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West Bengal (/bɛnˈɡɔːl/; Bengali: Poshchim Bongo, pronounced [ˈpoʃtʃim ˈbɔŋɡo] , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of 88,752 km2 (34,267 sq mi) as of 2011. The population estimate as of 2023 is 102,552,787.[12] West Bengal is the fourth-most populous and thirteenth-largest state by area in India, as well as the eighth-most populous country subdivision of the world. As a part of the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, it borders Bangladesh in the east, and Nepal and Bhutan in the north. It also borders the Indian states of Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Sikkim and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata, the third-largest metropolis, and seventh largest city by population in India. West Bengal includes the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region, the Ganges delta, the Rarh region, the coastal Sundarbans and the Bay of Bengal. The state's main ethnic group are the Bengalis, with the Bengali Hindus forming the demographic majority.
The area's early history featured a succession of Indian empires, internal squabbling, and a tussle between Hinduism and Buddhism for dominance. Ancient Bengal was the site of several major Janapadas, while the earliest cities date back to the Vedic period. The region was part of several ancient pan−Indian empires, including the Vangas, Mauryans, and the Guptas. The citadel of Gauḍa served as the capital of the Gauda kingdom, the Pala Empire, and the Sena Empire. Islam was introduced through trade with the Abbasid Caliphate, but following the Ghurid conquests led by Bakhtiyar Khalji and the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate, the Muslim faith spread across the entire Bengal region. During the Bengal Sultanate, the territory was a major trading nation in the world, and was often referred by the Europeans as the "richest country to trade with". It was absorbed into the Mughal Empire in 1576. Simultaneously, some parts of the region were ruled by several Hindu states, and Baro-Bhuyan landlords, and part of it was briefly overrun by the Suri Empire. Following the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in the early 1700s, the proto-industrialised Mughal Bengal became a semi-independent state under the Nawabs of Bengal, and showed signs of the first Industrial Revolution.[13][14] The region was later annexed into the Bengal Presidency by the British East India Company after the Battle of Buxar in 1764.[15][16] From 1772 to 1911, Calcutta was the capital of all of East India Company's territories and then the capital of the entirety of India after the establishment of the Viceroyalty.[17] From 1912 to India's Independence in 1947, it was the capital of the Bengal Province.[18]
The region was a hotbed of the Indian independence movement and has remained one of India's great artistic and intellectual centres.[19] Following widespread religious violence, the Bengal Legislative Council and the Bengal Legislative Assembly voted on the Partition of Bengal in 1947 along religious lines into two independent dominions: West Bengal, a Hindu-majority Indian state, and East Bengal, a Muslim-majority province of Pakistan which later became the independent Bangladesh. The state was also flooded with Hindu refugees from East Bengal (present-day Bangladesh) in the decades following the 1947 partition of India, transforming its landscape and shaping its politics.[20][21] The early and prolonged exposure to British administration resulted in an expansion of Western education, culminating in developments in science, institutional education, and social reforms in the region, including what became known as the Bengali Renaissance. Several regional and pan−Indian empires throughout Bengal's history have shaped its culture, cuisine, and architecture.
Post-Indian independence, as a welfare state, West Bengal's economy is based on agricultural production and small and medium-sized enterprises.[22] The state's cultural heritage, besides varied folk traditions, ranges from stalwarts in literature including Nobel-laureate Rabindranath Tagore to scores of musicians, film-makers and artists. For several decades, the state underwent political violence and economic stagnation after the beginning of communist rule in 1977 before it rebounded.[23] In 2023–24, the economy of West Bengal is the sixth-largest state economy in India with a gross state domestic product (GSDP) of ₹17.19 lakh crore (US$210 billion),[5] and has the country's 20th-highest GSDP per capita of ₹121,267 (US$1,500)[24] as of 2020–21. Despite being one of the fastest-growing major economies, West Bengal has struggled to attract foreign direct investment due to adverse land acquisition policies, poor infrastructure, and red tape.[25][26] It also has the 26th-highest ranking among Indian states in human development index, with the index value being lower than the Indian average.[8][22] The state government debt of ₹6.47 lakh crore (US$78 billion), or 37.67% of GSDP, has dropped from 40.65% since 2010–11.[27][5] West Bengal has three World Heritage sites and ranks as the eight-most visited tourist destination in India and third-most visited state of India globally.[28][29]
- ^ "West Bengal Assembly passes resolution declaring Rabindranath Tagore composition as state anthem". Scroll.in. 7 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
- ^ "Sandakphu". 25 December 2008. Archived from the original on 25 December 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ "Area, population, decennial growth rate and density for 2001 and 2011 at a glance for West Bengal and the districts: provisional population totals paper 1 of 2011: West Bengal". Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
nclmanurep2010was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c "Financial Statements 2023-24, Government of West Bengal" (PDF). Government of West Bengal. 1 February 2023. p. 21. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
- ^ "Handbook of Statistics of Indian States 2022-23" (PDF). Reserve Bank of India. pp. 11, 33. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ "STATE-WISE DATA ON PER CAPITA INCOME". Delhi: PIB Delhi. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ^ a b "Sub-national HDI – Area Database". Global Data Lab. 15 June 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ NSO (2018). "Sex ratio, 0–6 age population, literates and literacy rate by sex for 2001 and 2011 at a glance for West Bengal and the districts: provisional population totals paper 1 of 2011: West Bengal" (PDF). Government of India:Ministry of Home Affairs. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012.
- ^ "Sex ratio, 0–6 age population, literates and literacy rate by sex for 2001 and 2011 at a glance for West Bengal and the districts: provisional population totals paper 1 of 2011: West Bengal". Government of India:Ministry of Home Affairs. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
- ^ Mukherjee 1987, p. 230.
- ^ "West Bengal Population 2023". World Population Review. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
- ^ Indrajit Ray (2011). Bengal Industries and the British Industrial Revolution (1757-1857). Routledge. pp. 57, 90, 174. ISBN 978-1-136-82552-1. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
- ^ Shombit Sengupta, Bengals plunder gifted the British Industrial Revolution Archived 1 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine, The Financial Express, 8 February 2010
- ^ Chaudhury, Sushil; Mohsin, KM (2012). "Sirajuddaula". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Archived from the original on 14 June 2015.
- ^ Campbell & Watts 1760.
- ^ Pletcher, Kenneth (15 August 2010). The Geography of India: Sacred and Historic Places. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. pp. 17, 150. ISBN 978-1-61530-142-3.
- ^ Chattopadhyay, Aparajita; Ghosh, Saswata (1 May 2020). Population Dynamics in Eastern India and Bangladesh: Demographic, Health and Developmental Issues. Springer Nature. p. 6. ISBN 978-981-15-3045-6.
- ^ Lochtefeld, James G (2001). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Volume 2. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. p. 771. ISBN 9780823931804. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ Talbot, Ian; Singh, Gurharpal (2009), The Partition of India, Cambridge University Press, pp. 115–117, ISBN 978-0-521-67256-6
- ^ Tan, Tai Yong; Kudaisya, Gyanesh (2002) [2000], The Aftermath of Partition in South Asia, Taylor & Francis, pp. 172–175, ISBN 978-0-203-45060-4
- ^ a b "Introduction and Human Development Indices for West Bengal". West Bengal Human Development Report 2004 (PDF). Development and Planning Department, Government of West Bengal. May 2004. pp. 4–6. ISBN 81-7955-030-3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 May 2006. Retrieved 26 August 2006.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
WB1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Handbook of Statistics of Indian States 2021-22" (PDF). Reserve Bank of India. pp. 37–42. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
- ^ "Invest in West Bengal - Business Opportunities, Industries, FDI". Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- ^ "FDI in India | FDI Consultant | FDI Companies | FDI Opportunities 2022". Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- ^ "State Finances: A Risk Analysis". Reserve Bank of India. 16 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ^ UNESCO 2012.
- ^ "India Tourism Statistics at a Glance 2023" (PDF). Government of India: 21. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2023.