Kolkata

Capital of West Bengal state in India, on the River Hooghly, the westernmost mouth of the River Ganges, some 130 km/80 mi north of the Bay of Bengal; population (2001 est) 4,580,500; metropolitan area (2001 est) 13,216,500. It is chiefly a commercial and industrial centre, its industries including engineering, shipbuilding, jute and other textiles, chemicals, beverages, and tobacco. There is considerable unemployment, and industries have declined since political separation from East Bengal (later part of Bangladesh) in 1947, which reduced access to raw materials and markets as well as the growth of competitive industries. The whole of the metropolitan area is densely populated, especially along the banks of the Hooghly in ‘bustees’ of makeshift housing, and there is severe air pollution. It was the seat of government of British India 1773–1912.

Features
buildings include a magnificent Jain temple, the palaces of former Indian princes; and the Law Courts, the Victoria Memorial and Government House, survivals of the British Raj. Across the river is Haora, and between Kolkata and the sea a new bulk cargo port, Haldia, is the focus of oil refineries, petrochemical plants, and fertilizer factories. There is an international airport at Dum-Dum.

Educational institutions include the University of Calcutta (1857), oldest of several universities; the Visva Bharati at Santiniketan, founded by Rabindranath Tagore; and the Bose Research Institute.

History
Kolkata was founded 1686–90 by Job Charnock of the East India Company as a trading post. The Hooghly River provided access to the economic and political heartland of India; Fort William was built in 1696 to protect this trading position, and the settlement expanded rapidly by trading in opium, indigo, textiles, and fine cotton. Captured by Suraj-ud-Dowlah in 1756, during the Anglo-French wars in India, in 1757 it was retaken by Robert Clive. The foundations of the present Fort William were laid in 1758, completed by 1781, and remain the nucleus of the present city. Traffic congestion is a major problem, the latter caused largely by concentration on the few crossings of the Hooghly. The opening of a subway system in 1986 and later of a second bridge between Howrah and Kolkata have helped to relieve this congestion.