West Bengal
West Bengal (Bengali: পশ্চিমবঙ্গ) is a state in India. It is in the eastern part of the country. West Bengal is the fourth most populous state in India.[1] It is also the seventh most populous sub-national entity in the world.[1] West Bengal is the sixth largest contributor to India's GDP.[2]
পশ্চিমবঙ্গ | ||||||||||
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State of India | ||||||||||
From top: Kolkata skyline from Howrah, Dakshineswar Kali Temple near Kolkata, Kolkata Gate, also known as the Biswa Bangla Gate at New Town, tea garden in the Dooars region, Hazarduari Palace in Murshidabad, sunrise in Digha beach, Bengal tiger in Sundarbans National Park, view of Darjeeling from Happy Valley Tea Estate | ||||||||||
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Coordinates: 20°N 77°E / 20°N 77°ECoordinates: 20°N 77°E / 20°N 77°E | ||||||||||
Country | India | |||||||||
Region | East India | |||||||||
Established | 1 November 1956 | |||||||||
Government | ||||||||||
• Governor | C.V Ananda Bose | |||||||||
• Chief Minister | Mamata Banerjee | |||||||||
• Legislature | Unicameral (295* seats) | |||||||||
Area | ||||||||||
• Total | 88,752 km2 (34,267 sq mi) | |||||||||
Population (2011) | ||||||||||
• Total | 91,347,736 | |||||||||
Time zone | UTC+05:30 (IST) | |||||||||
Official languages | Bengali · Nepali · only for Darjeeling district,English | |||||||||
^* 294 elected, 1 nominated |
Both West Bengal and Bangladesh are parts of historical and geographic region of Bengal. Kolkata is the capital city of West Bengal. In 2001, 80,221,171 people lived in West Bengal. With an area of 34,267 square miles (88,750 km2), it is bigger than Serbia but smaller than Jordan. In traditional Indian geography it falls under the East Indian zone.
West Bengal has a tropical climate, so it is very hot and humid in summer and cool in winter. The people who live here are called Bengalis. Bengalis also live in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a country to the east of West Bengal
History
All of India was once ruled by the British Empire. The Indians wanted freedom, but the Hindus and the Muslims of India always argued. So it was decided to divide the country into two parts—one part for Muslims and the other part for Hindus. In 1947 Bengal, which was a province of India, was divided into West Bengal and East Bengal,which is now called Bangladesh. West Bengal went to India, and East Bengal went to Pakistan and was called East Pakistan. In 1971, Bangladesh became independent, as a result of the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Famous people from West Bengal include:
- Swami Vivekananda
- Rabindranath Tagore
- Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose
- Satyendranath Bose
- Surendranath Banerjee
- Jagadish Chandra Bose
- Vidyasagar
- Shibdas Bhaburi
- Khudiram Bose
- Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
- Dr. Kadambini Ganguly
- Kishore Kumar
- Satyajit Ray
- Ritwik Ghatak
- Pradeep Kumar Banerjee
- Victor Banerjee
- Kishore Kumar Ganguly
- Biswajit Chatterjee
- Bappi Lahiri
- Michael Madhusudhan Dutta
- Rahul Dev Burman
- Sourav Ganguly
- Pranab Mukherjee
- Uttam Kumar
- Suchitra Sen
- Sushmita Sen
- Shreya Ghosal
- Arijit Singh
- Mithun chakravarti
Provincial symbols of Bengal (west)
West Bengal Media
Coin of the King Shashanka, who created the first separate political entity in Bengal, called the Gauda Kingdom
The Pala Empire was an imperial power during the Late Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal.
Firoz Minar at Gauḍa was built during the Bengal Sultanate.
Subhas Chandra Bose, he was a leading freedom fighter of India
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.
Many areas remain flooded during the heavy rains brought by a monsoon.
A hut in a village in the Hooghly district
The Grand Hotel in Kolkata. Tourism, especially from Bangladesh, is an important part of West Bengal's economy.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "India: Administrative Divisions (population and area)". Census of India. Archived from the original on 2012-12-17. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
- ↑ Gross Domestic Product by prices as of February 28, 2008 Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine.
Other websites
Media related to West Bengal at Wikimedia Commons