| Kolkata (কলকাতা) | |
| City of Joy, Cultural Capital of India, Literary Capital of India, City of Furious Creative Energy, City of Palaces, City of All Cities, City of Bridges in India, City of Football in India,[1] Paris of the East[2] | |
| — metropolitan city — | |
|
|
|
|
Kolkata (কলকাতা)
|
|
| Coordinates | |
| Former name | Calcutta |
| Country | India |
| State | West Bengal |
| District(s) | Calcutta † |
| Mayor | Sovan Chatterjee[3] (TMC) |
| Population |
4,486,679[4] (5th) (2011[update]) • 24,252.3 /km2 (62,813 /sq mi) |
| Spoken languages | |
|---|---|
| Ethnic groups | |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Area |
185 square kilometres (71 sq mi) • 9 metres (30 ft) |
|
Footnotes
|
|
| Website | www.kmcgov.in |
Kolkata ( /ˈkoʊlkʌtɑː/; Bengali: কলকাতা, Kolkātā, IPA: [kolkata] ( listen)), formerly known in English as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River,[7] it was the commercial capital of East India. The city proper has 4.5 million residents, and the metropolitan area, including suburbs, has a population of approximately 14.2 million, making it the third-most populous metropolitan area in India and the 13th-most populous urban area in the world. Kolkata is also classified as the eighth-largest urban agglomeration in the world.[8]
Kolkata served as the capital of India during the British Raj until 1911, when its perceived geographical disadvantages and a growing nationalism in Bengal led officials to shift the capital to New Delhi. The city is noted for its vibrant political culture. It was a center of the Indian struggle for independence and remains a hotbed of contemporary politics. Once the center of modern education, science, culture, and politics in India, Kolkata witnessed economic stagnation in the years following India's independence in 1947. However, since the year 2000, economic rejuvenation has led to an acceleration in the city's growth. Like other metropolitan cities in developing countries, Kolkata continues to deal with contemporary urban problems like pollution and traffic congestion. Despite such problems, it remains the dominant urban area of eastern India and the major economic, educational and cultural hub.
Contents |
The name "Kolkatā" (and the anglicised name "Calcutta") has its roots in Kalikatā, one of the three villages (Kalikatā, Sutanuti, Govindapur) that existed in the area before the city was established by the British.[9] "Kalikata", in turn, is believed to be a version of Kalikshetra (Bengali: কালীক্ষেত্র, Kalikkhetro) literally meaning "Land of [the goddess] Kāli". Alternatively, the name may have been derived from the Bengali term kilkilā ("flat area").[10] The name may have its origin in khal, the vernacular term for a canal, followed by katta (which may mean dug).[11] There is another theory that the place used to specialize in quicklime (kali chun) and coir rope (kátá) and hence the place was called Kalikátá.[12]
While the city's name has always been pronounced "Kolkatā" or "Kolikatā" in the local language, the anglicized version "Calcutta" was the official name until it was changed to "Kolkata" in 2001, to match with the Bengali pronunciation.[13] This change has not always been reflected by overseas media, but news sources such as BBC[14] and The New York Times[15] use Kolkata.
The discovery of the nearby Chandraketugarh,[16] an archaeological site, provides evidence that the area has been inhabited for over two millennia.[17] The city's documented history begins with the arrival of the English East India Company in 1690, when the Company was consolidating its trade business in Bengal. Job Charnock, an administrator with the company is traditionally credited as the founder of the city,[10] though, in response to a public interest petition, the Calcutta High Court ruled in 2003 that the city does not have a specific founder.[18] The area comprising of the present day city consisted of three villages Kalikata, Gobindapur and Sutanuti that were part of an estate belonging to the Mughal emperor, but whose jagirdari rights were held by a local family. These rights were transferred to the East India Company in 1698.[19]
In 1712, the British completed the construction of old Fort William.[20] Calcutta was declared a Presidency City, and later became the headquarters of the Bengal Presidency.[21] Faced with frequent skirmishes with French forces, in 1756 the British began to upgrade their fortifications. When protests against the militarisation by the Nawab of Bengal Siraj-Ud-Daulah went unheeded he attacked and captured Fort William, leading to the infamous Black Hole of Calcutta incident.[22] A force of Company sepoys and British troops led by Robert Clive recaptured the city the following year.[22] Calcutta was named the capital of British India in 1772. Starting in 1864, the capital used to be temporarily shifted to the hill station of Shimla during the summer months.[23] In the early 19th century the marshes surrounding the city were drained and the government area was laid out along the banks of the Hooghly River. Richard Wellesley, the Governor General between 1797 and 1805, was largely responsible for the growth of the city and its public architecture which led to the description of Calcutta as "The City of Palaces".[24] The city was a centre of the British East India Company's opium trade during the late 18th and 19th century.[25]
By the 1850s, Kolkata was split into two distinct areas — one British (known as the White Town) centred around Chowringhee, the other Indian centred around North Calcutta.[26] The city underwent rapid industrial growth from the early 1850s, especially in the textile and jute industries; this caused massive investment by British companies in infrastructure such as Howrah station and telegraph connections. The coalescence of British and Indian culture resulted in the emergence of a new Babu class of urbane Indians — whose members were often bureaucrats, professionals, newspaper readers, Anglophiles, and usually belonged to upper-caste Hindu communities.[27] Throughout the nineteenth century, a socio-cultural reform, often referred to as the Bengal Renaissance resulted in the general uplifting of the people. In 1883, Surendranath Banerjee organised a national conference — the first of its kind in nineteenth century India.[10] Gradually Calcutta became a centre of the Indian independence movement, especially revolutionary organisations. The 1905 partition of Bengal on communal grounds resulted in widespread public agitation and the boycott of British goods (Swadeshi movement).[28] These activities, along with the administratively disadvantageous location of Calcutta in the eastern fringes of India, prompted the British to move the capital to New Delhi in 1911.[29] The city and its port were bombed several times by the Japanese between 1942 and 1944, during World War II.[30][31][32] Coinciding with the war, millions starved to death during the Bengal famine of 1943, caused by a combination of military, administrative and natural factors.[33]
In 1946, demands for the creation of a Muslim state led to large-scale communal violence resulting in the deaths of over 4,000 people.[34][35][36] The partition of India led to intense violence and a shift in demographics — large numbers of Muslims left for East Pakistan, while hundreds of thousands of Hindus fled into the city.[37] Over the 1960s and 1970s, severe power shortages, strikes and a violent Marxist-Maoist movement — the Naxalites — damaged much of the city's infrastructure, leading to a period of economic stagnation.[38] In 1971, Bangladesh liberation war led to the mass influx of thousands of refugees into Kolkata resulting in a massive strain on its infrastructure.[39] In the mid-1980s, Bombay, now Mumbai, overtook Kolkata as India's most-populous city. In 1985 Rajiv Gandhi referred to Kolkata as a "dying city" because of the social and political traumas.[40] Kolkata has been a important base for Communism, as West Bengal was ruled by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M))-dominated Left Front for 34 years (1977–2011) — the world's longest-running democratically elected communist government.[41][42] The city's economic recovery gathered momentum after economic reforms in India introduced by the central government in the mid-1990s. Since 2000, Information Technology (IT) services have revitalized the city’s stagnant economy. The city is also experiencing a growth in the manufacturing sector.[43]
Kolkata is located in eastern India, at in the Ganges Delta at an elevation ranging between 1.5–9 m (5–30 ft).[44] It is spread linearly along the east bank of the River Hooghly in a north-south direction. Much of the city was originally a vast wetland, reclaimed over the decades to accommodate the city's burgeoning population.[45] The remaining wetland, known as East Calcutta Wetlands has been designated a "wetland of international importance" under the Ramsar Convention.[46]
Like the most of the Indo-Gangetic plains, the predominant soil and water type is alluvial. Quaternary sediments consisting of clay, silt, various grades of sand and gravel underlie the city. These sediments are sandwiched between two clay beds, the lower one at depths between 250–650 m (820–2,130 ft) and the upper one ranging between 10–40 m (30–130 ft) in thickness.[47] According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, the town falls under seismic zone-III, in a scale of I to V (in order of increasing proneness to earthquakes)[48] while the wind and cyclone zoning is "very high damage risk", according to UNDP report.[48]
Kolkata city, under the jurisdiction of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), has an area of 185 km2 (71 sq mi).[49] The Kolkata conurbation (Kolkata Metropolitan Area), however, is spread over 1,750 km2 (676 sq mi),[49] and comprises 157 postal areas, as of 2006.[50] The metropolitan area is formally administered by several local governments, including 38 local municipalities. The urban agglomeration comprises 72 cities and 527 towns and villages.[49] The suburban areas of Kolkata metropolitan district incorporate parts of the districts North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly and Nadia.[51]:15
The east-to-west dimension of the city is narrow, stretching from the Hooghly River in the west to roughly the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass in the east, a span of barely 9–10 km (5.6–6.2 mi).[52] The north-south expansion is larger and broadly divided into North, Central and South Kolkata.[53]
North Kolkata is the oldest part of the city, with primarily 19th-century architecture and narrow alleyways, and includes areas such as Shyambazar, Shobhabazar, Chitpur, Cossipore, Baranagar, Sinthee and Dum Dum.[53][54]:65–66[55] Central Kolkata houses the central business district, comprising of B. B. D. Bagh (formerly known as Dalhousie square) with Esplanade to its East and Strand Road to its West.[56] The Government Secretariat, General Post Office, Reserve Bank of India, High Court, Lalbazar Police head quarters and several other government and private offices are located here. Another major business hub is in the area south of Park Street and comprises thoroughfares such as Jawaharlal Nehru Road, Camac Street, Wood Street, Loudon Street, Shakespeare Sarani and AJC Bose Road.[57] The Maidan is a large open field in the heart of the city, often referred to as the "Lungs of Kolkata",[58] where several sporting events and public meetings are held.[59] The Victoria Memorial and The Kolkata Race Course are situated at the southern end of the Maidan. Other notable parks in the city include Central Park in Bidhannagar and Millenium Park at Strand Road, beside the Hooghly river.
South Kolkata grew mostly after independence of India and consists of upscale localities such as Ballygunge, Alipore, New Alipore, Lansdowne, Bhawanipore, Tollygunge, Jodhpur Park, Lake Gardens, Golf Green, Jadavpur and Kasba.[60] From southwest to southeast, the southern fringe areas include Garden Reach, Behala, Thakurpukur, Kudghat, Ranikuthi, Bansdroni, Baghajatin and Garia .
Two planned neighbouring township of Kolkata are Salt Lake City (Bidhannagar) to the northeast of the city, and Rajarhat, also called New Town, to the east of Bidhannagar.[60][61] In the 2000s, Sector V in Bidhannagar developed into a business hub for information technology and telecom companies.[62][63] Both Bidhannagar and New Town are situated outside the Kolkata Municipal Corporation limits and have their own municipalities.[61]
Kolkata has a tropical wet-and-dry climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). The annual mean temperature is 26.8 °C (80.2 °F); monthly mean temperatures range from 19–30 °C (66.2–86 °F).[64] Summers are hot and humid with temperatures in the low 30's and during dry spells the maximum temperatures often exceed 40 °C (104 °F) during May and June.[64] Winter tends to last for only about two and a half months, with seasonal lows dipping to 9 °C – 11 °C (54–57 °F) between December and January. The highest recorded temperature is 43.9 °C (111.0 °F), and the lowest is 5 °C (41.0 °F).[64] On average, May is the hottest month, with daily temperatures ranging from 27–37 °C (80.6–98.6 °F), while January as the coldest month has temperatures varying from 12–23 °C (53.6–73.4 °F). Often during early summer, dusty squalls followed by spells of thunderstorms or hailstorms and heavy rains with ice sleets lash the city, bringing relief from the humid heat. These thunderstorms are convective in nature, and are locally known as Kal baisakhi (Bengali: কালবৈশাখী, Nor'westers).[65]
Rains brought by the Bay of Bengal branch of the South-West monsoon[66] lash the city between June and September and supply the city with most of its annual rainfall of 1,582 mm (62 in). The highest rainfall occurs during the monsoon in August—306 mm (12 in). The city receives 2,528 hours of sunshine per annum, with the maximum sunlight occurring in March.[67] Pollution is a major concern in Kolkata, and the Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) level is high when compared to other major cities of India, leading to regular smog and haze.[68][69] Severe air pollution in the city has caused a rise in pollution-related respiratory ailments such as lung cancer.[70] Kolkata has been hit by several cyclones, including the cyclones of 1737 and 1864 that killed thousands of people.[71][72]
| Climate data for Kolkata (1971–1990) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 26.4 (79.5) |
29.1 (84.4) |
33.5 (92.3) |
35.3 (95.5) |
35.4 (95.7) |
34.0 (93.2) |
32.3 (90.1) |
32.1 (89.8) |
32.4 (90.3) |
32.3 (90.1) |
30.3 (86.5) |
27.0 (80.6) |
31.7 (89.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 13.8 (56.8) |
16.9 (62.4) |
21.7 (71.1) |
25.1 (77.2) |
26.0 (78.8) |
26.5 (79.7) |
26.1 (79.0) |
26.1 (79.0) |
25.8 (78.4) |
23.9 (75.0) |
19.6 (67.3) |
14.5 (58.1) |
22.2 (72.0) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 11 (0.43) |
30 (1.18) |
35 (1.38) |
60 (2.36) |
142 (5.59) |
288 (11.34) |
411 (16.18) |
349 (13.74) |
288 (11.34) |
143 (5.63) |
26 (1.02) |
17 (0.67) |
1,800 (70.87) |
| Avg. rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 1.2 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 4.8 | 8.7 | 14.7 | 20.5 | 20.2 | 15.7 | 8.1 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 101.5 |
| Sunshine hours | 204.6 | 203.4 | 226.3 | 234.0 | 226.3 | 123.0 | 93.0 | 105.4 | 117.0 | 182.9 | 192.0 | 204.6 | 2,112.5 |
| Source: HKO [73] | |||||||||||||
Kolkata is the main business, commercial and financial hub of East India and the northeastern states.[51][74] It is home to the Calcutta Stock Exchange — India's second-largest bourse.[75][76] It is also a major commercial and military port, and the only city in eastern India to have an international airport. Once India's leading city, Kolkata experienced a steady economic decline in the years following India's independence due to a rise in trade-unionism and frequent strikes supported by left-wing parties.[77] Between the 1960s to the late 1990s, several factories were closed and businesses relocated.[77] The lack of capital and resources added to the depressed state of the city's economy and gave rise to the city's sobriquet the "Dying City".[78] The liberalisation of the Indian economy in the 1990s aided by changes in state government policy have resulted in the improvement of the city's fortunes.[77]
Flexible production had always been the norm in Kolkata, and the informal sector has comprised more than 40% of the labour force.[79] For example, roadside hawkers generated business worth Rs. 8,772 crore (around 2 billion U.S. dollars) in 2005.[80] 0.81 % of the working population works in primary sector, 15.49% works in secondary sector, 83.69 works in the tertiary sector.[51]:20 As in many other Indian cities, information technology became a major growing sector in Kolkata since late 1990s, with the IT sector growing at 70% yearly — twice that of the national average.[43] The 2000s also saw a surge of investments in the realty and infrastructure sector, coupled with retail and hospitality sector growth, with establishments of several shopping malls and hotels.[81][82][83][84][85][86]
Kolkata is home to many industrial units operated by large corporations, both in public and private sector, with products and industries including steel, heavy engineering, mining, minerals, cement, pharmaceuticals, food processing, agriculture, electronics, textiles, and jute among others. Some notable companies headquartered in the city include ITC Limited], Coal India Limited, and Britannia Industries. Kolkata is home of the headquarters of three major nationalized banks Allahabad Bank, Uco Bank and United Bank of India. Adoption of the "Look East" policy by the government of India, opening of the Nathu La Pass in Sikkim as a border trade-route with China and interest in the South East Asian countries to invest in the Indian market have put Kolkata in an advantageous position for development in the future, particularly with Myanmar.[87][88]
| Kolkata City officials | |
| Mayor: | |
| Police Commissioner: |
Ranjit Kumar Pachnanda[89]
|
The civic administration of Kolkata is executed by several government agencies. Kolkata Municipal Corporation is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of its 15 boroughs which are divided into 141 wards.[90] Each of these wards elects a councillor to the KMC. Each borough has a committee consisting of the councillors elected from the respective wards of the borough. The Corporation, through the borough committees, maintains government-aided schools, hospitals and municipal markets and partakes in urban planning and road maintenance.[91] The corporation as the apex body discharges its function through the Mayor-in-Council, consisting of a mayor, assisted by a deputy mayor, and ten other elected members of the KMC.[92] The functions of the KMC include water supply, drainage and sewerage, sanitation, solid waste management, street lighting and building regulation.[91] Fire services are handled by a state agency – West Bengal Fire Service.[93] Kolkata Port Trust, an agency of the central government, manages the river port.[94] As of 2010, the All India Trinamool Congress holds the power in KMC, its mayor is Sovan Chatterjee, while the deputy mayor is Farzana Alam.[3] The city also has an apolitical titular post, that of the Sheriff of Kolkata, who presides over various city-related functions and conferences.[95]
Different administrative entities of Kolkata use different definition for their coverage area, resulting in three administrative definitions of the city. Listed in ascending order of area, those are Kolkata District, the Kolkata Police area (Divisions of Kolkata Police) and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area ("Kolkata city"),[96] and the urban agglomeration or Kolkata Metropolitan Area (Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority is responsible for the statutory planning and development of the metropolitan area).[97]
As the capital of the state and the seat of the Government of West Bengal, Kolkata houses not only the offices of the local governing agencies, but also the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, the state Secretariat (Writers' Building) and the Calcutta High Court. Kolkata also has lower courts; the Small Causes Court for civil matters, and the Sessions Court for criminal cases. The Kolkata Police, headed by the Police Commissioner, comes under the West Bengal Home Ministry. The city elects three representatives to the Lok Sabha (India's lower house) and 21 representatives to the state Legislative Assembly.[98]
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation supplies potable water to the city, sourced from the Hooghly River.[99] Most of the water is purified and treated at Palta water pumping station located in North 24 Parganas.[100] 95 % of Kolkata's daily refuse of 4000 tonnes is transported to the dumping grounds in Dhapa to the east of the town.[101][102] Agriculture on this dumping ground is encouraged for natural recycling of garbage and sewer water.[103] Parts of the city still lack sewage facilities leading to unsanitary methods of waste disposal.[67] Electricity is supplied by the privately operated Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC) to the city region, and by the West Bengal State Electricity Board in the suburbs.[104][105] The city has 20 fire stations (under West Bengal Fire Service) that attend to 7,500 fire and rescue calls on average per year.[106]
State-owned BSNL and private enterprises like Vodafone, Airtel, Reliance Communications, Idea Cellular, Aircel, Tata DoCoMo, Tata Indicom, Virgin Mobile and MTS India are the leading telephone and cell phone service providers in the city.[107] Cellular coverage is extensive with both GSM and CDMA services being available. Broadband Internet penetration has steadily increased with BSNL, VSNL, Tata Indicom, Sify, Airtel and Reliance being the leading service providers.[107]
Bengali-language newspapers such as Anandabazar Patrika, Bartaman, Sangbad Pratidin, Aajkaal, Dainik Statesman , Ganashakti, Sakalbela are widely circulated.[108] The Statesman and The Telegraph are two major English-language newspapers that are produced and published from Kolkata. Other popular English-language newspapers published and sold in Kolkata include the Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, The Indian Express and the Asian Age.[108] Being the biggest trading market in East India, Kolkata has a substantial readership of many financial dailies including The Economic Times, The Financial Express, Business Line and Business Standard.[108][109] Vernacular newspapers such as those in Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, Oriya, Punjabi and Chinese are also read by a minority.[108][110]
Some major periodicals from Kolkata are Desh, Sananda, Unish Kuri, Anandalok and Anandamela.[108] Historically, Kolkata has also been the center of the Bengali little magazine movement.[111][112]
All India Radio (AIR), the state-owned radio broadcaster, airs several AM radio stations in the city.[113] Kolkata has 12 local FM radio stations, including two from AIR.[114] The state-owned television broadcaster Doordarshan provides two free terrestrial channels, while a mix of Bengali, Hindi, English and other regional channels are accessible via cable, DTH services or IPTV. Bengali 24-hour television news channels include STAR Ananda, Tara Newz, Kolkata TV, 24 Ghanta, Ne Bangla, News Time and Channel 10.
Public transport is provided by the Kolkata suburban railway, the Kolkata Metro, trams and buses. The suburban network is extensive and extends into the distant suburbs. The Kolkata Metro, run by the Indian Railways, is the oldest underground rapid transit system in India since 1984.[115] It spans the north-south length of the city covering a distance of 25.1 km (16 mi).[116] Five more lines of the Metro rail, which are under construction, will help in creating a network of rapid transit system in the city.[117] Kolkata has three major long distance railway stations at Howrah, Sealdah and Kolkata (Chitpur), which connects Kolkata by rail to most cities in West Bengal, as well as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and other major cities in India.[118] The city is the headquarters of two divisions of the Indian Railways — Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway.[119]
Buses are the preferred mode of transport and are run by both government agencies and private operators.[120] Kolkata is India's only city to have a tram network, operated by Calcutta Tramways Company.[121] The slow-moving tram services are restricted to certain areas of the city. Water-logging due to heavy rains during the monsoon sometimes interrupts the public transport.[122][123]
Hired forms of mechanised transport include the yellow metered taxis, while auto rickshaws ply in specific routes. Almost all the taxis in Kolkata are Ambassadors; however new air conditioned radio taxis has been introduced as well.[124][125][126] In some areas of the city, cycle rickshaws and hand-pulled rickshaws are also patronised by the public for short distances.[127] Private owned vehicles are less in number and usage compared to other major cities due to the abundance in both variety and number of public vehicles.[128] However, the city witnessed a steady increase in the number of registered vehicles; 2002 data showed an increase of 44% over a period of seven years.[129] The road space (matched with population density) in the city is only 6%, compared to 23% in Delhi and 17% in Mumbai, creating major traffic problems.[130] Kolkata Metro Railway and a number of new roads and flyovers have decongested the traffic to some extent. The Calcutta State Transport Corporation, South Bengal State Transport Corporation, North Bengal State Transport Corporation and other private operators, runs buses, connecting Kolkata with other parts of West Bengal as well as other states. The main bus terminus in the city are located at Esplanade, Karunamoyee, and Babughat.[131] The Kolkata – Delhi and Kolkata – Chennai prong of the Golden Quadrilateral, and National Highway 34 starts from Kolkata, providing good road connectivity with other parts of the country and the state.[132]
The Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport at Dum Dum to the north of the city, operates both domestic and international flights. The airport is presently being upgraded to accommodate increased air traffic.[133] Kolkata Port, established in 1870, is the oldest and the only major river port of India.[134] The Kolkata Port Trust manages both the Kolkata and Haldia docks.[135] There are passenger services to Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and cargo ship service to various ports in India and abroad, operated by the Shipping Corporation of India.[134][136] There are ferry services as well, connecting Kolkata with its twin city of Howrah across the Hooghly River.[137] Kolkata has both rail and road connectivity with Dhaka in Bangladesh.[138][139][140]
| Population growth of Kolkata | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1981 | 9,194,000 |
|
|
| 1991 | 11,021,900 | 19.9% | |
| 2001 | 13,114,700 | 19.0% | |
| 2011 | 15,644,040 | 19.3% | |
| Source: Census of India[143] | |||
Residents of Kolkata are called Calcuttans.[145] According to the provisional population of 2011, Kolkata city has a population of 4,486,679,[4] while the urban agglomeration had a population of 13,216,546 in 2001. The sex ratio is 899 females per 1000 males – which is lower than the national average,[146] because many working males come from rural areas and neighbouring states (mainly Bihar, UP, Orissa), where they leave behind their families.[147] Kolkata's literacy rate of 87.14%[146] exceeds the all-India average of 74%.[148] Kolkata Municipal Corporation area has registered a growth rate of 4.1%, which is the lowest among the million-plus cities in India.[149]
Bengali comprise the majority of Kolkata's population, with Marwaris and Bihari communities forming a large portion of the minorities.[150] Some of Kolkata's minor communities include Chinese, Tamils, Nepalis, Oriyas, Telugus, Assamese, Gujaratis, Anglo-Indians, Armenians, Greeks, Tibetans, Maharashtrians, Konkanis, Malayalees, Punjabis and Parsis.[151] Tibetans mostly came as traders. There were also many Armenians, Greeks and Jews, although these have declined in 20th century.[152] After the establishment of Israel, many Jews left to live in Israel and the size of the Jewish community had a severe decrease.[153] Chinatown in the eastern part of the city of Kolkata is the only Chinatown in the country.[154] The locality was once home to 20,000 ethnic Chinese, now the population has dropped to 2,000 or so.[154] The traditional occupation of the Chinese community here had been working in the nearby tanning industry and the Chinese restaurants.[154][155]
Bengali is the dominant language spoken in Kolkata, which also serves as the Official State Language. English is also used, particularly by the white-collar work force.[6]
According to the census, 73% of the population in Kolkata is Hindu, 23% Muslim, 2% Christian and 1% Jains. Other minorities such as Sikhs, Buddhist, Jews and Zoroastrian constitute the rest of the city's population.[144] 1.5 million people, who constitute about a third of the city's population, live in 2,011 registered and 3,500 unregistered (occupied by squatters) slums.[156]
Kolkata reported 67.6% of total Special and Local Laws (SLL) crimes registered in 35 Indian mega cities in 2004.[157] Kolkata police district registered 10,757 IPC cases in 2004, which was 10th highest in the country.[158] The crime rate in the city was 71 per 100,000 against the national rate of 167.7 in 2006, which is the lowest among all the mega cities in India.[159] Some estimates state that there are more than 60,000 brothel-based women and girls in prostitution in Kolkata.[160][161] The population of prostitutes in Sonagachi constitutes mainly of Nepalese, Indians and Bangladeshis.[161] Some sources estimate there are 60,000 women in the brothels of Kolkata. The largest prostitution area in city is Sonagachi.[141] [142][161]
Kolkata has long been known for its literary, artistic and revolutionary heritage. As the former capital of India, Kolkata was the birthplace of modern Indian literary and artistic thought. Kolkatans tend to have a special appreciation for art and literature; its tradition of welcoming new talent has made it a City of Furious Creative Energy.[162] For these reasons, Kolkata has often been dubbed as the Cultural Capital of India or the Literary Capital of India.[163][164]
A characteristic feature of Kolkata is with the para or neighbourhoods having a strong sense of community.[165] Typically, every para has its own community club with a clubroom and often, a playing field.[165] People here habitually indulge in adda, or leisurely chat, and these adda sessions are often a form of freestyle intellectual conversation.[166] The city has a tradition of political graffiti depicting everything from outrageous slander to witty banter and limericks, caricatures to propaganda.
Kolkata has many buildings adorned with Gothic, Baroque, Roman, Oriental and Indo-Islamic (including Mughal) motifs. Several major buildings of the Colonial period are well maintained and have been declared "heritage structures", while others are in various stages of decay. Established in 1814, the Indian Museum is the oldest museum in India and houses vast collections of Indian natural history and Indian art.[167] Marble Palace is classic example of European mansion in the city. The Victoria Memorial, one of the major places of interest in Kolkata, has a museum documenting the city's history. The National Library of India is India's leading public library. Academy of Fine Arts and other art galleries hold regular art exhibitions.
The city has a tradition of dramas in the form of jatra (a kind of folk-theatre), theatres and Group Theaters. Kolkata is the home of the Bengali cinema industry, dubbed "Tollywood" after Tollygunj, the location of Bengali movie studios. Its long tradition of Art-Film making includes globally acclaimed directors such as Academy Award winning director Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha and contemporary directors such as Aparna Sen, Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Rituparno Ghosh.
In the nineteenth and twentieth century, Bengali literature was modernized in the works of authors such as Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. This literary modernization, coupled with the social reforms led by reformers like Ram Mohan Roy, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, Swami Vivekananda and others, constituted a major part of the Bengal Renaissance . The rich literary tradition set by these authors has been carried forward in the works of Jibanananda Das, Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay, Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, Manik Bandopadhyay, Ashapurna Devi, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Buddhadeb Guha, Mahashweta Devi, Samaresh Majumdar, Sanjeev Chattopadhyay and Sunil Gangopadhyay among others.
Kolkata is also an important centre of art and has hosted many important artists like Abanindranath Tagore, Jamini Roy, Ram Kinker Baij, Bikash Bhattacharya, Paresh Maity and Devajyoti Ray. In the 1960s, the city has seen the emergence of the famous Calcutta Group, which preceded the Progressive Artists Group in field of modern Indian art. In 2005, the first exhibition on Pseudorealism was held at the Birla Academy of Art and Culture. The city continues to be the home of one of the most passionate lovers of art in country. Kolkata is often also called the backyard of Indian art.
The city is also noted for its appreciation of Rabindrasangeet and Indian classical music as well as Bengali folk music such as baul and kirtans and gajan, and modern songs including Bengali adhunik songs. From the early 1990s, there has been an emergence of new genres of music, including the emergence of what has been called Bengali Jeebonmukhi Gaan (a modern genre based on realism) by artists like Anjan Dutta, Kabir Suman, Nachiketa and folk/alternative/rock bands like Moheener Ghoraguli, Chandrabindoo, Bhoomi, Cactus, and Fossils.
Key elements of Kolkata's cuisine include rice and Machher jhol (fish curry),[168] with roshogolla, sandesh and mishti dohi (sweet yoghurt) as dessert. Bengal's vast repertoire of fish-based dishes includes various eelish preparations (a favorite among Bengalis). Street foods such as beguni (fried battered eggplant slices), kati roll (flatbread roll with vegetable or chicken, mutton, or egg stuffing), phuchka (deep fried crêpe with tamarind and lentil sauce) and Indian Chinese cuisine from China Town in the eastern parts of the city are quite popular.[169][170] Sweets occupy an important place in the diet of Kolkatans and at their social ceremonies.
Bengali women commonly wear the shaŗi as per tradition and global/western outfits. Among men, western dressing has greater acceptance, though the traditional dhoti and panjabi/kurta comes to life on festivals.
Durga Puja, in the autumn, is the most important festival and the most glamorous event in Kolkata. Other notable festivals include Jagaddhatri Puja, Diwali, Saraswati puja, Eid, Holi, Christmas, poila boishak (new year), Rath Yatra and Poush parbon (harvest festival). Some of the cultural festivals are Kolkata Book Fair, Dover Lane music festival, Kolkata Film Festival and National Theatre Festival.
Kolkata's schools are either run by the state government or by private (many of which are religious) organisations. Schools mainly use Bengali or English as the medium of instruction, though Urdu and Hindi are also used, especially in Central Kolkata.[171][172] Kolkata schools follow the 10+2+3 plan. After completing their secondary education, students typically enroll in schools with a higher secondary facility affiliated with West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education, ICSE or CBSE.[171] Students usually choose from one of three streams — liberal arts, commerce, or science, though vocational streams are also available.[171] Upon completing the required coursework, students may enrol in general or professional degree programmes.
Kolkata houses seventeen universities or autonomous institutions and numerous colleges affiliated to them or to other universities located outside. The University of Calcutta (founded in 1857), is the oldest modern university in India and has 171 affiliated colleges.[173][174][175] Jadavpur University is another notable university known for its arts, science and engineering faculties.[176] Calcutta Medical College, founded in 1835, was the first institution teaching modern medicine in Asia.[177] The first Indian Institute of Management, IIM Calcutta, is situated in Joka in the suburbs of the city. Indian Statistical Institute, a prestigious public research institute and university, is located in Baranagar.
Notable scholars from Kolkata include physicists Satyendra Nath Bose, Meghnad Saha and Jagadish Chandra Bose, chemist Prafulla Chandra Roy, statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, mathematician Raj Chandra Bose, physician Upendranath Brahmachari and educator Ashutosh Mukherjee.
The most-followed sports in Kolkata are football and cricket. Kolkata, a major centre of football activity in India and home of top national football clubs such as Mohun Bagan AC, East Bengal, prayag United S.C., and Mohammedan Sporting Club, is known as Mecca of Indian Football.[178][179][180][181] Calcutta Football League, which started in 1898, is the oldest football league in Asia and one of the oldest in the world.[182] Mohun Bagan AC, one of the oldest football clubs in Asia, is the only club to be entitled 'National Club of India'.[183][184] Kolkata is also home to Kolkata Knight Riders IPL cricket team franchise, and to Cricket Association of Bengal, which is the regulating body for the cricket in West Bengal.
As in the rest of India, cricket is extremely popular and is played throughout the city in its grounds and streets.[185][186] Tournaments, especially those involving outdoor games like cricket, football, and badminton or indoor games like carrom are regularly organized on an inter-locality or inter-club basis.[187] The maidan area hosts several minor football and cricket clubs and coaching institutes.[188]
Notable sports stars from Kolkata include former Indian national cricket captains Sourav Ganguly and Pankaj Roy, Olympic tennis bronze medallist Leander Paes. Former football stars include Sailen Manna, Chuni Goswami, P.K. Banerjee, and Subrata Bhattacharya.
The city is known for its large stadia. The Eden Gardens is one of only two 100,000-seat cricket stadiums in the world.[189] It hosted final of 1987 Cricket World Cup. It is home to Bengal cricket team and Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL. Salt Lake Stadium (also known as Yuva Bharati Krirangan)—a multi-use stadium—is the world's second largest capacity football stadium.[190][191] Calcutta Cricket and Football Club is the second-oldest cricket club in the world.[192] Kolkata has three 18-hole golf courses at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (the first golf club in the world outside Britain),[193] Tollygunge Club and Fort William. The Royal Calcutta Turf Club holds regular equestrian races and polo matches.[194] The Calcutta Polo Club is now considered as the oldest polo club of the world.[195] The Calcutta South Club is the venue for some national and international tennis tournaments, and has the distinction of holding the first Grass Court National Championship in 1946.[196][197] From 2005 to 2007, Sunfeast Open, a Tier-III tournament of Women's Tennis Association Tour, took place in Netaji Indoor Stadium, but has been discontinued. The Calcutta Rowing Club hosts regular rowing races and training. Although it is a minor sport, Kolkata is considered the "capital" of rugby union in India. The city also gives its name to the name of the oldest international tournament in rugby union, the Calcutta Cup, which is of Indian workmanship.[198][199][200] The Elite Football League of India (EFLI)—an American football league slated for a November 2012 start—has announced that the Kolkata Vipers will be a member-franchise. Although the team's first season will be played in Pune, the Vipers will be Kolkata's first professional American football franchise.[201][202] The Automobile Association of Eastern India, established in 1904 is one of the oldest automobile associations in the world, regularly organises car rally.[203][204] Bengal Motor Sports Club is actively involved in promoting motor sports and car rallies in Kolkata and West Bengal.[205][206] Beighton Cup, instituted in 1895, and organised by Bengal Hockey Association is the oldest hockey tournament in India and is usually held on the Mohun Bagan ground on the Maidan in Kolkata.[207][208]
Kolkata has sister city relationships with the following cities of the world.[209][210]
| Sister city | Country |
|---|---|
| Long Beach | United States |
| Odessa | Ukraine |
| Macau | China S.A.R. |
| Thessaloniki | Greece |
| Naples | Italy |
| Dhaka | Bangladesh |
| Guangzhou | China |
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Kolkata Kolkata] at Wikimedia Commons