home to around 60 engineering colleges (as of 2009) and the number is growing every year. The city is also home to many tutorials and coaching institutes who prepare students for various entrance exams. ROURKELA STEEL PLANT

Retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

and

Real Estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

have also emerged as big players. Recent times have seen large scale retail chains such as Reliance, Vishal MegaMart, Big Bazaar, Pantaloon, Pal Heights, Indulge, New Leaf, Habib's, had opened outlets in Bhubaneswar. Large corporations like DLF Universal and Reliance Industries have entered the real estate market in the city. DLF Limited is developing an Infopark spread over an area of in the city. Expanding its business portfolio, the

-based Saraf Group, promoters of Forum Mart shopping malls is constructing another Shopping mall named Forum Lifestyle mall a lifestyle mall in Bhubaneswar with 1,200 car parks. The rich minerals resources of Odisha have been the backbone of the economy dominated by Government. Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and private organisations like Jindal, Vedanta and TATAS. Despite this rapid growth, an ample number of the populace live in slums. Migration from rural areas, especially from the northern districts of

, has led to the growth of slums which are a major challenge to the city's growth. Rourkela at night seen from Vaishno Devi Temple

The Government has fostered growth in this sphere by the development of IT Parks such as Infocity 1 and the new Infocity 2. The Info City was conceived as a five star park, under the Export Promotion Industrial Parks (EPIP) Scheme to create high quality infrastructure facilities for setting up Information Technology related industries.

Infosys Infosys Limited is an Indian multinational information technology company that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services. The company was founded in Pune and is headquartered in Bangalore. Infosys is the s ...

and Satyam Computer Services Ltd. have been present in Bhubaneswar since 1996–97. Its current head count stands at around 5000. The first part of the

TCS TCS may refer to: Organisations * Tata Consultancy Services, an IT company headquartered in India * Taxpayers for Common Sense, a US nonpartisan federal budget watchdog organization * TCS Courier, a Pakistani courier service * Touring Club Suisse ...

centre is ready and has a capacity to accommodate nearly 1,200 professionals but the software major has only 250 employees at present. The Finland telecommunication company, Nethawk, has its India R&D center at Bhubaneswar. The Canadian giant, Gennum Corporation has its India development centre at Bhubaneswar. The auditors Price water house Coopers Pvt. Ltd. also has a center in Bhubaneswar. The private STP is located at Infocity in Chandaka, Bhubaneswar with a view to provide incubation and infrastructure facilities to new and young entrepreneurs in the MSME sector, The intelligent building of the JSS STP is spread in a sprawling campus and houses state-of-art technology to fulfil the growing demands of highly competent IT professionals. The Eastern India, particularly Odisha and Jharkhand, have rich mineral resources which resulted in

economic boom An economic expansion is an increase in the level of economic activity, and of the goods and services available. It is a period of economic growth as measured by a rise in real GDP. The explanation of fluctuations in aggregate economic activit ...

in these two states. Several mineral based industries have been established in many cities of Odisha and Jharkhand namely

Kalinganagar Kalinganagar is a planned industrial and modern town in Jajpur district of coastal Odisha, India. It is rich in iron ore. Because of high global demand for steel, Kalinganagar is becoming a major global hub in steel, power and ancillary prod ...

Angul Angul (also known as Anugul) is a town and a municipality and the headquarters of Angul district in the state of Odisha, India. Angul has an average elevation of above sea level. The total geographical area of the district is 6232 km2. ...

Talcher Talcher is one of the 4 sub-divisions of Angul district in the Indian state of Odisha. History During the British Raj Talcher was the capital of Talcher State, one of the princely states of the Eastern States Agency.Malleson, G. B.: ''An his ...

Damanjodi Damanjodi is a town located in the Koraput district of Odisha, India. census, its population was 8,469. The town was founded as a residential area for employees of the National Aluminium Company (NALCO), a company that was established to harne ...

Joda Joda is a planned industrial and modern city and municipality in the Kendujhar district of the state of Odisha, India. The area has rich iron and manganese ore deposits and the economy centers on the large-scale production of iron ore and man ...

Barbil Barbil is a city and a Municipal Council in the Kendujhar district (also known as Iron City) of the state of Odisha, India Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern ...

, Choudwar,

Jharsuguda Jharsuguda is a city and district headquarters of Jharsuguda district of Odisha, India. It is an industrial hub, consisting mainly of metallurgical industries. It is well connected to major cities of India through the rail network, and a rece ...

, Bokaro,

and

Languages

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

is the dominant language of West Bengal.

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

, Bhojpuri, Maithili language, Maithili, Magahi and Urdu are the dominant languages of Bihar.

, Santali language, Santali, Khortha language, Khortha and Sadri language, Nagpuri are the dominant language of Jharkhand; however, some tribals speak their own tribal languages. Jharkhand has accorded second language status to Angika,

, Bhojpuri, Ho language, Ho, Kharia language, Kharia, Kurukh language, Kurukh, Khortha language, Khortha, Kurmali, Magahi, Maithili language, Maithili, Mundari language, Mundari, Sadani, Nagpuri, Odia language, Odia, Santali language, Santali and Urdu. Odia language, Odia is the dominant language of

. Odia is the only major classical language in east India and sixth Indian language to be considered as a classical language in the basis of being old and not borrowed from other languages. According to Indian National Mission for Manuscripts, after Sanskrit, Odia has the second-highest number of manuscripts. As per records there are around 2.13 lakhs ancient manuscript in Odia. In the list Bengali is in 9th position with 15412 ancient manuscripts. The Indo-Aryan languages spoken in this region descend from the Magadhi Prakrit, which was spoken in the ancient kingdom of Magadha. Odia emerged as a distinct language from Odra Magadhi Prakrit and Maithili language, Maithili emerged around the 9th century CE. Many of the minority Tribal languages of East India belong to the Munda languages, Munda branch of the Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic language family and Dravidian languages, Dravidian language family. Major representatives of Autro-Asiatic language include the Mundari language, Mundari, Santali language, Santali, and Ho language, Ho. Dravidian languages include Kurukh language, Kurukh, Kui language (India), Kui and Pengo language, Pengo.

Climate

The region lies in the humid-subtropical zone, and experiences hot summers from March to June, the monsoon from July to October and mild winters from November to February. The interior states have a drier climate and slightly more extreme climate, especially during the winters and summers, but the whole region receives heavy, sustained rainfall during the monsoon months. Snowfall occurs in the extreme northern regions of West Bengal and Daringbadi in Odisha.

Religion and cuisine

About 80% of the population of East India is Hindu with significant Muslim and small Christians, Christian, Buddhist and tribal minorities. The Muslims constitute a very large minority in West Bengal with 27% of the population and 17% in Bihar. Hindus form 94% of total population of Odisha. Christians are the largest minority in Odisha with 3% of the state population Durga, Krishna, Jagannath and Shiva are particularly popular Hindu deities in this region. Durga and Kali are patron deities of Bengal and Mithila whereas Jagannath or Vishnu is patron god among Odia people. Rama and Hanuman are most revered in Bihar. Shiva is popular in all areas of eastern states. Among tribals of the region Hinduism is the dominant religion. Some tribals also follow their indigenous religions (Sarana). There are several places of pilgrimage for Hinduism.

in Odisha is one of the four holy City/Dham of Hindu religion and particularly known for Rath Yatra festival.

is considered to be the "City of Temples". Konark houses an old sun temple. Bihar Sharif is an important pilgrimage centre for Mazar (mausoleum), some Muslims nearby and from other places. In Bihar Village Harinagar Bajrang Bali temple is famous for Hindu people. Dakshineswar Kali Temple is a historical Kali temple in

. Kalighat Kali Temple in

is the most important of all Shakti Peethas in India. Belur Math in

is the headquarters of the Ramkrishna Mission founded by Swami Vivekananda. In Bihar, Gaya is known for temple for salvation of ancestors. Other places are Sultanganj in

and Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga in

, Jharkhand. Bodh Gaya is the city sacred to Buddhism. There are also other cities sacred to Jainism, Jains in

and Jharkhand.

Cuisine

West Bengal Bengali cuisine is a culinary style originating in

which is now divided between the Indian state of

and today's

. Other regions, such as Tripura, and the Barak Valley region of Assam (in India) including some parts of

and

also have large native Bengali people, Bengali populations and share this cuisine. With an emphasis on fish, vegetables and lentils served with rice as a staple diet, Bengali cuisine is known for its subtle (yet sometimes fiery) flavours, and its huge spread of confectioneries and desserts. It also has the only traditionally developed multi-course tradition from the Indian subcontinent that is analogous in structure to the modern ''service à la russe'' style of French cuisine, with food served course-wise rather than all at once. Bengali food has inherited a large number of influences, both foreign and pan-Indian, arising from a historical and strong trade links with many parts of the world. Bengal fell under the sway of various Turkic rulers from the early thirteenth century onwards, and was then governed by the British for two centuries (1757–1947). Odisha Odia cuisine refers to the cooking of the eastern

n state of

. Foods from this area are rich and varied, while relying heavily on local ingredients. The flavours are usually subtle and delicately spiced, quite unlike the fiery curries typically associated with Indian cuisine. Fish and other seafood such as crab and shrimp are popular. Chicken and mutton are also consumed, but somewhat occasionally. Only 6% of the population of Odisha is vegetarian, and this is reflected in its cuisine. The oil base used is mostly mustard oil, but in festivals ghee is used. ''Panch phutana'', a mix of cumin, mustard, fennel, fenugreek and kalonji (nigella) is widely used for tempering vegetables and dals, while ''garam masala'' (curry powder) and ''haladi'' (turmeric) are commonly used for non-vegetarian curries. Pakhala, a dish made of rice, water, and yogurt, that is fermented overnight, is very popular in summer, particularly in the rural areas. Oriyas are very fond of sweets and no Oriya repast is considered complete without some dessert at the end. Festivals and fasts witness a cuisine without onion and garlic, whereas other days witness an aroma of garlic and onion paste in curries. One can find restaurants serving food without onion and garlic in major places like

and other coastal area, which is run by Brahmin owners. Odisha has a culinary tradition spanning centuries if not millennia. The kitchen of the Jagannath Temple (Puri), Jagannath temple in Puri is reputed to be the largest in the world, with a thousand cooks, working around 752 wood-burning clay hearths called ''chulas'', to feed over 10,000 people every day. Macher Jhol.JPG, A traditional Bengali fish meal – Rice with Macher Jhol (Literally translated to "Fish's gravy") Green Jackfruit & Potato Curry - Kolkata 2011-02-11 1000.JPG, Green jackfruit and potato curry,

File:Bengali orange rasgulla.jpg, ''Kamalabhog'' Roshogolla from West Bengal File:Bikalkar rasagola.gif, Bikalananda Kar, Bikali Kar Rasagola from Odisha Chenapoda.jpg, Chhena Poda from Odisha Rasmalai Secretlondon 09.jpg, Rasmalai, a sweet dish popular in Odisha and West Bengal Chenagaja.jpg, Chhena Gaja from Odisha Baleswari khaja pheni Oriya cuisine.jpg, Khaja, a sweet dish popular in Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal Chandrakanti.jpg, Chandrakanti sweet from Odisha Bihar Bihari cuisine is eaten mainly in

, as well as regions where Bihari people have settled namely,

, eastern

, South Africa,

, some cities of Pakistan,

, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Jamaica and the Caribbean. Bihari cuisine includes Bhojpuri cuisine, Maithil cuisine and Magahi cuisine.

Dance

Evening on Tagore - Kolkata 2011-05-09 3264

Odissi dance, Odissi (Odissi) is a classical dance in Eastern India. It originates from the state of

, in Eastern India. It is the oldest surviving dance form of India on the basis of archaeological evidences. Odissi has a long, unbroken tradition of 2,000 years and finds mention in the ''Natya Shastra, Natyashastra'' of Bharata Muni, Bharatamuni, possibly written circa 200 BCE. Mahari Dance is one of the important dance forms of Odisha and originated in the temples of Odisha. History of Odisha provides evidence of the 'Devadasi' cult in Odisha. Devadasis were dancing girls who were dedicated to the temples of Odisha. The Devadasis in Odisha were known as 'Maharis' and the dance performed by them came to be known as Mahari Dance. Gotipua dance is another form of dance in Odisha. In Oriya colloquial language Gotipua means single boy. The dance performance done by a single boy is known as Gotipua dance. There are many folk dances in east India, with the best-known being Jhijhiya, Jhumair, Domkach, Ghumura Dance, Sambalpuri and Chhau dance. Jhijhiya is a cultural dance from the Mithila (region), Mithila region. Jhijhiya is mostly performed at time of Vijayadashami, Dusshera, in dedication to Durga Bhairavi, the goddess of victory. While performing jhijhiya, women put lanterns made of clay on their head and they balance it while they dance. Jhumair is a folk dance in

region of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal. It is performed during harvest season and festivals accompanied by musical instrument such as Madal, Dhol, Bansuri, Naqareh, Nagara, Dhak (instrument), Dhak and Shehnai. Domkach is folk dance in the state of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. It performed during marriage in the house of Bride and groom. Chhau dance, Chhau is a form of tribal martial dance popular in the Indian states of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha. There are three regional variations of the dance. Seraikella Chau was developed in Seraikella, the administrative head of the Seraikela Kharsawan district of

; Purulia Chau in Purulia district of West Bengal; and Mayurbhanj Chau in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. Ghumura Dance Archaeological evidence showsThe Heroic Dance Ghumura, Edited by Sanjay Kumar, Mahabir Sanskrutika, 2002 cave paintings from the pre-historic period discovered by Gudahandi of Kalahandi and Yogi Matha of Nuapada district that represent the Ghumura and Damru, among other instruments. These paintings date to as early as 8000 BCE and from such painting the antiquity of musical instrument Ghumura and Damru can be imagined. The origin of Ghumura goes back to ancient times. There is a waterfall in the river valley of Indravati which was initially recognised by Chindak Naagas of Chakrakot. Many believe that Ghumura dance originated from this river valley and gradually spread into the areas between Indravati and Mahanadi, indicating this dance form belongs to the 10th century CE. Bengali dance forms draw from folk traditions, especially those of the tribal groups, as well as from the broader Indian dance tradition. Dance forms of Bihar are another expression of rich traditions and ethnic identity. There are several folk dance forms that can keep one enthralled, such as dhobi nach, jhumarnach, manjhi, gondnach, jitiyanach, more morni, dom-domin, bhuiababa, rah baba, kathghorwa nach, jat jatin, launda nach, bamar nach, jharni, jhijhia, natua nach, bidapad nach, sohrai nach and gond nach.

Music

Rabindranath Tagore Ra-Tha seal initials

Rabindra Sangeet, also known as Tagore Songs, are songs written and composed by

. They have distinctive characteristics in the music of Bengal, popular in India and

. "Sangeet" means music, "Rabindra Sangeet" means Songs of Rabindra. Rabindra Sangeet used Indian classical music and traditional folk music as sources. Tagore wrote some 2,230 songs.

was a towering figure in Indian music. Writing in

, he created a library of over 2,000 songs now known by Bengalis as ''rabindra sangeet'' whose form is primarily influenced by Hindustani classical, sub-classicals, Karnatic, western, bauls, bhatiyali and different folk songs of India. Many singers in

and

base their entire careers on the singing of Tagore musical masterpieces. The national anthem of India and national anthem of Bangladesh are Rabindra Sangeets. West Bengal's capital

is also the Culture of Kolkata, cultural capital of India. ''Panchali'' is a form of narrative folk songs of the Indian state of

. The word ''Panchali'' probably originates from ''panchal'' or ''panchalika'', meaning ''puppet''. According to another school of that, ''Panchali'' originates from the word ''panch'', which means five in Bengali language, referring to the five elements of this genre: song, music, extempore versifying, poetic contests, and dance.

Music of Odisha

Odissi music is a classical music in India originated from the eastern state of Odisha. Indian Classical music has five significant branches: Avanti, Panchali, Udramagadhi, Hindustani and carnatic. Of these, Udramagadhi exists in the form of Odissi music. Generally, Odissi is one of the classical dances of India performed with Odissi music. Odissi music got shaped during the time of famous Oriya poet, Jayadeva, who composed lyrics meant to be sung. By the 11th century CE folk music of Odisha existing in the form of Triswari, Chatuhswari, and Panchaswari was modified into the classical style. However, Odissi songs were written even before the Odia language developed. Odissi music has a rich legacy dating back to the 2nd century BCE, when king Kharvela, the ruler of Odisha (Kalinga (historical region), Kalinga) patronised this music and dance. Like Hindustani and Carnatic systems, Odissi music is a separate system of Indian classical music and is having all the essential as well as potential ingredients of Indian Classical form. But it has not come to limelight due to apathy from the time of British rule in Odisha, want of its proper study, revival, propagation, etc. Despite the fact, the traditional music form could be saved and maintained in its pristine form. Thanks to the musicians particularly of Jaga Akhadas of Puri district, who could develop and maintain the music. The music movement of Odisha, however, took a different turn after independence. Like other aspects of her culture, music of the sacred land (Odisha) is charming, colourful, variegated encompassing various types. The existing musical tradition of Odisha, the cumulative experience of the last two thousand five hundred years if not more, can broadly be grouped under five categories such as: (1) Tribal Music, (2) Folk Music, (3) Light Music, (4) Light-Classical Music, (5) Classical Music, which need a short elucidations for better understanding the subject in all India context. The tribal music as the title signifies is confined to the tribals living mainly in the hilly and jungle regions and sparsely in the coastal belt of Odisha. Odisha has the third largest concentration of tribes constituting about one fourth of the total population. They are distributed over 62 tribal communities. Odisha is the treasure house of Folk Songs which are sung on different festivals and specific occasions in their own enjoyment. Folk music in general is the expression of the ethos and mores of the folk communities. Of the bewildering variety of folk music of Odisha, mention may be made of Geeta, Balipuja Geeta, Kela Keluni Geeta, Dalkhai Geeta, Kendra Geeta, Jaiphula Geeta, Ghumura Geeta, Ghoda Nacha and Danda Nacha Geeta, Gopal Ugala and Osa-Parva-Geeta etc. Bhajan, Janan, Oriya songs based on ragas, Rangila Chaupadi etc. are grouped under Light classical music, which forms an important segment of Oriya music. Sri Geetagovinda, Anirjukta Pravadha, Divya Manusi Prabandha, Chautisa, Chhanda, Chaupadi (now known as Odissi), Champu, Malasri, Sariman, nVyanjani, Chaturang, Tribhang, Kuduka Geeta, Laxana and Swaramalika are the various sub-forms, which individually or collectively constitute the traditional Odissi music. These sub-forms of the traditional Odissi music, can be categorised under the classical music of Odisha.

Sports

The East Zone cricket team is a first class cricket, first-class cricket team that represents Eastern India in the Duleep Trophy and Deodhar Trophy. It is a composite team of five first-class Indian teams from Eastern India competing in the Ranji Trophy, containing notably the Bengal cricket team, Bengal, Jharkhand cricket team, Jharkhand and Odisha cricket team, Odisha from East India amongst the bunch.

In West Bengal

The most popular sports in Kolkata are association football, football and cricket. The city is a centre of football activity in India and is home to top national clubs such as Mohun Bagan A.C., Kingfisher East Bengal F.C., Prayag United S.C. and the Mohammedan Sporting Club (Kolkata), Mohammedan Sporting Club. Calcutta Football League, which was started in 1898, is the oldest football league in Asia. Mohun Bagan A.C., one of the oldest football clubs in Asia, is the only organisation to be dubbed a "National Club of India". As in the rest of India, cricket is popular in Kolkata and is played on grounds and in streets throughout the city. Kolkata has an Indian Premier League franchise known as the Kolkata Knight Riders; the Cricket Association of Bengal, which regulates cricket in West Bengal, is also based in the city. Tournaments, especially those involving cricket, football, badminton, and carrom, are regularly organised on an inter-locality or inter-club basis. The

, 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 90,000 as of 2011, hosted the final match of the 1987 Cricket World Cup. It is home to the Bengal cricket team and the Kolkata Knight Riders. The multi-use Salt Lake Stadium, also known as Yuva Bharati Krirangan, is the world's second-largest football facility by seating capacity as of 2010. The Calcutta Cricket and Football Club is the second-oldest cricket club in the world. Kolkata has three 18-hole golf courses. The oldest is at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club, and was the first golf club to be built outside the United Kingdom. The other two are located at the Tollygunge Club and at Fort William (India), Fort William. The Royal Calcutta Turf Club hosts horse racing and polo matches. The Calcutta Polo Club is considered the oldest extant polo club in the world. The Calcutta 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. Salt Lake Stadium - Yuva Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata

Salt Lake Stadium - Yuva Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata

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 and Pankaj Roy, 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 medallist Leander Paes, golfer Arjun Atwal, and former footballers Sailen Manna, Chuni Goswami, Pradip Kumar Banerjee, P. K. Banerjee and Subrata Bhattacharya (footballer), Subrata Bhattacharya. The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) is the governing body for cricket in

. Its headquarters is in the Eden Gardens stadium. It organises different types of cricket tournaments in West Bengal.
Cricket Association of Bengal is affiliated to the Board of control for cricket in India is the parent body or governing the game of Cricket in Bengal, and involved in conducting the game of cricket in Bengal. The Cricket Association of Bengal promotes and develops Cricket by conducting various League Tournaments, tournaments for the age group Under-13, Under-16, and Under-19 and Under-21 categories. CAB also conducts National and International Tournaments.

In Odisha

The most popular sports in Odisha are field hockey, hockey and cricket. The Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) is the governing body of the cricket activities in the

state of India and the Odisha cricket team. It is affiliated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The Barabati Stadium in

hosts international cricket matches. The Odisha Cricket Association promotes and develops Cricket by conducting various League Tournaments, Tournaments for the age group Under-13, Under-15, Under-17, and Under-19, Under-22 and Under-25 categories besides organising and conducting National Tournaments. The OCA started a local Twenty-20 tournament, Odisha Premier League (OPL) in the lines of Indian Premier League in 2011. OCA manages the Barabati Stadium and has got infrastructures and facilities like Odisha cricket academy, newly built Sachin Tendulkar Indoor cricket hall and many grounds like DRIEMS cricket stadium, Ravenshaw university ground, SCB medical ground, Nimpur ground, Basundhara (Bidanasi) ground, Sunshine Ground etc. The Odisha Premier League (OPL) was initiated by Odisha Cricket Association, Odisha Cricket Association (OCA),

, India in line of Indian Premier League (IPL). The popularity of hockey in

is also very high. Many national players in hockey are from Odisha. Lazarus Barla, Prabodh Tirkey, Dilip Tirkey, Ignace Tirkey, Jyoti Sunita Kullu, Subhadra Pradhan, Birendra Lakra and Anupa Barla are the few names who brought the fame to Indian hockey in International level. Premier Hockey League (PHL) was the league competition for field hockey clubs in the top divisions of the Indian hockey system. There were seven teams in the PHL and in East India the only team was the Orissa Steelers who won Premier Hockey League 2007. Odisha has a franchise in Hockey India League Hockey India League, HIL named Kalinga Lancers owned by Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation and Mahanadi Coalfields, MCL. Odisha got its first Indian Super League, ISL club Odisha FC, based in

, which was formed in 2019 after being shifted from New Delhi, Delhi. Its home ground is the 15,000 seater Kalinga Stadium. Bhubaneswar is referred to as the "Sports Capital of India".

Ports

Kolkata Port, Paradip Port, Dhamra Port and Haldia are 4 major ports in East India. Subarnarekha Port, Kulpi Port, Gopalpur port, Gopalpur Port are minor ports in East India.

References and footnotes

External links

* * {{Geography of India Regions of India