over 91 million inhabitants covering a total area of 88,752 sq. km3width="3
country it sustains 7.55 per cent of its population6, ranks 12th in area but 4th in population share. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the 6th largest contributor to India’s net domestic product. It is bordered by the
national boundaries of Orissa, Jharkhand and Bihar on the west, Sikkim on the north and Assam on the east. It has international borders with the neighboring countries – Bhutan and Nepal on the north and Bangladesh on
the east.
At a glance
Capital & Major Cities:
- - Kolkata
- - Darjeeling
- - Howrah
Districts :23
Formed On: 26 January 1950
Language: Bengali, Hindi
Known As/For:
- -Largest producer of rice in India
- -Second longest international border among Indian states
Natural Vegetation:Tropical dry
moist deciduous
Historical background :
Bengal finds a place even in prehistoric times. Stone-age tools have been excavated in the state dating back 20,000 years. Remains of civilization in the greater Bengal region date back 4,000 years. The name Bengal or Banga is of unknown origins, although in some early Sanskrit literature like Aitareya Aranyaka the name Vanga finds a place as caste and as a geographical identity the Arthashastra of Koutilya mentions the name.
The word might have been derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Vanga’. The word might have been derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Vanga’. At the times of Alexander’s invasion a powerful kingdom called Gangaridai ruled over Bengal. Ascendancy of the Guptas and the Mauryas had somewhat little impact on Bengal. Sasanka, the first recorded independent king of Bengal reigning around the early 7th century said to have played an important role in north-eastern India.
He was succeeded by Gopala, who founded the Pala
dynasty, which ruled for four hundred years. The Pala dynasty was followed by the Sena dynasty which was ended by the occasional invasion of the Muslim raiders during the thirteenth century with the final settlement of the Mughals in sixteenth century.
After the Mughals, history of modern Bengal begins with the advent of the English traders. The battle of Plassey in 1757 changed the course of history when the English gained a strong foothold in Bengal and India as a whole.
Bengal Presidency was established by 1765, eventually including the British territories.
Calcutta named the capital of India in 1772. The failed Indian
rebellion of 1857 resulted in transfer of authority to the British crown,administered by the Viceroy of India
.
In 1905 it was partitioned to achieve some political returns but people’s growing movement under the auspices of the Congress led to the reunion in 1911. This failed attempt to partition Bengal
has the consequence of shifting the capital of India from Calcutta to Delhi.This triggered off hectic movement for freedom which culminated in
independence in 1947, and partition.
After 1947, the merger of the native princely states began which ended with its final reorganization in 1956 (as per recommendations of the States Reorganization Act, 1956) when some Bengali speaking areas of a neighboring state Bihar were transferred to West Bengal in the form of the district of Puruliya.
Geography(profile) :
Lying on the eastern region of the country the geographical location
boundary of the state extends between latitudes 21º38' and 27º10' north,longitudes 85º50' and 89º50' east12, at the head of the Bay of Bengal.
On the north the great Himalayas stand guard with rampart like segments up-to 800
ft. The entire Bengal basin is that part of the great Indian shield, which approximately to the east of longitude 87° E, where it disappears below the blanket of Gangetic alluvium
Physical Background(physiography) :
It traverses 300 miles across the land between the sea on the south and the hill on the north. West Bengal, to speak it more correctly, Greater Bengal considering its historic and physiographic perspective, assumed to cover an
area now contained by the state of West Bengal in India and the state of Bangladesh, including the sub-Himalayan zones, is proverbially associated with a delta, the largest deltaic landform in the world, with swamps,meandering streams, their braided channels, cut off loops, and all other generic topological features, which are commonly associated with a delta.
It is, therefore, rightly called, a river fed land.Buried domal structures of varying dimensions below the alluvium flanked
by a zone of en echelon, is found in many areas of the state Otherwise
West Bengal’s shelf area is practically tectonically undisturbed
It dips to the south-east very gently creating a thrust for the fluvial drift in the Gangetic
delta. It is only to the east of Kolkata that the sea is receded as Pleistocene times.
The Bengal plain did not originate only in sedimental deposition on ashallow continental shelf by the Ganga-Brahmaputra alluvial system.
In many areas, the sea and a presumably a vast lacustrine or swampy area in the north had receded to be, then raised up in a complex physiographic way.
Fluvio-glacial deposit in the foot-hill of the Himalayas, transverse dunes lying parallel to the Medinipur coast, a string of salt water pools extending east from Kolkata onto the Bangladesh Sundarbans along the middle of the
Bhagirathi-Padma interfluve, the slightly elevated, crescent shaped landmass formed by ferralic/ laterite materials along the western edges of the delta plains along Rarhdesha, Barishal and the Madhupur-Bhawal-Lalmai tract in
Bangladesh all these are evidences of the complex historical geography of the entire region.
Rivers of West Bengal:
The Ganges is the main river, which divides in West Bengal – one branch enters Bangladesh as the Padma or Pôdda, while the other flows through West Bengal as the Bhagirathi River and Hooghly River.
The Teesta, Torsa,Jaldhaka and Mahananda rivers are in the northern hilly region. The western
plateau region has rivers such as the Damodar, Ajay and Kangsabati
. The Ganges delta and the Sundarbans area have numerous rivers and creeks.Damodar, another tributary of the Ganges and once known as the "Sorrow of
Bengal" due to its frequent floods, has several dams under the DamodarValley Project
Climate in West Bengal:
The climate of West Bengal bears some uniformity in temperature.
Excluding Himalayan mountain tract, where temperature varies with the altitude, temperature conditions in West Bengal show limited variations. With January being the coldest month in the brief winter season, lasting from the
end of November to mid-January, maximum and minimum are uniform approximately 13°C or 55°F in the plains.21 Darjeeling, the highest observatory (2,137 metres/ 6,677 feet) in the state has normal mean temperature of 30°C
(86°F) and 9.3°C (47.7°F). Absolute below 0°C (32°F) and snowfall occurs occasionally.
The May is the hottest season. Highest temperatures are found in the Western portions bordering Chotonagpur. Diurnal ranges are approximately uniform, 12.0°C (53.6°F) in Jalpaiguri and 12.1°C (53.8°F) in Kidnaper. In Calcutta the
diurnal range is 9.0°C (48.2° F). Sasol has both the highest mean maxima 39.1°C (102.4°F) and largest diurnal range 12.8°C (55.0° F) in May.
In the rainy season are more or less uniform in the plains and from 38.8 C (87.4°F) at Jalpaiguri to 32.3°C (90.1°F) at Calcutta. This uniformity indicates the influence of the south west monsoon in lowering the temperature which
brings an overall uniformity to the climate.
Flora:
Recorded forest area in the state is 11,879 km2 which is 13.38% of the
state's geographical area, compared to the national average of 21.02%.
Reserves, protected and un-classed forests constitute 59.4%, 31.8% and 8.9%,respectively, of the forest area22. Part of the world's largest mangrove forest,the Sundarbans, is located in southern West Bengal.
From a phytogeographic viewpoint, the southern part of West Bengal can be divided into two regions: the Gangetic plain and the littoral mangrove forests of the Sundarbans
The alluvial soil of the Gangetic plain,compounded with favourable rainfall, make this region especially fertile.
Much of the vegetation of the western part of the state shares floristic similarities with the plants of the Chota Nagpur plateau in the adjoining state of Jharkhand. The predominant commercial tree species is Shorea robusta,commonly known as the Sal tree.
The coastal region of Purba Medinipur exhibits coastal vegetation; the predominant tree is the Casuarina. A notabl tree from the Sundarbans is the ubiquitous sundari (Heritiera fomes), from
which the forest gets its name.
The distribution of vegetation in northern West Bengal is dictated by elevation and precipitation. For example, the foothills of the Himalayas, the Dooars,
are densely wooded with Sal and other tropical evergreen trees.
However, above an elevation of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft.), the forest becomes predominantly subtropical. In Darjeeling, which is above 1,500 metres (4,900 ft.) temperate-forest trees such as oaks, conifers, and rhododendrons
predominate.
Fauna (zoos/parks) :
West Bengal has fifteen wildlife sanctuaries and five national parks with 3.26% of its geographical areas under protected cover, the important ones being the Sundarbans National Park, Buxa Tiger Reserve,
Gorumara National
Park, Neora Valley National Park and Singalila National Park24. The Indian rhinoceros, Indian elephant, deer, bison, leopard, gaur, tiger, and crocodiles are among the important extant wildlife in West Bengal, as well as many bird
species.
During the winter migratory birds come to the state. The high-
altitude forests of Singalila National Park shelter barking deer, red panda, chinkara, takin, serow, pangolin, minivet and kalij pheasants.
The Sundarbans, the largest area of mangrove forest in the world, located at the southern part of the state (30º24' -30º28' N latitude and 77º40'-77º 44' E longitude) declared by UNESCO as world heritage site in 1987 are noted for a reserve project25. It
hosts the endangered Royal Bengal tiger, saltwater crocodile, olive ridley turtle, Indian python, gangetic dolphin, river terrapin etc. it also hosts 260 birdspecies. The mangrove forest includes sundari (Heritiera Fomes), genwa (Excoecaria Agallocha), goran (Ceriops Decandra), kankra (BruguieraGymnorrhiza), khalsi (Aegiceras Carniculum) etc. acts as a natural agent of supporting coastal ecological conservation and nursery, of coastal fishes along the Bay of Bengal
People and Culture:
West Bengal is a land populated by myriad mixture of races, religions and cultural origins. The Bengalis are, according to the historical anthropologists,a mixed race, Proto-Australian in origin.
The Hindus constitute 72.5%, the
Muslims 25.2% and other religions such as Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains etc.constitute 2.3% of the total population of the state28. Besides, 40 distinct tribal communities are found in West Bengal.
Variety of influences from diverse
cultures along with Bengal’s own has given birth to a unique Bengali culture.
Music, poetry, films and theatre flows through the vain of the Bengalis with Nobel Laureate Rabindranath on the apex. Bengali culture is unique and exciting with the ancient temples of Vishnupur, to the churches of Kolkata,from Himalayas to sea beaches and world famous Gangetic deltas, from Sunderban to Darjeeling, from Tea to Tant sarees, from Rabindranath Tagore to Satyajit Ray, from Durga Puja to Christmas, from Fish curry to Sweets,
Bengali culture is truly unique and exciting.
It is the cultural hub of India with theatres, plays and films being the most popular forms of entertainment. Folk dances and folk music form an integral part of this state.
The common Bengali dress is the dhoti and a stitched upper garment - a shirt, a Punjabi Kurta or a half-sleeved vest.
The urban population has started favouring pyjama and trousers for convenience and economy. The western style of
dress is being adopted by the more affluent as a status symbol replacing the achakan-pyjama and the Shamla Pugree, there is a general absence of any kind of headdresses, however, the
Muslims cover their head during prayer and religious ceremonies.
The women invariably wear the waist to ankle length sari in a graceful style. The upper part is covered by different styles of blouses. The Bengali is
predominantly a rice eater.
Languages:
Among the languages and dialects of India, Bengali is the speech of
largest number of people. West Bengal has seven major languages and 16 different dialects. In all India perspective constitutes second rank with percent of speakers to total population of the country.
The Bengali is
spoken by 90 per cent of the people, is the main state language32. Hindi is spoken by about 10 per cent of the population
Economy:
Agriculture is the leading occupation in West Bengal. Rice is the state's principal food crop. Rice, potato, jute, sugarcane and wheat are the top five crops of the state33. Tea is produced commercially in northern districts; the region is well known for Darjeeling and other high quality teas. The tertiary
sector of the economy (service industries) was the largest contributor to the gross domestic product of West Bengal in 2009-10, contributing 57.8% of the state domestic product compared to 24% from primary sector (agriculture,
forestry, mining) and 18.2% from secondary sector (industrial and
manufacturing)34.
Agriculture:
Agriculture is the chief occupation of the people of the state. It contributed around 18.7% to the state’s gross domestic state product (GSDP) in 2009–10.14 Majority of the state population are cultivators and agricultural labours.
Rice is considered to be the principal food crop of West Bengal.
West Bengal is the largest producer of rice in India with an annual output of around 15 million tonnes. Rice, potato, jute, sugarcane and wheat are the top five crops of the state.
Other major food crops include maize, pulses,oil seeds, wheat, barley, and vegetables, The state supplies nearly 66% of
the jute requirements of India.
Tea is another important cash crop. Darjeeling is famous for tea plantation.
Educational Background(HISTORICAL)
It cannot but have to be unarguably accepted even with the risk of
numerous disputable issues prevailing amongst the academics, that modern system of education that we are undergoing with has its origin with the advent of the Europeans in the eastern part of the country and the system
was finally consolidated by the British. Calcutta (now Kolkata) being the main seat of business and administration of the British adventurers, has enjoyed the
historical privilege to get in touch with the European enlightenment
sufficiently ahead of the other provinces of the country.
It is, therefore, a natural consequence that Calcutta, to speak it more generously Bengal,
acted as the cradle of modern European education and culture in India.Bengal (to be more precise, greater Bengal in undivided India) and West Bengal in particular, therefore bears a glorious traditional heritage – oriental
education as well as occidental. The ambience of the places like Nabadwip,Battapalli (Bhatpara), Krishnanarar, Kalna, Halishahar, Tribeni etc. were famous for the abundance of great Sanskrit scholars where thousands of students happened to come and live in from across the country to study before the great pundits in the traditional centres of learning popularly known as ‘Tol’. During the British reign when the Oriental –Occidental controversy come to the fore, it is mainly Raja Rammohun Roy who successfully pleaded for the occidental system. Other great and illustrious educators and social
leaders of the time like Raja Radhakanta Deb, Bhudeb Mukhopadhyay,
Vidyasagar, Pundit Sibanath Shastri and other luminaries made great
contribution for the enrichment of the new era which is assumed to betermed as 18th century Bengal Renaissance.
Name of the University Date of establishment
- Calcutta University 1857
- Jadavpur University 1955
- Burdwan University 1960
- Kalyani University 1960
- North Bengal University 1962
- Rabindra Bharati University1962
- Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya 1974
- Vidyasagar University 1981
- West Bengal University of Technology 1962
- West Bengal University of Technology 1992
- West Bengal University of Animal & Fishery Sciences 1995
- Netaji Subhas Open University 1997
- West Bengal National University of Judicial Sciences 2000
- West Bengal University of Health Sciences 2003
- The Bengal Engineering and Science University 2004
- Aliah University 2007
- Gour Banga University 2008
- Presidency University 1817 (School)
- 1855 (College)
- 2010 (University)
- Sidho Kanho Birsa University 2010
National Level Educational Institutions in West Bengal.
.
Name of the Institutes:
- 1. I.I.T. Kharagpur
- 2. I.I.M., Joka, Kolkata
- 3. I.S.I., Baranagar, Kolkata
- 4. National Institute of Technology, Durgapur
- 5. Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kalyani
- 6. Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata
- 7. Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata
- 8. Bose Institute, Kolkata
- 9. Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, Kolkata
- 10. National Institute for Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata
- 11. School of Tropical Medicine, Kolkata
- 12. Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata
- 13. S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata
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