West Bengal

West Bengal

AREA: 88,752 SQ KM
POPULATION: 80,176,197
CAPITAL: KOLKATA
PRINCIPAL LANGUAGES: BENGALI

HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY

The State of Bengal finds a coveted place, even in pre-historic times. At the time of Alexander’s invasion, a powerful kingdom called Gangaridai ruled over Bengal. Ascendancy of the Guptas and the Mauryas had somewhat little effect on Bengal. Later, Sasanka became King of Bengal, and is said to have played an important role in north-eastern India in the early half of the seventh century. He was succeeded by Gopala, who founded the Pala dynasty, which ruled for centuries and had created a huge empire. The Palas were followed by the Sena dynasty, which was ended by Muslim rulers from Delhi. Bengal was ruled by various Muslim rulers and governors till the Mughal period in sixteenth century.

After the Mughals, history of modern Bengal began with the advent of European and English trading companies. Battle of Plassey in 1757 changed the course of history, when the English first gained a strong foothold in Bengal and India. In 1905, it was partitioned to achieve some political returns but people’s growing movement under Congress led to the reunion in 1911. This triggered off hectic movement for freedom, which culminated with Independence in 1947, and the partition thereafter.

After 1947, the merger of native settlement began, which ended with its final reorganization in 1956 (as per Recommendations of the States Reorganization Act, 1956), when some Bengali speaking areas of a neighboring state were transferred to West Bengal. The land frontier of the State touches Bangladesh in the east, and is separated from Nepal in the west. Bhutan lies in the north-east, while Sikkim is on the north. On the west are the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, while in the south lies Orissa, and the Bay of Bengal, washing its southern frontiers.

PLACES TO SEE

KOLKATA: Kolkata, also known as Calcutta served as the capital of British Indian territories till 1911, when capital was shifted to New Delhi. Kolkata is not very old city, as it was developed by the British about 350 years ago. The city grew very quickly and was once famous in Europe as the ‘City of palaces’. Even today, the city has numerous monuments that remind tourists of the colonial past of the city. Tourists can look forward to a large number of interesting destinations here. These include the Victoria memorial, St John’s Church, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the residences of Subhash Chandra Bose and Rabindranath Tagore, the national museum, Asiatic Society, Kalighat temple, Science City, and the Strand.

MURSHIDABAD: was built by the Nawabs of Bengal, who grew in power and status, having started as the feudatories of the Mughuls. They became sovereigns in their own right under the weak Mughul rulers of the 18th century. In its heydays, Murshidabad was known to be among the wealthiest cities of the world. After the battle of Plassey the city came under British influence. Very soon the city lost its status as the capital of Bengal to Calcutta. Today, Murshidabad is a tourist attraction in West Bengal offering palaces, and other important places related to the history of Bengal. Ganga Sagar and many wildlife sanctuaries.

SUNDARBANS means “forest of Sundari” is a vast tract of forest and saltwater swamp forming the lower part of the Ganges Delta, extending about 260 km by the Bay of Bengal from the Hooghly River Estuary to the Meghna River Estuary in Bangladesh. The Sundarbans are a part of the world’s largest delta formed by the rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna. A network of estuaries, tidal rivers, and creeks intersected by numerous channels, it encloses flat, marshy islands covered with dense forests.

JALDAPARA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY is a mosaic of woods, grasslands, perennial streams, sandy river banks and extensive belts of tall grass and is the protected area for One-horned Rhino. It contains a great diversity of flora and fauna of mixed deciduous forest, grasslands and river banks. The birds to be found here are the crested eagle, Pallas’s Fishing Eagle and shirk, besides Jungle fowl, peafowl, partridges, Bengal Florida and lesser Pied Hornbill. Python, monitor lizards, crates, cobras, geckos and about 8 species of fresh water turtles. It also houses of Royal Bengal Tigers, wild elephants, deers, swamp deers, hog deers, wild pigs, and bisons. Some rare species like the hispid hare and the hog-badger are also found here.

SHANTINIKETAN: Maehashi Debendra, father of Rabindranath Tagore, founded an ‘Ashram’ here in 1863. Almost 40 years later, Rabindranath started an open-air school at Shantiniketan that gradually developed into an international university named Visva Bharati where the cultures of the East and the West may meet in common fellowship and thereby strengthen the fundamental condition of world peace. At his behest, the annual Paus utsav became an event where students and teachers of his school took an active part.Paus Mela, therefore, becomes a meeting ground for urban people and rural folk.

DARJEELING is the legendary British hill station perched in the foothills of the Himalayas. Located in the northern extreme of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is most famous for its once magnificent tea estates. Darjeeling was acquired by the British from the Raja of Sikkim as a gift around a hundred and fifty years ago, and developed it as a rest and recreational center for their troops. Today the town retains many of the legacies of the British Government.

KALIMPONG is a small hill station between Siliguri and GANGTOK: The name, Kalimpong, has three different origins. One, it means the place where the local tribesmen gathered to organize field sports, second, it takes it’s name from the Bhutanese king’s minister’s stronghold and thirdly, it is named after Kaulim, a fibrous plant found in abundance in this region. The town is 1250 m above sea level and offers excellent views of the Mt Kanchanjunga and the other Himalayan peaks. The popular view points are Durpin Dara and Deoro Hill.