What is the history of Kolkatta city?

Question

Who created it,why it is named so,who all ruled here,what are it's specialities?

Answer 1

in the british rule calcutta was the capital of india...the name has been changed to kolkata by indian government...

Answer 2

In 1702, the British completed the construction of old Fort William,[8] which was used to station its troops and as a regional base. Kolkata (then Calcutta) was declared a Presidency City, and later became the headquarters of the Bengal Presidency.

For more information visit -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkatta

Answer 3

The History of Kolkata dates back to late seventeenth century. While the archaeologists believe that the area has been inhabited for over two thousand years, the documented history of Kolkata, however, starts from the arrival of the British East India Company in 1690. The company, headed by Job Charnock, decided in view of spreading its business in Bengal, to establish a city.

The British constructed Fort William in 1702 so as to station its troops and use it as a regional base.

The Nawab of Bengal Siraj-Ud-Daula protested against this militarization. When his pleas went unheeded he attacked and captured Fort William. In the following year, Robert Clive recaptured the city defeating and killing Siraj-Ud-Daula.

The city served as the capital in India during the British Raj until 1911. Once the centre of modern education, science, culture and politics in India, Kolkata witnessed economic stagnation in the years following India's independence in 1947. Since 2000 however, an economic rejuvenation has arrested the morbid decline, leading to a spurt in the city's growth.

How Kolkata got its name

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The names Kolkata and Calcutta were probably based on Kalikata, the name of one of the three villages (Kalikata, Sutanuti, Gobindapur) in the area before the arrival of the British. "Kalikata", in turn, is an anglicised version of Kalikshetra ("Land of the goddess Kali"). However, other theories exist regarding the origin of the name.

The original settlement of the city was claimed to be located beside a khal, meaning a canal in Bengali. Khal might have given rise to the name. Again, the place was known for the manufacture of shell-lime and the name could have been derived from lime (kali) and burnt shell (kata).

Alternatively, the name may have been derived from the Bengali term kilkila ("flat area"). The government of West Bengal changed the official name of the city from Calcutta to Kolkata; the new name was legalised in 2001. A number of other Indian cities have enacted similar name changes.