February 13, 2012
History of Kolkata does not have a long history. As per the documents found, the history of the city starts with the arrival of the British East India Company in 1690. The company at that time was strengthening its base in Bengal. Job Charmock of the company was being considered as the founder the city of Kolkata till recently in 2003 when the Kolkata high court ruled that city does not have any specific founder. The present city of Kolkata was once divided in three small villages namely Kalikata, Gobindapur and Sutanuti. These regions were earlier the parts of Mughal estate and a local family was holding its Jahagirdari rights. It was in 1698 that these rights came to the East India Company.
The British built the Fort William in 1712 and made Calcutta as a Presidency City. Later on Calcutta was declared as capital of Bengal Presidency. Sensing the possible threat from French force the British further fortified the city. Nawab of Bengal Siraj-Ud-Daulah captured the fort William only to lose it back to the British. The year 1772 saw the city of Calcutta becoming the capital of British India. Government area of the city was extended up to the bank of Hooghly River. Richard Wellesley who was the Governor General from 1797 to 1805 is credited for the development and beautiful architectural buildings in the city that made Calcutta to be known as the city of palaces. During the time of British rule in India, Calcutta also served as a major center of Opium trading.
Calcutta during the British rule produced a new class of people called as Babu. Office goers, bureaucrats, professional, news paper readers referred popularly as Babus. These people belonged to the upper casts of Hindu communities. Calcutta became the center of independence movements. Partition of Bengal in 1905 by the British on communal basis led to wide agitations in the city along with other parts of the country. This communal move of the British also witnessed the boycott of British goods in Calcutta. It was in 1911 that the capital of British India was changed from Calcutta to Delhi. Calcutta and its port were attacked by Japan during the Second World War In addition it was the infamous Bengal famine of 1943 which witnessed many people starving to death.
After the independence of India in 1947 the city of Calcutta witnessed many social, economic and political movements which had the long lasting impression on the city and state of west Bengal as a whole. Marxist movement during 1960-1970 led the city and the state to economic stagnation. During the Bangladesh liberation war the city saw a large influx of people of that country and that led to a massive collapse of city’s infrastructure. Calcutta was the most populous city till 1980 when it was overtaken by Mumbai. It was in January 2001 that the name of Calcutta was changed to Kolkata.
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