Dictionary of Meaning
<<Back
Please select a letter:
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
0-9
Click here for Shopping
West Bengal
*** Shopping-Tip: West Bengal
{{India state infobox
| state_name = West Bengal
| image_map = IndiaWestBengal.png
| capital =
Kolkata
| latd = 22.82
| longd = 88.2
| largest_city =
Kolkata
| abbreviation = IN-WB
| official_languages =
Bengali language Bengali
| legislature_type = Unicameral
| legislature_strength = 295
| governor_name =
Gopal Krishna Gandhi
| chief_minister =
Buddhadev Bhattacharya
| established_date =
1960-05-01
| area = 88,752
| area_rank = 13th
| area_magnitude = 10
| population_year = 2001
| population = 80,221,171
| population_rank = 4th
| population_density = 904
| districts = 18
| website = www.wbgov.com
| seal =
image:WB.png center
| footnotes =
}}
'''West Bengal''' (পশ�চিম বঙ�গ, Poshchim Bôngo) is a
States and territories of India state in the eastern region of
India.The capital of the state is
Kolkata. Neighbouring regions are
Nepal to the northwest,
Sikkim and
Bhutan to the north,
Assam to the northeast,
Bangladesh to the east, the
Bay of Bengal to the south,
Orissa to the southwest and
Jharkhand and
Bihar to the west.
Origin of the Name
History
For more on Bengal's history prior to 1947, see ''
Bengal''.
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
British Raj 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 (province) East Bengal. East Bengal later became known as
East Pakistan, and became the independent nation of
Bangladesh in
1971. 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.
Geography
:''See main article:
Geography of West Bengal''
Divisions and Districts
Image:Westbengal 20060404.jpg as of 2001.html" title="Meaning of right right|thumb|400px|Map showing districts of West Bengal [[as of 2001.html" title="Meaning of thumb|400px|Map showing districts of West Bengal [[as of 2001">right|thumb|400px|Map showing districts of West Bengal [[as of 2001">thumb|400px|Map showing districts of West Bengal [[as of 2001">right|thumb|400px|Map showing districts of West Bengal [[as of 2001
There are 19 districts in West Bengal, namely:
#
Bankura
#
Bardhaman
#
Birbhum
#
Cooch Bihar
#
Darjeeling
#
East Midnapore
#
Hooghly
#
Howrah
#
Jalpaiguri
#
Kolkata
#
Malda
#
Murshidabad
#
Nadia
#
North 24 Parganas
#
North Dinajpur
#
Purulia District Purulia
#
South 24 Parganas
#
South Dinajpur
#
West Midnapore
Cities and towns
:''See main article:
Cities and towns in West Bengal''
Economy
Image:Bengal0544.JPG right|thumb|200px|Paddy field after sowing
West Bengal's gross state domestic product (also called
State Domestic Product, or SDP) for 2004 is estimated at $57 billion in current prices.
West Bengal has the fourth largest economy (2003-2004) in India. In terms of per capita income it ranks twelfth (2003-2004).
Jute is the main cash crop of this region. Together with
Bangladesh (earlier known as
East Pakistan aka
East Bengal), this region satisfies almost 1/3rd of the fiber needs of the world through
Jute. Most players of the
Jute industry of the world are concentrated in this region.
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). In Kolkata is the
Calcutta High Court 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
Member of the Legislative Assembly 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 (2001-2006).
See Also :
Chief Minister of West Bengal
Politics
''
:Category:Indian political parties-West Bengal List of political parties in the state''
Communist Party of India (Marxist) has been in power for last 26 years.The other two major political parties are
Indian National Congress and
Trinamool Congress.
Transport
*Road Length: 79,255 km including 1715 km NH. (March, 1999)
*Railway Length: 3,697.25 km
*Main Railway Stations:
Howrah,
Kolkata,
Sealdah,
Malda Town,
Asansol,
Bandel,
Bardhaman,
Kharagpur,
New Jalpaiguri
*
Kolkata Metro
*
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
*Airports:
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport (Dum Dum, Calcutta),
Bagdogra, Kalaikunda, Panagarh, Malda, Barrackpur,
Behala,
Balurghat and
Coochbehar
*Ports:
Kolkata,
Haldia
Demographics
The vast majority of the people in West Bengal are the Bengalis. Minorities of
Biharis are scattered throughout the state, and
Sherpa (people) Sherpa and ethnic Tibetans can be found in regions bordering
Sikkim. The
Nepali language 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". It is the birthplace of India's only
Nobel Prize in Literature 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 enriched the world literature ceaselessly. Some prominent members include
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 (a Bengali by lineage but born in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, India), as well as the world-famous sitarist
Ravi Shankar (musician) Ravi Shankar.
One of the unique identifiers of Bengali Culture is
Durga Durga Puja.
Famous people
During the independence movement, Bengal took a leading and especially militant role.
Subhash Chandra Bose, who was belovedly called "Netaji", is still considered an exemplar of courage for Indian youth.
Satyendra Nath Bose S. N. Bose (FRS 1958), from whom the
boson particle and
Bose-Einstein statistics Bose-Einstein theory get their names, was also a Bengali.
Rabindranath Tagore also won the
Nobel Prize in Literature for "
Gitanjali" in 1913.
Amartya Sen, who won
Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel Nobel Prize in Economics in
1998 is a Bengali. Other scientists of repute from Bengal have been
Jagadish Chandra Bose (FRS 1920),
Meghnad Saha M. N. Saha (FRS 1927),
P.C. Mahalanobis (FRS, 1945), S. K. Mitra (FRS, 1958) and
Ashesh Prosad Mitra (FRS 1988), all Fellows of the
Royal Society.
Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy was a nationalist teacher (Professor of Chemistry and the Founder of Bengal Chemicals). The noted educationist Sir
Ashutosh Mukherjee was known as the ''Tiger of Bengal''. Pundit
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a great reformist of Bengal. Incidentally, Raja
Ram Mohan Roy is considered to be the ''First Modern Man'' of India.
In politics, Shri Ashoke Kumar Sen was among the first cabinet ministers of India, most remembered for being the Minister of Law and Justice. From independence to 1996, he was a member of parliament, holding the seat for a record number of years which is yet to be broken.
In the religious realm, Bengal gave birth to great Hindu sages and saints like Shri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (a
15th century major
Vaishnava leader), Ramprasad Sen (a famous
Kali Bhakta and poet) and
Ramakrishna Paramhansa; others include
Swami Vivekananda (the most renowned of Shri Ramakrishna's disciples),
Aurobindo Śrī Aurobindo Ghosh,
Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, founder of the socio-spiritual organisation
Ananda Marga and
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-
acharya of the
International Society for Krishna Consciousness (
ISKCON).
P. C. Sorcar was a famous magician.
Famous athletes from this state include the cricketer and former Indian
Cricket Captain,
Sourav Ganguly,
tennis star
Leander Paes, athlete
Jyotirmoyee Sikdar. Former Cricketer
Pankaj Roy had also been the skipper of the Indian cricket team.
Education
Main Article :
Education in West Bengal
Media
Sports
Football (soccer) is a very popular sport and so is cricket.
Holidays
Major holidays include Durga Puja, Diwali and Dussera. More at http://www.webindia123.com/westbengal/festivals/festivals.htm
Major cities of West Bengal
*
Calcutta- Is the capital of the state and the second largest city in
India and among the largest in the world. Till 1911 Calcutta was the capital of India.
*
Siliguri - Located in
North Bengal, one of the most important business hubs in the state and the entire north-eastern region of India.
*
Asansol - The industrial city is known for its famous iron and steel works and the locomotive works at
Chittaranjan.
*
Durgapur - The commercial capital of the Bengal Ruhr, a large industrial city with very well laid out roads and townships.
*
Burdwan - The headquarters of Burdwan district and centre of a historical kingdom.
*
Haldia - The next biggest thing of the state industrially. Home to major petrochemical houses, it is set to become the most important port in the region.
*
Kharagpur - Home to the first Indian Institute of Technology or IIT as it is known globally. Also has the longest railway platform in the world in its railway station, and a major air force base nearby, Kharagpur is all these and more.
*
Bishnupur The famous temple-town of West Bengal.This is also a heritage site.
Also see
Cities and towns in West Bengal
*
Malda Town-A historical town of west bengal.
*
Balurghat-The Headquater of West Dinajpur(now, Dakshin dinajpur).
See also
*
Bangladesh
*
Bengal
*
Bengali cuisine
*
Kalimpong
*
List of people from West Bengal
*
Music of West Bengal
External links
-
BanglaMusic.com - Bengali site features artist, concerts, news, downloads and more
-
Official website of Government of West Bengal
-
Map of India showing location of West Bengal
-
District map of West Bengal
-
Railway map
-
West Bengal News
-
Bangla Music
-
Bangla Music, Indian Bangla, Indian Song
{{India}}
Category:Bengal
Category:States and territories of India
Category:West Bengal
Category:Divided regions Bengal, West
bn:পশ�চিমবঙ�গ
da:Vestbengalen
de:Westbengalen
et:Lääne-Bengal
es:Bengala Occidental
fr:Bengale occidental
gu:પશ�ચિમ બંગાળ
hi:पश�चिम बंगाल
id:Bengal Barat
he:מערב ×‘× ×’×œ
ka:ბენგ�ლი
lt:Vakarų Bengalija
mr:पश�चिम बंगाल
nl:West-Bengalen
pt:Bengala Ocidental
ru:ЗападнаÑ? БенгалиÑ?
simple:West Bengal
fi:Länsi-Bengali
sv:Västbengalen
ta:மேற�க� வங�காளம�
te:పశ�చిమ బెంగాల�
uk:Західний Бенгал
zh:西åŸåŠ 拉邦
'''{{PAGENAME}}''' is a state in '''
India'''
{{catmore}}
Category:States and territories of India
Category:Bengal
ko:분류:웨스트벵골 주
*** Shopping-Tip: West Bengal
