Kolkata (/kɒlˈkɑːtə/[16] or /kɒlˈkʌtə/,[17] Bengali: [ˈkolˌkata] ( listen), also

rendered Calcutta /kælˈkʌtə/,[17] the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West
Bengal. Located on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, the city is approximately 80 kilometres
(50 mi) west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commercial, and financial hub
of Eastern India and the main port of communication for North-East India,[18] as well as having the third-
largest urban economy of India.[14] Kolkata is home to 9,600 millionaires and 4 billionaires with a total
wealth of $290 billion.[19][20] According to the 2011 Indian census, Kolkata is the seventh-most
populous city in India, with a population of 4.5 million residents within the city limits, and a population of
over 14.1 million residents in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area, making it the third-most populous
metropolitan area in India. The Port of Kolkata is India's oldest operating port and its sole major riverine
port. Kolkata is known as the "cultural capital of India" for the city's historical and architectural
significance.[1][21][22]
In the late 17th century, the three villages that predated Calcutta were ruled by the Nawab of
Bengal under Mughal suzerainty. After the Nawab granted the East India Company a trading licence in
1690,[23] the area was developed by the Company into an increasingly fortified trading post. Nawab Siraj
ud-Daulah occupied Calcutta in 1756, and the East India Company retook it the following year. In 1793
the East India company was strong enough to abolish rule, and assumed full sovereignty of the region.
Under the company rule and later under the British Raj, Calcutta served as the capital of British-held
territories in India until 1911, when its perceived geographical disadvantages, combined with growing
nationalism in Bengal, led to a shift of the capital to New Delhi. Calcutta was the centre for the Indian
independence movement. Following independence in 1947, Kolkata, which was once the centre of
Indian commerce, culture, and politics, suffered many decades of political violence and economic
stagnation.[24]
A demographically diverse city, the culture of Kolkata features idiosyncrasies that include
distinctively close-knit neighbourhoods (paras) and freestyle conversations (adda). Kolkata is home to
West Bengal's film industry Tollywood, and cultural institutions, such as the Academy of Fine Arts,
the Victoria Memorial, the Asiatic Society, the Indian Museum and the National Library of India. Among
scientific institutions, Kolkata hosts the Agri Horticultural Society of India, the Geological Survey of
India, the Botanical Survey of India, the Calcutta Mathematical Society, the Indian Science Congress
Association, the Zoological Survey of India, the Institution of Engineers, the Anthropological Survey of
India and the Indian Public Health Association. Four Nobel laureates and two Nobel Memorial Prize
winners are associated with the city.[25] Though home to major cricketing venues and franchises,
Kolkata differs from other Indian cities by focusing on association football and other sports.