Kolkata
Template:Infobox Capital IN Kolkata (Bangla: কলকাতা), formerly known as Calcutta is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal situated on the River Hooghly. The city is India's fourth largest with a population of nearly 5 million. Kolkata was the capital of British India until 1912 when the capital was shifted to the New Delhi. Once one of the most important cities of the British Empire, the city lost out on much of its past glory and economic importance in the years following Indian independence, though it is now undergoing a process of economic uplift and revival.
Kolkata is noted for its revolutionary tradition, from the pre-independence era to the Naxalite movements. Home of luminaries like Rabindranath Tagore, Amartya Sen, Mother Teresa, and Satyajit Ray, the city is often referred to as the "cultural capital of India", while other sobriquets like "the city of processions" and "the city of joy" also adorn Kolkata.
The name Kolkata appears to have been derived from Kalikata, one of the three villages in the area before the advent of the British.[1] It seems likely that both Calcutta and Kolkata were derived from "Kalikata" with the latter being an anglicized version. In an act that was largely seen as a political move, on January 1, 2001, the municipal government decided to change Calcutta to Kolkata and passed the law legalising the name on July 30, 2001. [2]
History
The area around Kolkata appears to have been inhabited for over two millenia with the discovery of Chandraketugarh[3], an archaelogical site nearby. The city's documented history however, begins with the arrival of the British East India Company in 1690, when the company was consolidating their trade business in Bengal. It was built due to the need to station the British population and also because of its strategic port location. Job Charnock, an administrator of the company, is traditionally credited with founding the city.[4] The Company completed construction of the first Fort William in 1699. By 1707, Calcutta became a separate presidency under the control of the British East India Company.
In 1717, Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar granted the Company duty free trading rights over the province of Bengal for an annual sum of Rupees three thousand. In 1756, Siraj Ud Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal attacked the British Fort William at Kolkata. The armies of Daulah occupied the fort, immediately after which the infamous Black Hole of Calcutta [5] incident occurred. On 2 January 1757, Calcutta, briefly renamed Alinagar following Daulah's siege, was retaken by a British force under Sir Robert Clive who encountered minimal resistance during the assault.[6] Following another failed attack by Daulah, the treaty of Alinagar was signed between Daulah and Clive.[7]
Daulah was later defeated by the Company in the Battle of Plassey (23 June 1757) which marked the transition from trading to military conquest for the British presence in India. Calcutta became the capital of British India in 1772 and remained so until 1911 [8] when it was shifted to New Delhi. By the early 19th century, Kolkata was divided into two distinct areas — one British, one Indian. During this period, Kolkata became a hub of trade activity in eastern India and by the end of the 19th century, European manufactured goods were transported all over north India from here.[9] The city underwent rapid industrial growth from the 1850s, especially in the textile and jute sectors, which acted as a stimuli for improvement in infrastructure.
Out of the collision of British and indigenous cultures, emerged a new class of Indian urban — professional, newspaper-reading, Anglophile, and almost invariably high-caste Hindu — the first middle-class in Asia.[10] A socio-cultural reform, sometimes referred to as the Bengal Renaissance, led by the likes of Ram Mohan Roy, Vidyasagar, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, the Young Bengal group, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, and Vivekananda, among others, emerged in Calcutta. India's first newspaper — Bengal Gazette — was also established here.[11]
Kolkata became a centre of activity in the Indian independence movement and revolutionary terrorist activities, which partly prompted the British to move the nation's capital to New Delhi. The Indian National Association, the first political organization founded in British India was founded in Kolkata in 1876. In 1883 (two years before the Indian National Congress was established) Surendranath Banerjea organised the first National Conference to demand specific political concessions for Indians . Following the 1905 Partition of Bengal, widespread agitation ensued in the streets and in the press, and the Congress advocated boycotting British products under the banner of swadeshi. Thereafter, Kolkata became one of the main centres of militant activities for independence movement with nationalist leaders such as Subhas Chandra Bose hailing from this city.
In December 1942 and January 1943 the city's port was bombed by the Japanese.[12] The city fell victim to the severe Bengal famine of 1943. In 1946, it suffered an outbreak of violence between Hindus and Muslims, initiated by the Direct Action Day, which claimed over 2,000 lives.[13] Despite such challenges, Kolkata remained in the forefront of Indian prosperity up to independence and for some more years afterwards.
After India's independence, Kolkata became the capital of the state of West Bengal. The jute industry suffered in the 1950s since many of the jute production centres loctaed hitherto in the region, were now located in East Pakistan as a result of the Partition. Several factors like labour troubles, the predominence of trade-unions in the industries and severe power shortages led to the disruption of the industrial production in Kolkata during 1960s to 1980s. A slow depletion of water volume in the Hooghly River limiting the size of ships at Kolkata’s docks led to deterioration of the Kolkata port. [14] In 1971, following West Pakistan's government crackdown, most Awami League members fled East Pakistan and set up a government-in-exile from Kolkata.[15] Just before the Bangladesh liberation war in 1971, Kolkata saw a massive migration from East Pakistan leading to a deterioration of civic services. A violent Marxist-Maoist movement known as the Naxal movement in the 1970s left the city badly bruised. From 1977, West Bengal legislative assembly has been ruled by the Left Front, led by CPI(M), however, the Kolkata municipal corporation has been under the rule of both leftist and non-leftist governance in this period. Kolkata was the most populous city in India until the 1980s, when it was overtaken by Mumbai. The city's recovery process gathered steam after India's liberalisation in the early nineties.
Geography
Kolkata is located in eastern India at 22°82′N 88°20′E / 23.367°N 88.333°E Coordinates: latitude minutes >= 60
{{#coordinates:}}: invalid latitude in the Ganges Delta. It is spread linearly along the banks of the River Hooghly in a north-south direction. The city is at an elevation of 1.5 to 9&nsbp;metres [16] above sea level. The Bay of Bengal coastline is located about 154 km to the south. Most of the city was originally marshy wetlands, remnants of which can still be found especially towards the eastern parts of the city where the remaining wetlands have been converted to fish farming centres. The Sundarbans National Park is located in this area. Much of the original marshland has been changed to a primarily moist deciduous habitat that gets flourished under the high rainfall and sunny humid climate.[17] Like the most of the Indo-Gangetic plains, the predominant soil type is alluvial. Quaternary sediments consisting of clay and silt, along with various grades of sand and gravel underlie the city, sandwitched between two clay beds: one at the depth of 250 to 260 meters and the other at a depth of 10 to 40 meters. [18].
Climate
Kolkata has a subtropical climate, with summer monsoons. The annual mean temperature is 26.8 °C (80 °F), and monthly mean temperatures range from 19°C to 30°C (67°F to 86°F) and maximum temperatures in Kolkata often exceed 40°C (104°F) during May-June. The lowest temperature hovers around 12°C - 14°C in the winter months of December and January. Winter is short- lasting - about two and a half months. The highest recorded temperature ever is 43°C (111°F) and lowest ever is 5°C (41°F).[19]
Monsoon is the most notable phenomenon in the climate of the city. Maximum rainfall occurs during the monsoon in August (306 mm) and the average annual total is 1,582mm. Early morning mists are common. Evening smog often occurs due to night temperature inversions and mixing heights are generally restricted to below 500 m during the night. Summer is dominated by strong southwesterly monsoon winds. Total duration of sunshine is 2,528 hours per annum with maximum sunlight occurring in March.[20]. Often during early summer, spells of thunderstorm and heavy rains lashes the city, bringing some relief from the humid heat. These thunderstorms are locally known as Kalbaishakhi (Nor-wester).
Urban structure
Kolkata, in its present form, is not a planned city. With an area of 185 km², the city proper (under the Kolkata municipal corporation) is not very large. However, the city has continuously expanded on its seams and today, the urban agglomeration (Kolkata Metropolitan District) comprises 157 postal areas and is formally administered by several local governments, including 38 local municipalities, 72 cities and 527 towns and villages.[21] The suburban areas of Kolkata metropolitan district incorporates parts of the districts North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly and Nadia.
The city proper is narrow in the east-to-west dimension, stretching from the Hooghly River in the west to roughly the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass in the east. The north-south expansion is roughly divided into North, Central and South Kolkata. North Kolkata locality is the oldest part of the city, with typical 19th century architecture, narrow alleyways and the so-called old-world charm. South Kolkata is relatively new (mostly grew after the independence) and consists of posh localities. The Bidhan Nagar area to the northeast of the city is the only planned section of Kolkata.
Central Kolkata houses the central business district around the B. B. D. Bagh area. The government secretariat, General Post Office, High Court and several other government and private offices are situated here. The Maidan is a large open field in the heart of the city where several sporting events and public meetings take place regularly. Several newer companies have set up their offices around the area south to Park Street which has become a secondary CBD. Some government offices have been shifted to high-rise office buildings lining Bidhan Nagar's Central Park area. The city at present is experiencing major constructional activity especially around the E.M. Bypass and further east where a new planned township named "New Town" is already under construction in the area known as Rajarhat.
Civic administration
Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), formerly known as the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, was established in 1876 and further expanded by the Calcutta Municipal Corporation Act 1980. The corporation governs the civic and infrastructural assets of the city, with authorities over the areas of primary school education, municipal markets, urban planning and public health, among others [22]. The corporation council is composed of one elected representative from each of the 141 wards of the city. KMC members annually elect a mayor (at present Bikash Bhattacharya), a deputy mayor, and a number of committees to conduct the activities of the corporation. A commissioner, the executive head of the corporation, is responsible to its elected membership. A largely ornamental Sheriff of the city position exists and usually a famous citizen is chosen for the post. The city is also a part of the Kolkata Metropolitan District, which includes a large rural hinterland around the urban centers. The governor of West Bengal resides in the historic Raj Bhavan. The state Legislative Assembly and the Secretariat (Writers' Building) is located in the city.
Kolkata is the seat of the Calcutta High Court, exercising original jurisdiction over the city and appellate jurisdiction over West Bengal and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The Kolkata Police is headed by the Police Commissioner, who is an IPS officer. Kolkata Police is under the West Bengal Home Ministry. The city is administratively divided into five police-zones and the function is carried out by 48 local police stations. The Traffic Department of Kolkata police is under a Deputy Commissioner of Police. The city proper elects 5 members to the Lok Sabha, while the urban agglomeration elects 10.[23]
Transport
The two major railway stations of the city are at Howrah and Sealdah. The Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway are headquartered in the city. The electrified suburban rail network of the SER and the ER is extensive and stretches far into the neighbouring districts of North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Howrah, Hooghly, etc. The Circular Rail encircles the entire city of Kolkata. The city also has South Asia's oldest underground metro railway.
Kolkata also has an extensive network of private-owned and government-run buses. The private owned buses are divided into the normal private buses and the higher-fared mini buses. The government-run buses are run by several authorities like Calcutta State Transport Corporation (CSTC), South Bengal State Transport Corporation (SBSTC), West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation (WBSTC) and the Calcutta Tramways Company (CTC). Most of the train and buses are usually overcrowded during the peak office hours. The other, but more expensive, mode of transport is the metered-taxi. The all-yellow ones have a Bengal permit and the black-yellow ones have a Kolkata city permit.
The Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport at Dum Dum (previously known as Dum Dum Airport) is the only airport in the city, operating both domestic and international flights. There is a small flying club at Behala, but it has been non-operational for quite sometime now.Kolkata is also a major port and together with the Haldia dock systems, the Kolkata Port Trust is amongst top performers in the country.[24] Kolkata Port has regular passenger services to Port Blair from the Netaji Subhas Docks. Also the twin cities of Kolkata and Howrah are connected by local water ferries through the extensive ghats like Fairlie Ghat, Howrah Ghat, Shibpur Ghat, Prinsep Ghat, Cossipore Ghat, etc. Howrah Bridge, Vidyasagar Setu and Vivekananda Setu are three bridges connecting Kolkata with Howrah over the Ganges.
Kolkata is the only city in India to have a tram network. Trams are under the administration of the Calcutta Tramways Company, popularly called CTC. Rickshaws pulled by men and auto rickshaws are commonplace and cheap. Cycle rickshaws are available in some parts of the city.
The local and suburban rails and buses, as well as the underground Kolkata Metro railway are usually packed during office hours. The practice of "reserving" public seats by daily passengers is widespread. Share taxis are a common occurrence for travel to and from railway stations and such. The practice of car pools is also growing after the construction of the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass and the emergence of the CBD in Salt Lake City. Besides all this mode of transport, like in other Indian cities, walking is a very common way to commute between the workplace and nearest railway station or bus stop. Private cars are less in number and usage compared to other large cities in India.
Utility services
The KMC supplies potable water to the city, most of which come from the Hooghly river after being filtered at Palta water pumping station, in North 24 Parganas. The reservoir at Tala in the northern part of the city is the largest water reservoir within the Kolkata municipal area. Electricity is supplied by the CESC in the city, and by West Bengal State Electricity Board in the suburbs. Almost all of Kolkata's daily refuse is transported to the dumping grounds in Dhapa in the eastern periphery, where "garbage farming" is encouraged.[25] There are several hundred miles of sewers and surface drains, but many parts of the city remains unsupplied with sewers.
The largest telephone service provider is BSNL. Cell phone coverage is extensive, and the major service providers are Hutch, Airtel, Reliance Infocomm and Tata Indicom. Both GSM and CDMA services are available in the city. Broadband internet penetration is increasing in the city, with BSNL, Tata, Airtel and Reliance being the leading service providers.
Economy
Kolkata is the main business, commercial and financial hub of eastern India and the main port of communication for the North-East Indian states. Kolkata is home to the Kolkata Stock Exchange — India's second-largest stock exchange — a major port, an international airport and many high-quality colleges aimed at supplying a highly-skilled workforce.[26]
Kolkata witnessed an economic decline from the 1960s until the late 1990s. Since then, the city's fortunes have improved, owing to the liberalization of the Indian economy. Until recently, flexible production had always been the norm in Kolkata, and the informal sector has comprised more than 40% of the labor force,[27] with unskilled and semi-skilled labours earning their livelihood by such work as laundering, housecleaning, sweeping, hawking, rickshaw pulling, masonry, and leather work.
Kolkata is home to many industrial units operated by large Indian corporations; their products include engineering goods, electronics, information technology, electrical equipment, cables, steel, leather, textiles, jewellery, frigates, automobiles, railway coaches, wagons, tea, paper, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, tobacco, food processing, and jute products. Some notable companies headquartered in Kolkata include ITC Limited, Bata India, Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd., Birla Corporation, Merlin projects Ltd., Bengal Peerless, Orient fans, Exide, Berger Paints, Coal India Limited, and National Insurance Company. However, only a few banks — among them Uco Bank, United Bank of India and Allahabad Bank — have their headquarters in Kolkata; Standard Chartered Bank has a major branch in Kolkata.[28]
In addition, Kolkata's recent economic boom relates to that in West Bengal as a whole; indeed, West Bengal — now the third fastest growing economy among Indian states.[29] Meanwhile, the city's IT sector is growing at a rate of 70% per year — twice the national average.[30]
Demographics
Residents of Kolkata are called Calcuttans. As of 2001, Kolkata city had a population of 4,580,544 while the total urban agglomeration population was 13,216,546. By 2015, this number is expected to rise to 167 lakh, making it the world's third largest non-capital city and the ninth largest city overall.[31] The sex ratio is 828 females per 1000 males. The 80.9% literacy rate is — although not unusual for an Indian urban area — is far higher than the all-India average of 59.5%.
Bengalis comprise the majority of Kolkata's population; aside from them, there are also sizeable Marwari and Bihari communities, as well as people from other parts of India. Other ethnic minorities in Kolkata are Europeans (including Germans, Armenians, and others), and other Asians (including Chinese, Sinhalese, and Tibetans). Major languages are Bengali, Hindi, English, and Bhojpuri. Some of Kolkata's notable expatriate communities include Chinese, Tamils, Marwaris, Anglo-Indians, Jews, Armenians, Tibetans, Greeks, and Parsis.
Most of Kolkata's people (77%) affiliate with Hinduism. Islam (20%) is the largest minority religion; Muslims make up a far larger proportion of Kolkata's population than of India as a whole. Christianity (0.8% — less than one-third of the all-India average) is the third largest religion.Template:Inote While parts of India continue to experience Hindu–Muslim violence, Kolkata has remained relatively free of such sectarianism.[32] The only major post-independence communal riot was the 1992-93 riot following the Babri mosque incident. Virtually all (98%) of Kolkata's 1.8 million workers are engaged in non-agrarian activities. According to 2001 reports, 1.7 million people (one-third of Kolkata’s population) lived in 2011 registered and 3500 unregistered slums.[33] Numerous people live in streets and footpaths.
Culture
Kolkata's literary, artistic and revolutionary heritage has caused the city to be widely regarded as the cultural capital of India. The city is the birthplace of both modern Indian literary and artistic thought and of Indian nationalism.[34] Kolkata was the birthplace or working place of Nobel laureates like Rabindranath Tagore, Amartya Sen, Sir C.V. Raman and Mother Teresa. Calcuttans tend to have a special appreciation for art and literature; its tradition of generally welcoming new talent has made it a "city of furious creative energy" [35]. Kolkata has a strong tradition of folk theater or jatra. Jatras are usually epic four-hour-long plays featuring loud music, harsh lighting and dramatic props played on giant outdoor stages. The city has a tradition of theatres and Group Theatres, producing groups like the Little Theatre Group, Gandharba, Calcutta Theatre, Nandikar etc. and movements like the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA). In addition, Rabindra Sangeet, Rabindra Nritya Natya (songs and song-dance sequences composed by Tagore) together with the more recent and popular Bangla bands are integral parts of Kolkata culture. The city is also noted for its affection to Indian classical music.
While Bollywood, based in Mumbai, is the commercial movie capital of India, Kolkata is India's art film capital. Its long tradition of filmmaking includes such acclaimed film directors as Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, and Mrinal Sen. Some current and well-known directors are Aparna Sen, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Gautam Ghose, and Rituparno Ghosh. Nandan, a modern cinema complex and cultural centre, is popular among Calcuttans. The commercial movie industry based in the Tollygunge locality is known as Tollywood.
Key elements of Kolkata's cuisine include rice and macher jhol (fish curry). Bengal's vast repertoire of fish-based dishes include various hilsa preparations (a favourite among Bengalis). Kolkata's male residents usually prefer Western-style clothing over traditional dhotis and kurtas, although females are widely seen wearing outfits based on traditional saris and salwar kameezes.
A unique characteristic of Kolkata's city culture are the Paras or neighbourhoods which have an extremely strong sense of community. Typically, every para has its own community club with a clubroom (club ghar) and often, a playing field. People of a para habitually indulge in adda or leisurely chat , and these adda sessions are often a form of freestyle intellectual conversation.[36] Another interesting aspect of Kolkata is the widespread culture of political graffiti depicting everything from outrageous slander to witty banter and limericks, caricatures to propaganda.
Historically, as the capital of British India, Kolkata witnessed construction of buildings largely influenced by the conscious intermingling of Gothic, Baroque, Roman, Oriental and Indo-Islamic schools of design. The "City of Palaces", as Kolkata is often called, is peppered with colonial buildings. Some of the major buildings of this period are well maintained and several buildings have been declared as heritage structures, while some are in various stages of decay.
Among the festivals in Kolkata, the most notable religious festival is Durga Puja - the main annual festival in Kolkata as well as West Bengal. Durga Puja comprises of 4 to 5 days in the month of October. Some of the cultural festivals are Calcutta Book Fair, Dover Lane music festival, Kolkata Film Festival and National Theatre Festival.
The Government Art College in the premises of Indian Museum is one of the oldest fine arts institutions in India. Several art galleries organize regular exhibitions. Indian Museum is the oldest museum in the Asia - Pacific region (est. 1814). It houses perhaps the greatest collection of Indian natural history and an Indian Art. Victoria Memorial remains one of the most well known colonial structures in Kolkata. This memorial hosts a museum and is one of the major tourist attractions in Kolkata. The National Library of India (est.1836) located in Alipore is India's leading public library. The Jorasanko Thakurbari is the ancestral home of the Tagore family and was converted into a museum in 1961. Raj Bhavan or the Government House, Calcutta, built in the early 19th century, was once the seat of the Viceroy of India and also bears some relics of the Raj era.
Kolkata is sister city to Long Beach, California.
Sports
Football (soccer) is a passion for many Calcuttans with the East Bengal Club and Mohun Bagan Athletic Club being the best known Indian teams. Like other parts of India, cricket is played everywhere starting from the well-maintained grounds to right on the road. Sports (cricket, football, badminton) and indoor games (carrom) tournaments are regularly organized on an inter-locality or inter-club basis. The Maidan area is dotted with several football and cricket clubs. Sourav Ganguly, who is considered the most successful captain of India in Test cricket, hails from Kolkata.
Eden Gardens is oldest cricket ground in India and presently, one of only two 100,000-seat amphitheatres for the game of cricket. Salt Lake Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Salt Lake City. The city contains an air-conditioned indoor stadium - Netaji Indoor Stadium - just beside the Eden Gardens. CCFC is the second oldest cricket club in the world, while the Royal Calcutta Golf Club has the oldest golf course outside the British Isles.[37]
Media
Kolkata has a thriving and independent media culture with many eminent and respected newspapers and television production houses. This city can also claim a widespread argumentative culture that adds to its reputation as being one of the best centres for journalism in India. Bengali newspapers like Anandabazar Patrika, Aajkaal, Bartaman, Sangbad Pratidin are widely circulated, while regional and national English newspapers like The Telegraph, The Statesman, Asian Age, Hindustan Times, The Times of India are also available. Newspapers in other languages include Hindi (Sanmarg, The Vishwamitra), Urdu, Punjabi etc.
Kolkata also has various radio stations: AIR Kolkata, Radio Mirchi (98.3 MHz), Red FM (93.5MHz), Aamar 106.2 FM (106.2 MHz), Gyan Vani (105.4 MHz), and Power 107.8 FM (107.8 FM)
The national television broadcaster Doordarshan provides two free terrestrial channels, while two main cable networks serve cable TV connection to households. The channels served by cable are a mix of local Bengali channels, India-wide Hindi channels, global and Indian English channels and also channels in other major Indian languages.
Education
Schools in Kolkata are either run by the state government or by private (occasionally religious) organisations. Schools in Kolkata mainly use English or Bengali as the medium of instruction, though Hindi and Urdu may also be used. The schools are affiliated with the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE), or the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. After completing their secondary education, students typically enroll in a junior college (also known as a pre-university) or in schools with a higher secondary facility affiliated with West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education. They choose from one of three streams — liberal arts, commerce, or science. Upon completing the required coursework, students may enroll in general or professional degree programs.
Kolkata has nine universities; numerous colleges are affiliated to these nine or to other universities located outside of Kolkata. The University of Calcutta (founded in 1857) has more than 200 affiliated colleges. Bengal Engineering & Science University and Jadavpur University have notable engineering institutions. Other notable institutions are Presidency College and St. Xavier's College. Calcutta Medical College is the oldest institution teaching Western-style medicine in Asia.[38] Some institutions of national importance are the Asiatic Society, the Indian Statistical Institute, the Indian Institute of Management, and the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics.
See also
Template:Kolkata related topics
External links
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Resources from Wikiversity
- Template:Wikitravel
- Kolkata City Guide
- Not the City of Joy
- Calcuttaweb.com - Lots of information about Kolkata
- History of Kolkata on calcuttaweb.com
- History of West Bengal and Kolkata - Bengalweb.com's effort to compile historical information with photographs
- A fantastic collection- Kolkata 1945: An American Military Photograph Album
- more Kolkata photos
- The Statesman
- The Telegraph
- Kolkata photos
- Kolkata: City of Palaces
- Kolkata - Kolkata Global Forum
- BBC story about Kolkata's revival