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What began as a trading outpost more than 300 years ago has grown
into a thriving metropolis - the melting pot that is Calcutta. It
has often been said that one has to live in the city of Calcutta
in order to feel its pulse. Chaotic, volatile, noisy, vibrant, warm,
indestructible, dynamic, alive and friendly. A state of affairs
often baffling to the casual tourist but completely explicable to
the Calcuttan. It is India's second largest city, and the chief
port and industrial center of E India. Jute is milled, and textiles,
chemicals, paper, and metal products are manufactured. Nearly 60
languages are spoken in the city!
How did the city get the name Calcutta ? Different opinions : 1.
Kalikata is derived from the Bengali word Kalikshetra, meaning "Ground
of the Goddess Kali." 2.Some say the city's name derives from the
location of its original settlement on the bank of a canal (khal).
3. Some mach it to the Bengali words for lime (kali) and burnt shell
(kata), since the area was noted for the manufacture of shell-lime.
| Date |
Timeline |
| 1690 |
Job Charnok, an agent of
the East India Company, chose this place for a British
trade settlement. The site was carefully selected , being
protected by the Hooghly River on the west, a creek to
the north, and by salt lakes about two and a half miles
to the east. There were three large villages along the
east bank of the river Ganges, named, Sutanuti, Gobindapur
and Kalikata. These three villages were bought by the
British from local land lords. The Mughal emperor granted
East India Company freedom of trade in return for a yearly
payment of 3,000 rupees.
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1696 |
The modern city
as we know it was founded by the British EAST INDIA COMPANY.
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| 1756 |
Siraj-ud-daullah,
the Nawab of Bengal, captured the garrison, many of whom
died when imprisoned in the infamous black hole.
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| 1757 |
Robert Clive retook the
city in 1757. The British defeated Siraj-ud-daullah on
the battle field of Plassy.
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| 1772 |
Calcutta became the capital
of British India, and the first governor general Warren
Hastings moved all important offices from Murshidabad
to Calcutta. Till 1912, Calcutta was the capital of India,
when British moved the capital city to Delhi. In 1947,
in the partition of India between India and Pakistan,
Calcutta was included in the Indian part of Bengal, West
Bengal. Calcutta became the capital city of the state
of West Bengal.
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| 1780 |
James Hicky established
a printed press and published the city's first newspaper,
The Bengal Gazzette
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| 1784 |
The first official newspaper,
The Calcutta Gazzette, was published. Sir William Jones
established The Asiatic Society
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| 1817 |
The Hindu College
(presently Presidency College ) was established with the
efforts of Rammohan Roy, David Hare and Radhakanta Dev.
Student body: 20
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| 1854 |
First Railways in India
( from Calcutta to Hooghly )
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| 1875 |
The Statesman, the
leading English Daily newspaper, was started. The Indian
Museum was built
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| 1883 |
Surendra Nath Banerjee
called for a National convention ( which led to the forming
of Indian National Congress in 1885 at Bombay )
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| 1886 |
Second convention of Indian
National Congress at Calcutta
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| 1911 |
British moved the capital
city of India from Calcutta to Delhi
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| 1913 |
Rabindranath Tagore,
the great philosopher, poet and writer received Nobel
Prize in literature
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| 1929 |
Agnes Goinxha Bejaxhiu (Mother
Teresa), came to Calcutta to join Bengal Loreto mission.
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| 1947 |
Bengal was divided at Independence,
and Calcutta became the capital of West Bengal. Bidhan
Chandra Roy became the first Chief Minister of West
Bengal. Calcutta and surrounding places saw a deluge of
people from East Pakistan ( now Bangladesh ) as a result
of the partition.
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| 1970-71 |
The Naxalite Movement
hit the city, resultingin arrests of hundreds of youths
and created enormous tension among city dwellers
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| 1984 |
Metro, the first underground
railway in India, started from Tollygunge to Esplanade
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| 1992
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Satyajit Roy, film director, received prestigious
"Life Time Achievement" Oscar award and "Bharat Ratna".
He died in the same year
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| 1998 |
Amartya Sen,
another Calcuttan, receives Nobel Prize in Ecomonics
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Inside Kolkata |
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Outside Kolkata |
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