India States - West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India.The capital of the state is Kolkata. West Bengal is the home of world famous personalities like Mother Theresa, Sourav Ganguly. Kolkotha is the major city and Eaden Gardens stadium is one of best stadiums in India Neighbouring regions are Nepal to the northwest, Sikkim and Bhutan to the north, Assam to the northeast, Bangladesh to the east, the Bay of Bengal to the south, Orissa to the southwest and Jharkhand and Bihar to the west. When Indian independence was achieved in 1947, Bengal was partitioned into predominantly Hindu West Bengal and predominantly Muslim East Pakistan. On 2 October 1955, Chandannagar, a former enclave of French India which had passed into Indian control after 1950, was integrated into West Bengal state. Certain portions of Bihar state were also merged with West Bengal.

West Bengal’s wild life offers a fascinating diversity of terrain, flora and fauna. It is a delight for nature lovers. It is the home to the World Heritage Site Sunderbans. Breathtaking Beaches premise the perfect escape to tranquility !!! The coastal strip of West Bengal, extending from the Gangetic delta land to the border of Orissa, presents some beautiful options in sea resorts. All of these offer wide, flat, hard beaches, a gently rolling sea, rows of casuarina forests and a pleasant, warm weather round the year. Down south from Kolkata, the coastal areas of West Bengal present eye-catching beautiful options: Digha,Shankarpur,Junput, Bakkhali etc.

Agriculture is the chief occupation of the people of the state. Rice is the principal food crop of West Bengal with maize, pulses, oil seeds, wheat, barley, potatoes and vegetables being others. Jute is the main cash crop of this region, tea being the second. Darjeeling tea is famous for its high quality. Tobacco and sugarcane are also grown in the state. The industries in the state are localised in Kolkata region and the mineral-rich western highlands.The state is also major producer of tea and jute products. Manufacturing industris like engineering products, electronics, electrical equipment, cables, steel, leather, textiles, jewellery, frigates, automobiles, railway coaches, wagons etc. also play important role. Kolkata is also becoming a major hub for the Information Technology. Owing to the recent boom in the economy of Kolkata and also the state as a whole, West Bengal is now the third fastest growing economy in the country. West Bengal has the fourth largest economy (2003-2004) in India.

Also called the cultural capital of India, Bengal is one of the most important cultural hubs of India. It is the birthplace of India's only Nobel laureate in literature, Rabindranath Tagore. The world famous film director Satyajit Ray, the only Indian to have won an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, was also born here. Apart from this, Bengal gave birth to innumerable well-known poets and writers who enriched the world literature ceaselessly. Some prominent members include Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay and Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay.