West Bengal

About West Bengal

West Bengal (Bengali: পশ্চিমবঙ্গ poːʂɕɪɱ bɔŋ̍ɢɔ) is a state in eastern India. With Bangladesh, which lies on its eastern border, the state forms the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. To its northeast lie the states of Assam and Sikkim and the country Bhutan, and to its southwest, the state of Orissa. To the west it borders the state of Jharkhand and Bihar, and to the northwest, Nepal.

Prior to the colonization of undivided Bengal by European rulers (British East India Company), Bengal was part of the Mughal Empire. During the European administration over Bengal, railways and modern universities were introduced, but the state also endured various devastating famines. A hotbed of the Indian independence movement through the early 20th century, Bengal was divided in 1947 into two separate entities, West Bengal - a state of India, and East Pakistan. Following India's independence in 1947, West Bengal's economic and political systems were dominated for many decades by Marxism, Naxalite movements and trade unionism. The state is currently administered by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), led by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya.

West Bengal occupies only 2.7% of the India's land area, though it supports over 7.8% of Indian population, and is the most densely populated state in India. While West Bengal has seen a resurgence in its economy after decades of stagnation, the state is still faced with poverty, social tensions and bureaucratic corruption.

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Quotes about West Bengal

“ It is ridiculous that governments, sometimes run by the Communist Party of India in states such as Kerala and West Bengal, arrogate unto themselves the right to manage temple affairs including the conduct of religious rituals. ”
Swaminathan Venkataraman in Collapse of Tirupathi Tower shocks HAF

Mentioned In 62 Articles
Cynical politics,weak state

Explore Article The Pioneer > Online Edition (Jul 4 2010) Human Rights

...sored and spawned by the Islamabad-Rawalpindi establishment in Pakistan in the States of Kerala and West Bengal, the Congress and other ‘champions of secularism’ do the same in the rest of the country. The likes... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Uttar Pradesh Kerala Police Kerala
'Reservation on religious ground unconstitutional'

Explore Article ZeeNews (Jul 2 2010)

...reservation on religious grounds in the Constitution. Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority, a West Bengal government agency, had on March 10 floated an advertisement for sale of nearly 300 flats at Baishna... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Calcutta Kolkata West Bengal
New home for Bhutan's refugees

Explore Article guardian.co.uk (Jun 16 2010) Human Rights

...90 I left for India. I walked for two hours to Kulkule and from there I rode a bus to Jayagaon in West Bengal, India. In Jayagaon I met a lot of Bhutanese refugees. As the crackdown continued in Bhutan, the nu... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Nepal New York Calcutta
Sri Kalahasti Temple "Raja Gopuram" collapses Video

Explore Article 21 DECEMBER 2012 (Jun 10 2010)

...culous that governments, sometimes run by the Communist Party of India in states such as Kerala and West Bengal, arrogate unto themselves the right to manage temple affairs including the conduct of religious rit... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Kerala HAF 's Board of Directors Tirupati
Foundation Devastated Over Collapse of Sri Kalahasti ...

Explore Article newsblaze.com (Jun 2 2010)

...culous that governments, sometimes run by the Communist Party of India in states such as Kerala and West Bengal, arrogate unto themselves the right to manage temple affairs including the conduct of religious rit... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Kerala Vijayanagar Andhra Pradesh
Foundation Devastated over Collapse of Sri Kalahasti temple tower ...

Explore Article PUPUTUPU (Jun 2 2010)

...culous that governments, sometimes run by the Communist Party of India in states such as Kerala and West Bengal, arrogate unto themselves the right to manage temple affairs including the conduct of religious rit... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Kerala HAF 's Board of Directors Tirupati
Collapse of Tirupathi Tower shocks HAF

Explore Article South Asia Mail (Jun 2 2010)

...culous that governments, sometimes run by the Communist Party of India in states such as Kerala and West Bengal, arrogate unto themselves the right to manage temple affairs including the conduct of religious rit... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Kerala Communist Party of India HAF 's Board of Directors
Hope is gone: 800 Mumbai families lose home

Explore Article IBNLive (May 19 2010)

... cyclone. The IED was planted on a road between Pingboni and Ramgarh on the outskirts of Lalgarh in West Bengal. The accused Arun allegedly used to sedate his wife and then take her nude photos and videos. Heavy... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Aanchal Jaiswal Hosbert Suresh BMC
Maoists saga- challenge of conversion

Explore Article MyNews.in (Apr 30 2010)

...al ... Maoists saga- challenge of conversion Bookmark and Share Keywords: Maoists , Christian , West bengal , Digvijay singh , P Chidambaram , Kerala , Posted On: 30-Apr-2010 12:12:21 By: N Krish... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Congress Naxals Madhya Pradesh High Court
April 13th – The Sikh Celebration of Vaisakhi and Birth of the Khalsa

Explore Article Chakra News (Apr 13 2010)

...ar is also celebrated today by Hindus in Nepal and various Indian states such as Kerala, Orissa and West Bengal. (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Kerala Punjab Nepal
Chittagong Hill Tracts: Call for UN Intervention on the Persecution of ...

Explore Article UNPO - Home (Mar 16 2010) Human Rights

...gentsia. It is these intellectuals who are the main source of inspirations of the general people in West Bengal who are now determined to vote out the present Left government in the next Assembly elections slate... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Bangladesh Army West Bengal
Indian Court Strikes Down Quotas for Backward Classes of Muslims

Explore Article Religion Clause (Feb 8 2010)

...decision with the Supreme Court.Meanwhile according to today's Business Standard, the government of West Bengal announced a 10% set-aside of government jobs for Muslims there who are economically, socially and ... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: New Delhi Andhra Pradesh BJP
Terror Rules In Pakistan - South Asia Intelligence Review

Explore Article Eurasia Review (Feb 8 2010) Terrorism

...1 2 6 9 Manipur 0 0 6 6 Left-wing Extremism Chhattisgarh 0 0 13 13 Jharkhand 3 1 0 4 Orissa 2 0 0 2 West Bengal 2 0 0 2 Total (INDIA) 9 3 30 42 NEPAL 0 0 2 2 PAKISTAN FATA 3 5 108 116 NWFP 4 5 3 12 Sindh 33 0 1 ... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Mike Mullen Syed Salahuddin Rehman Malik
Violation of Human Rights in India

Explore Article Pakistan News Service (Dec 16 2009) Human Rights

...epal, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The action against Maoists-Naxalites in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and other states are pure example of Indian state terrorism. Indian violation of human rights is ey... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Bangladesh Gujarat Congress Party
Dalit women more humiliated when raped: Study

Explore Article The Times of India (Dec 15 2009) Human Rights

...he respondents were across 12 states: Delhi, Meghalaya, Assam, Karnataka, Tripura, Maharashtra, UP, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar and Gujarat. Being a first of its kind, interviewers too we... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Rajat Mitra Geneva Andhra Pradesh