Kolkata


Kolkata (alt. spelling: Kolkota) is the capital of the Indian state of West
Bengal. Before August 1998, it was known by its anglicised name Calcutta.

Kolkata came into the possession of the British East India Company in 1690
and dates its beginnings as a city from the construction of Fort William in
1698. From 1858 to 1912, Kolkata was the capital of British India. From 1912
to India's Independence in 1947, it was the capital of all of Bengal. After
Independence, Kolkata remained the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal.

The centre of Company control over the whole of Bengal from 1757, Kolkata
underwent rapid industrial growth from the 1850s, especially in the textile
sector, despite the poverty of the surrounding region. Kolkata grew in the
next 150 years from 117,000 to 1,098,000 inhabitants (including suburbs),
and now has a metropolitan population in excess of 13.2 million. Kolkata was
the most populous city in India until the 1980s, when it was overtaken by
Mumbai (formerly Bombay).

A lot of discussion is still going on how the city got its name. There are
different views on the issue. The more popular one is that the city got its
name from the Hindu godess Kali.

The city is home to the National Library of India, and is the cultural
capital of India, famous for the book-fairs. Other places to visit in the
city is the Victoria Memorial, Marble Palace, Dakshineswar Kali Temple,
Birla Temple, Shahid Minar and lot of other places.

The two major railway stations of the city are at Howrah and Sealdah. The
city has an international airport at Dum Dum and it is called Netaji Subhash
Chandra Bose International Airport. Kolkata is the only city in India to
have a tram network and it also has metro railways.

The city High Court recently gave a ruled that Job Charnock is not the
founder of the city and Kolkata has no birthday.