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'''Kolkata''' (spelled '''Calcutta''' before 1 January 2001) is the [[capital (city)|capital]] [[city]] of the [[India|Indian]] [[States of India|state]] of [[West Bengal]]. It is the second [[large|largest]] city in India after [[Mumbai]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://india.gov.in/knowindia/st_westbengal.php|title=National Portal of India : Know India : State and UTs|access-date=2009-07-07|archive-date=2011-01-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110127084145/http://india.gov.in/knowindia/st_westbengal.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is on the [[east]] [[bank]] of the [[River]] [[Hooghly River|Hooghly]].<ref>{{cite book| title = The Monthly Repository and Library of Entertaining Knowledge| url = https://books.google.com/?id=F8URAAAAYAAJ| year = 1833| publisher = Francis S. Wiggins| page = 338 }}</ref> When it is called '''Calcutta''', it includes the suburbs. This makes it the third largest city of India. This also makes it the world's 8th largest metropolitan area as defined by the [[United Nations]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/WUP2005/2005WUP_DataTables11.pdf|format=PDF|title=World Urbanization Prospects: The 2005 revision}}</ref> Kolkata served as the capital of India during the [[British Raj]] until 1911. Kolkata was once the center of [[industry]] and [[education]]. However, it has witnessed [[politics|political]] [[violence]] and [[economic]] problems since 1954. Since 2000, Kolkata has grown due to [[economic growth]]. Like other metropolitan cities in India, Kolkata struggles with poverty, pollution and [[traffic congestion]]. | '''Kolkata''' (spelled '''Calcutta''' before 1 January 2001) is the [[capital (city)|capital]] [[city]] of the [[India|Indian]] [[States of India|state]] of [[West Bengal]]. It is the second [[large|largest]] city in India after [[Mumbai]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://india.gov.in/knowindia/st_westbengal.php|title=National Portal of India : Know India : State and UTs|access-date=2009-07-07|archive-date=2011-01-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110127084145/http://india.gov.in/knowindia/st_westbengal.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is on the [[east]] [[bank]] of the [[River]] [[Hooghly River|Hooghly]].<ref>{{cite book| title = The Monthly Repository and Library of Entertaining Knowledge| url = https://books.google.com/?id=F8URAAAAYAAJ| year = 1833| publisher = Francis S. Wiggins| page = 338 }}</ref> When it is called '''Calcutta''', it includes the suburbs. This makes it the third largest city of India. This also makes it the world's 8th largest metropolitan area as defined by the [[United Nations]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/WUP2005/2005WUP_DataTables11.pdf|format=PDF|title=World Urbanization Prospects: The 2005 revision}}</ref> Kolkata served as the capital of India during the [[British Raj]] until 1911. Kolkata was once the center of [[industry]] and [[education]]. However, it has witnessed [[politics|political]] [[violence]] and [[economic]] problems since 1954. Since 2000, Kolkata has grown due to [[economic growth]]. Like other metropolitan cities in India, Kolkata struggles with poverty, pollution and [[traffic congestion]]. | ||
In the late 17th century, the three villages that predated Calcutta were ruled by the Nawab of Bengal under Mughal suzerainty. After the Nawab granted the East India Company a trading licence in 1690, the area was developed by the Company into an increasingly fortified trading post. Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah occupied Calcutta in 1756, and the East India Company retook it the following year. In 1793 the East India company was strong enough to abolish rule, and assumed full sovereignty of the region. Under the company rule and later under the British Raj, Calcutta served as the capital of British-held territories in India until 1911, when its perceived geographical disadvantages, combined with growing nationalism in Bengal, led to a shift of the capital to New Delhi. Calcutta was the centre for the Indian independence movement. Following independence in 1947, Kolkata, which was once the centre of Indian commerce, culture, and politics, suffered many decades of political violence and economic stagnation.<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/feb/05/ian-jack-kolkata</ref> | |||
==Etymology== | ==Etymology== | ||
The word Kolkata (Bengali: কলকাতা [ˈkolˌkata]) derives from Kôlikata (Bengali: কলিকাতা [ˈkɔliˌkata]), the [[Bengali]] name of one of three villages that predated the arrival of the [[British]], in the area where the city was eventually established; the other two villages were Sutanuti and Govindapur.<ref>https://archive.org/details/globalizingcitie00marc</ref> | The word Kolkata (Bengali: কলকাতা [ˈkolˌkata]) derives from Kôlikata (Bengali: কলিকাতা [ˈkɔliˌkata]), the [[Bengali]] name of one of three villages that predated the arrival of the [[British]], in the area where the city was eventually established; the other two villages were Sutanuti and Govindapur.<ref>https://archive.org/details/globalizingcitie00marc</ref> | ||