History of Calcutta

Ecological change

In pre-colonial Bengal, the mobile wetland terrain of the delta supported livelihoods that adapted to seasonal shifts between land and water. The colonial period introduced legal and administrative frameworks that redefined this fluid environment as a fixed geography, converting wetlands into static urban property. In Calcutta, this process of “land-making” transformed a base of “liquid land” into the solid ground of the colonial Presidency town. Traces of this watery past remain visible only in moments of disruption, such as land subsidence in central Kolkata. The history of Calcutta's development reflects a broader pattern in which colonial urbanisation imposed stability and rigidity on an environment once characterised by movement, permeability, and constant change. Birds like the greater adjutant stork, locally known as the hargila (“bone swallower”), were once a common sight in Calcutta, serving as a natural scavenger along the city's riverbanks. These large birds consumed human remains, animal carcasses, and refuse, preventing the spread of disease and deterring jackals from disturbing bodies. In the late 18th century, it was not unusual to see a stork perched on and feeding from a floating corpse in the river.