Marked by distinctive geographical locations and rich culture as well as heritage, West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India with the scenic beauty of Darjeeling’s hill stations to Sundarbans’s exotic mangrove surrounded by Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh as its border.
West Bengal is also considered the hub of several political revolutions and a doorway to European education. However, there are still lesser-known yet amazing facts about the state.
To know what they are, keep on reading.
The former capital of British India
Kolkata (then Calcutta) was the first capital of British India. The first governor-general of colonial India, Sir Warren Hastings transferred all important offices to Calcutta from Murshidabad in 1772 after British Raj took over the Mughal in India.
For the convenience of the Calcutta port and other favourable geographical locations that benefited the British rulers, the offices were shifted to Calcutta. Following that the construction of railways started and the Grand Trunk Road which connected Calcutta to Peshawar (now in Pakistan) was completed which resulted in the development of business and industry.
Later, in 1911 the capital of India was moved to Delhi.
The Land of Renaissance in India:
Bengal is called as the Land of Renaissance for its contribution to several social reformation and enlightenment of the masses. Many illustrious personalities belonged to Bengal who actively contributed to the freedom fights and brought about a social and cultural change in society for the better. Some of the eminent personalities are Subhash Chandra Bose, Swami Vivekananda, Raja Rammohun Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar to name a few.
Bengal was also considered the doorway to European education. The Asiatic Society in Calcutta founded by Sir William Jones in 1784 aimed at serving as a fountainhead to constitute all literary and scientific activities and also supported the promotion of Western culture in India.
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