Portal:West Bengal
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Culture • Economy • Geography • History • People • Politics • Government • Cities  West Bengal is a state in eastern India. With Bangladesh, which lies on its eastern border, the state forms the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. To its northeast lie the states of Assam and Sikkim and the country Bhutan, and to its southwest, the state of Orissa. To the west it borders the state of Jharkhand and Bihar, and to the northwest, Nepal. The region that is now West Bengal was a part of a number of empires and kingdoms during the past two millenia. The British East India Company cemented their hold on the region following the Battle of Plassey in 1757 CE, and the city of Kolkata, then Calcutta, served for many years as the capital of British India. A centre of the Indian independence movement through the early 20th century, Bengal was divided in 1947 into two separate entities, West Bengal - a state of India, and East Pakistan belonging to the new nation of Pakistan. Following India's independence in 1947, West Bengal's economic and political theatres were dominated for many decades by intellectual Marxism, Naxalite movements and trade unionism. From late 1990s, economic rejuvenation led to a spurt in the state's economic and industrial growth. An agriculture-dependent state, West Bengal occupies only 2.7% of the India's land area, though it supports over 7.8% of Indian population, and is the most densely populated state in India. West Bengal has been ruled by the CPI(M)-led Left Front for three decades, making it the world's longest-running democratically-elected communist government. Many notable poets, writers, artists and performers are native to West Bengal.  During the British Raj, the town of Cooch Behar was the seat of the princely state of Koch Bihar, ruled by the Koch dynasty. In course of time, Cooch Behar has been transformed from a kingdom to a ztate and then from a state to the present status of a district, and the town of Cooch Behar its district headquarters. Before 28 August 1949, Cooch Behar was a princely ptate ruled by the king of Cooch Behar, who had been a feudatory ruler under British Government.  These flags, containing Buddhism texts to ward off evil spirits, are situated around a temple in Darjeeling.  He was appointed as the first priest in the Dakshineswar Kali Temple. He profoundly influenced the Bengal Renaissance and the Indian nationalism. The most notable apostle of Ramakrishna was Swami Vivekananda. Vivekananda spread the message of Ramakrishna across the world. He also helped introduce Hinduism to the west. Two organisations based on the teachings of Ramakrishna were started. One was Ramakrishna Mission, which is designed to spread the word of Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna Math was created as a monastic order based on Ramakrishna's teachings.
April 8 – Wild elephant census in North Bengal this month. (The Hindu Update, 8 April 20070} April 7 – Haldia poll jitters for CPI(M). (Source: The Telegraph, 8 April 2007) April 6 – One killed, 22 injured in allegedly CPI(M) backed clash for possession of fishery in Hasnabad. (Source: The Statesman 7 April 2007) April 6 – SFI calls students’ strike after night of vandalism at Jadavpur University. (Sources: The Statesman, 7 April 2007, The Telegraph, 7 April 2007) April 5 – Hindustan Motors sets talks terms for Uttarpara unions. (Source: Financial Express, 6 April 2007) April 5 – Post-poll, Jadavpur University erupts - Anti-SFI union victory rally targeted, seven students injured. (Source: The Telegraph, 6 April 2007) April 5 – Noted children’s writer Leela Majumdar dead. (Source: The Hindu News update, 5 April 2007) April 5 – Nandigram firing: 11 depose before panel set up by West Bengal government. (Source: The Hindu News update, 5 April 2007) April 4 – Salim Group ready for shifting to alternative site for SEZ, 60 per cent field survey for Expressway complete, design for Raichak-Kukrahati bridge finalized. (Sources: The Hindu Businessline, 5 April 2007, The Telegraph, 5 April 2007
[–] West Bengal
Geography: Darjeeling Himalayan hill region | Terai | North Bengal plains | Rarh region | Sundarbans | Western plateau and high lands | Ganges Delta | Sundarbans National Park | Singalila National Park | Khoai | Monsoon | More... History: Shashanka | Pala Empire | Sena dynasty | Sher Shah Suri | Mughal Empire | British East India Company | Siraj ud-Daulah | Battle of Plassey | Dutch India | Bengal Presidency | Bengal Renaissance | Brahmo movement | Indian rebellion of 1857 | Bengal famine of 1770 | Bengal famine of 1943 | Partition of Bengal (1905) | Revolutionary movement for Indian independence | Anushilan Samiti | Jugantar | Subhash Chandra Bose | Partition of Bengal (1947) | Bangladesh Liberation War | Naxalite movement | More... Districts and cities: Districts of West Bengal | Kolkata | Siliguri | Bardhaman | Darjeeling | Kalimpong | Howrah | Durgapur | Asansol | Haldia | Tamluk | Kharagpur | Cooch Behar | Midnapore | Baharampur | Krishnanagar | More... Economy & Politics: Government of West Bengal | Chief Ministers | Governors | Legislative Assembly | Political parties | Left Front Culture: Bengali language | Baul | Gombhira | Chau dance | cuisine | Rabindra Sangeet | Rabindra Nritya Natya | Dolyatra | Pohela Baishakh | Durgapuja | Bengali literature | Bengali cinema | Jatra People: Rabindranath Tagore | Satyajit Ray | Subhas Chandra Bose | Amartya Sen | Ram Mohan Roy | Mother Teresa | Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay | Kazi Nazrul Islam | Swami Vivekananda | Meghnad Saha | More...  Photos required: Citations/References required: Alipore • Barrackpore • Ichapore • Kalyani Clean-up required: Purulia District • Dakshin Dinajpur • Birnagar • Shibpur Information required: for many towns, please check list for towns in West Bengal and see if you can assist in improving the contents of any town as per Guide to layout and Manual of Style. Review: Bengal
Events – Indian independence movement • Indian Current Events |
