West Bengal

West Bengal (Bengali: পশ্চিম বঙ্গ, Poshchim Bôngo), popularly known as Bengal, is a state in eastern India. To its east and northeast, West Bengal borders Bangladesh and the Indian state of Assam; to its south and south-east lie the Bay of Bengal and the state of Orissa; to its west lie Jharkhand and Bihar; to the northwest is Nepal; to the north are Sikkim and Bhutan.

First settled by the Dravidians in prehistoric times, Bengal was later influenced by migrating Aryans. King Shashanka was the first to establish a sovereign kingdom of Bengal, namely Gour, in 7th Century A.D. After a long reign of Pala, Sena, and Mughal dynasties, the British took control of Bengal. After Indian independence, the Hindu-predominant western regions of Bengal formed the state of West Bengal.

Although West Bengal occupies only 3% of the India's land area, it supports over 8% of the population. Not only is West Bengal a highly populated region of India, it is also one of the fastest growing states of the country.

It is said by the famous Marathi freedom fighter, Gokhale, “What Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow.”

The exact origin of the word "Bengal" is unknown, though it is believed to be derived from Bang, the name of a Dravidian-speaking tribe that settled here in around 1000 BCE. Bangladesh: EARLY HISTORY, 1000 B.C.-A.D. 1202, Country studies, Library of Congress, DS393.4 .B372 1989. References to the word Banga or Vanga are seen in ancient Sanskrit epics such as the Mahabharata and Kautilya's Arthasastra.

History

Bengal was ruled by the Buddhist Pala dynasty from 750 to 1161. The Palas were eclipsed by the Hindu Sena dynasty, who ruled Bengal from 1095 to 1260. Bengal came under Islamic rule starting in the 13th century, and developed into a wealthy centre of trade and industry under the Mughal Empire during the 16th century. European traders had arrived in the late 15th century and eventually the British East India Company controlled the region by the late 18th century, from which the British extended their rule over all of India.

When Indian independence was achieved in 1947, Bengal was partitioned into predominantly Hindu West Bengal and predominantly Muslim East Bengal. On 2 October 1955, Chandannagar, a former enclave of French India which had passed into Indian control after 1950, was integrated into West Bengal state. Certain portions of Bihar state were also merged with West Bengal.

Geography

See main article: Geography of West Bengal

With a total area of 88,853 km², West Bengal is on the eastern bottle-neck of India, stretching from the Himalayas in the North to the Bay of Bengal in the south. The Darjeeling Himalayan hill region to the northern extreme of the state belongs to the eastern Himalaya. This region contains Sandakfu (3,630 m)—the highest peak of the state. After a brief Terai region starts the plains. The plains continues into the Ganges delta towards the south. The rarh region intervenes between the Ganges delta in the east and western plateau and high lands in the western region of the southern part of the state. A small coastal region is on the extreme south, while Sundarbans form the most remarkable geographical landmark of the Ganges delta.

Ganges is the main river, which divides here— one branch entering Bangladesh as Padma or Pôdda and the other branch flows down West Bengal in the name River Bhagirathi and River Hooghly. The hilly region towards the north has rivers like Teesta, Torsa, Jaldhaka, Mahananda, while the western plateau region has rivers like Damodar, Ajay, Kansai etc. The Ganges delta, and especially the Sundarbans area is full of rivers; creeks cover the region like a web.

Climate

West Bengal's climate is transitional between tropical savanna in the southern portions and humid subtropical in the north. The main seasons are summer, rainy season, a short autumn, and winter. The most notable phenomenon of the climate is the summer monsoon. While the summer in the delta region is noted for excessive humidity, the western highlands experience a dry summer like northern India, with the highest day temperature ranging from 38 °C to 45 °C . At nights, a cool southerly breeze carrying moisture from the Bay of Bengal is usually present. The early summer often sees brief squalls and thunderstorms known as Kalbaisakhi (Nor'westers). The monsoon lashes the whole state from June to September.

Divisions and Districts

There are 19 districts in West Bengal, namely:

Major cities and towns in West Bengal are Kolkata, Howrah, Asansol, Haldia, Kharagpur, Midnapore, Tamluk, Contai, Siliguri, Burdwan, Durgapur, Darjeeling, Malda, etc.

See also : List of Districts (Zilas) in West Bengal

Economy

figures in millions of Indian Rupees

Year	Gross State Domestic Product
trend of gross state domestic product of West Bengal at market prices Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation estimation
1980	103,450
1985	190,330
1990	347,970
1995	738,650
2000	1,398,630

West Bengal's gross state domestic product (also called State Domestic Product, or SDP) for 2004 is estimated at $57 billion in current prices.The state's average SDP has been more than 7%-outperforming the National GDP Growth. The state of West Bengal has promoted foreign direct investment, which has mostly come in the software and electronics field. Kolkata is also becoming a major hub for the IT (Information Technology) industry. It has 12 IT parksspread over 13,305,000sq ft of space . Owing to the recent boom in the economy of Kolkata and also the state as a whole, West Bengal is now the third fastest growing economy in the country. West Bengal has the third largest economy (2003-2004) in India. In terms of per capita income it ranks twelfth (2003-2004).NASSCOM-Gartner ranks West Bengal Power Infrastructure the best in the country. Capacity 7616 MW.

Over 6% of the S&P CNX 500 conglomerates have corporate offices in West Bengal.

Government

Like other states in India, the head of state of West Bengal is the Governor, appointed by the President of India on the advice of the Central government. His or her post is largely ceremonial. The Chief Minister is the head of government and is vested with most of the executive powers. Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal, and houses the Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) and the secratariat (Writers' Building). The Calcutta High Court is located in Kolkata, which has jurisdiction over the whole of West Bengal and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The present Legislative Assembly of West Bengal is unicameral, consisting of 295 M.L.A. including one nominated from the Anglo-Indian community. Its term is 5 years, unless sooner dissolved. The present chief minister is Buddhadeb Bhattacharya (2006-2011).

West Bengal is home to the world's longest-running democratically-elected Communist government. BBC article

Politics

Indian political parties-West Bengal

Left Front led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) has been in power for last 30 years.The other parties in the Left Front are Communist Party of India, Forward Bloc, Revolutionary Socialist Party etc. The major opponents of Left Front are Indian National Congress and Trinamool Congress. But they are divided in respect of their ideologist. Extreme left Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Bengali nationalist party Amra Bangalee etc. are also the oppsitions of the ruling Left Front.

Transport

Road Length: 79,255 km including 1715 km NH. (March, 1999)
Railway Length: 3,697.25 km
Railways: Eastern Railway, South Eastern Railway, Northeast Frontier Railway, Kolkata Metro
Main Railway Stations: Howrah, Kolkata, Sealdah, Malda Town, Asansol, Bandel, Bardhaman, Kharagpur, New Jalpaiguri, Adra, Naihati, Dumdum, Ballygunj, Kalyani, Ranaghat, Katwa, Siliguri, Darjeeling
Kolkata Metro
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (NFR)
Airports: Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport (Dum Dum, Calcutta), Bagdogra, Kalaikunda, Panagarh, Malda, Barrackpur, Behala, Balurghat and Coochbehar, Greenfield International Airport (Proposed).
Ports: Kolkata, Haldia
Roadlines: Calcutta State Transport Corporation, North Bengal State Transport Corporation, South Bengal State Transport Corporation, West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation, CTC bus services
Tram lines: Calcutta Tramways Company

Demographics

The vast majority of the people in West Bengal are the Bengalis. Minorities of Biharis are scattered throughout the state, and Sherpa and ethnic Tibetans can be found in regions bordering Sikkim. The Nepali-speaking Gorkhas of Darjeeling district campaigned for a separate state, and have now obtained autonomy within West Bengal as the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.

Culture

Also called the cultural capital of India, Bengal is one of the most important cultural hubs of India. Gopal Krishna Gokhale famously said that, "What Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow". All 5 Indian Noble Laureates have worked in West Bengal.It is the birthplace of India's only Nobel laureate in literature, Rabindranath Tagore. The world famous film director Satyajit Ray, the only Indian to have won an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, was also born here. Apart from this, Bengal gave birth to innumerable well-known poets and writers who have enriched literature ceaselessly. Some prominent members include the above-mentioned Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay and Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. Also from West Bengal are the famous Indian playback singer, Kishore Kumar , legendary actor Uttam Kumar as well as the world-famous sitarist Ravi Shankar.

One of the unique identifiers of Bengali Culture is Durga Puja which is known as Akalbodhan in Bangla

Festivals

Main Article : Festivals of West Bengal

The major fastivals of West Bengal are Bengali New Year, Durga Puja, Rathayatra, Dolyatra or Basanta-Utsab, Christmas etc.

Bengali New Year

Pohela Baishakh (Bengali New Year Day) is celebrated in West Bengal in a grand manner. This is considered as a very sacred Occasion .Ganesha is worshipped at every hindu house this day.A variety of fairs, musical concerts etc are also organised during this time. Rathayatra Rathayatra or the chariot festival is another important festival of Bengal.

Famous Rathajatras Rathayatra of Mahesh

Durga Puja is the greatest festival of West Bengal. This Festival is Known as Akalbodhan in Bengal.

Flora and fauna

Education

Schools in West Bengal are either run by the state government or by private (occasionally religious) organisations. Schools 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. Under the 10+2+3 plan, after completing their secondary education, students typically enrol for 2 years 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 enrol in general or professional degree programs. Also the state has many higher education institutes of national importance including IIT Kharagpur,IIM Calcutta, NIT Durgapur, Jadavpur University and ISI Kolkata. Also there is a plan to open an IISER for furthering education in basic sciences.

Media

There are numerous T.V channels as well as newspapers in west bengal.

T.V Channels

News Channels

Music Channels

Entertainment

Sports

Football (soccer) is a very popular sport and so is cricket.

Football Clubs : Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Sporting Union, Tollygunge Agragami, Mohammedan Sporting etc.

Notes

External links

Bengal | States and territories of India | West Bengal | Divided regions

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