West Bengal

West Bengal State

List of political parties in the state

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The capital city of West Bengal is Kolkata. The primary language of West Bengal is Bengali. Since 1977, the state has been ruled by Left Front, who repeatedly won democratic elections.

Related Topics:
Kolkata - Language - Bengali - 1977 - Left Front

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Subdivisions

West Bengal is composed of 19 districts http://districts.nic.in/disdetails.asp?sc=wb :

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Often Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, North Dinajpur and

Related Topics:
Cooch Behar - Darjeeling - Jalpaiguri - North Dinajpur

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South Dinajpur districts are together termed as North Bengal.

Related Topics:
South Dinajpur - North Bengal

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• Bankura
• Bardhaman
• Birbhum
• Cooch Behar
• Darjeeling
• Hooghly
• Howrah
• Jalpaiguri
• Kolkata
• Malda
• Midnapore East
• Midnapore West
• Murshidabad
• Nadia
• Purulia
• North 24 Parganas
• South 24 Parganas
• North Dinajpur
• South Dinajpur

A map of the districts can be seen at the official State of West Bengal website.

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Climate

The climate of West Bengal is tropical. The land is mostly plains, except for the northern region, which is a part of Himalayan Mountain Range. Darjeeling, in the north is well known for its high quality teas. At the south of West Bengal the Sundarbans delta on Ganga is a part of the world's largest river delta (other portions lie in Bangladesh). This region is famous for the Bengal Tiger.

Related Topics:
Tropical - Himalayan Mountain Range - Darjeeling - Tea - Sundarbans - Ganga - River delta - Bangladesh - Bengal Tiger

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Economy

West Bengal has the third largest economy (2003-2004) in India after Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. In terms of per capita income it ranks twelfth (2003-2004).

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Culture

Bengal is one of the most important cultural hubs of India. There was a saying, "What Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow". It is the birthplace of India's only Nobel laureate in literature, Rabindranath Tagore. The world famous film director Satyajit Ray was also born here. He along with Bhanu Athaiya is one of only two Oscar winners from India, and won an Oscar for Life Time Achievement. Apart from this, Bengal gave birth to innumerable well known poets and writers who enriched the world literature ceaselessly. Some prominent members include Kazi Nazrul Islam, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay and Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. Also from West Bengal is the famous Indian singer in films, Kishore Kumar ( a Bengali by lineage but born in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, India), as well as the world-famous sitarist Ravi Shankar.

Related Topics:
Nobel laureate in literature - Rabindranath Tagore - Satyajit Ray - Kazi Nazrul Islam - Michael Madhusudan Dutt - Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay - Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay - Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay - Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay - Kishore Kumar - Ravi Shankar

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Famous people

During independence movement, Bengal took a leading and especially militant role. Subhash Chandra Bose, who was belovedly called "Netaji", is still considered an exemplar of courage for Indian youth. S. N. Bose, FRS 1958, from whom the boson particle and Bose-Einstein theory get their names, was also a Bengali. Rabindranath Tagore also won the Nobel Prize in Literature for "Gitanjali" in 1913. Amartya Sen, who won Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998 is a Bengali. The other scientists of repute from Bengal have been Jagdish Chandra Bose (FRS 1920), M. N. Saha (FRS 1927), P.C. Mahalanobis (FRS, 1945), S. K. Mitra (FRS, 1958) and Ashesh Prosad Mitra (FRS 1988), all Fellows of the Royal Society. Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy was a nationalist teacher (Professor of Chemistry and the Founder of Bengal Chemicals). The noted educationist Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee was known as the Tiger of Bengal. Pundit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a great reformist of Bengal. Incidentally, Raja Ram Mohan Roy is considered to be the First Modern Man of India.

Related Topics:
Subhash Chandra Bose - S. N. Bose, FRS 1958 - Boson - Bose-Einstein - Rabindranath Tagore - Nobel Prize in Literature - Gitanjali - Amartya Sen - Nobel Prize in Economics - 1998 - Jagdish Chandra Bose - M. N. Saha - P.C. Mahalanobis - Ashesh Prosad Mitra - Royal Society - Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy - Ashutosh Mukherjee - Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar - Ram Mohan Roy

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In Politics , Shri Ashoke Kumar Sen was among the first cabinet ministers of India , most remembered for being the minister of law and justice. From independance to 1996 , he was a member of parliament , holding the seat for a record number of years which is yet to be broken.

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In the religious realm, Bengal gave birth to great Hindu sages and saints like Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, (a 15th century major Vaishnava leader), Ramprasad Sen (a famous Kali Bhakta and poet) and Ramakrishna Paramhansa; others include Swami Vivekananda (the most renowned of Shri Ramakrishna's disciples), Śrī Aurobindo Ghosh, and A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

Related Topics:
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu - 15th century - Vaishnava - Kali - Ramakrishna Paramhansa - Swami Vivekananda - Śrī Aurobindo - A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada - Acharya - International Society for Krishna Consciousness - ISKCON

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In the recreational domain P.C. Sorcar was a famous magician.

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Famous athletes from this state include the cricketer and former Indian Cricket Captain, Sourav Ganguly, tennis star Leander Paes, athlete Jyotirmoyee Sikdar. Former Cricketer Pankaj Roy had also been the skipper of the Indian cricket team.

Related Topics:
Cricket - Sourav Ganguly - Tennis - Leander Paes - Athlete - Jyotirmoyee Sikdar - Pankaj Roy

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