West Bengal

• Capital: Kolkata (Calcutta)
• Population: 80.2 million
• Area: 88,752 sq. km
• Language: Bengali
• Best Season: October to May
• Weather: Summers 19° - 37°C. Winters 3°- 24°C

Places to See Around

Galingka Indian Museum Rangeet Valley Passenger Ropeway Dharmaraja Temple Rabindra Sarobar The Light & Sound Show Siddheswari Temple Loktak Lake Orchid Nursery & Cardamom Farm Adayapeath Temple Durgapur Mahal Sri Ramakrishna Math Rajbari Palace Birla Mandir Dobanki Watchtower Buddha Temple Hazarduari Palace Totopara Bara Sona Masjid Sagar Lighthouse

 West Bengal is located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bounded on the north by Bhutan and the state of Sikkim, on the east by Bangladesh, on the northeast by the state of Assam, on the south by the Bay of Bengal, on the southwest by the state of Orissa, on the northwest by Nepal, and on the west by the state of Bihar. The alluvial plain in the south is watered by the legendary River Hooghly and its tributaries Mayurakshi, Damodar, Kangsabati and the Rupnarayan. The Himalayan north, comprising the districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Bihar are watered by the swift flowing rivers Tista, Torsa, Jaldhaka and Ranjit. Variations in altitude result in great variety in the nature and climate of West Bengal. From the northern highlands at the feet of the Himalayas to the tropical forests of Sunderbans, West Bengal is a land of myriad beauty, each region different from the other.

 

Ancient Bengal was the site of several major Vedic kingdoms. Bengal region was part of large Indian empires such as the Maurya empire (second century BCE) and Gupta Empire (fourth century CE). From the 13th century onward, the region was ruled by several sultans, powerful Hindu states and Baro-Bhuyan landlords, until the beginning of British rule in the 18th century. The British East India Company cemented their hold on the region following the Battle of Plassey in 1757, and Calcutta served for many years as the capital of British India. The early and prolonged exposure to British administration resulted in expansion of Western education, culminating in development in science, institutional education, and social reforms of the region, including what became known as the Bengal Renaissance. A hotbed of the Indian independence movement through the early 20th century, Bengal was divided during India's independence in 1947 along religious lines into two separate entities.West Bengal a state of India and East Bengal a part of the newly created Pakistan later becoming Bangladesh in 1971. Although in area West Bengal ranks as one of the smaller states of India, it is one of the largest in population. The capital is Calcutta, India's third largest metropolitan city by population; other important cities and towns are Howrah, Asansol, Durgapur and Siliguri, Darjeeling, Kharagpur and Haldia.

West Bengal has a single-chamber legislative assembly with 295 seats. The state sends 58 members to the Indian national parliament: 16 to the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) and 42 to the Lok Sabha (Lower House). Local government is based on 19 administrative districts. Important  tourist centers, among others are Calcutta, Digha ( Midnapore), Bakkhali Sea Resort, Sagar Island and Sundarbans (South 24 Parganas), Bandel, Tarakeswar, Kamarpukar (Hooghly) and Gadiara (Howrah), Shantiniketan and Bakreshwar (Birbhum), Durgapur (Burdwan), Mukutmanipur and Vishnupur(Bankura), Ayodhya hills (Purulia), Murshidabad, Gour and Pandua (Malda),Darjeeling, Mirik, Kalimpong, Sandakfu and Falut and Kurseong ( Darjeeling), Jaldapara and Dooars (Jalpaiguri).