1.
India
–
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
2.
States and union territories of India
–
India is a federal union comprising twenty-nine states and seven union territories. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and further into smaller administrative divisions, the Constitution of India distributes the sovereign executive and legislative powers exercisable with respect to the territory of any State between the Union and that State. The Indian subcontinent has been ruled by different ethnic groups throughout its history. Between 1947 and 1950, the territories of the states were politically integrated into the Indian Union. The new Constitution of India, which came into force on 26 January 1950, the new republic was also declared to be a Union of States. The nine Part A states were Assam, Bihar, Bombay, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Orissa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The eight Part B states were former princely states or groups of states, governed by a rajpramukh, who was usually the ruler of a constituent state. The rajpramukh was appointed by the President of India, the Part B states were Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Bharat, Mysore, Patiala and East Punjab States Union, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, and Travancore-Cochin. The ten Part C states included both the former chief commissioners provinces and some states, and each was governed by a chief commissioner appointed by the President of India. The Part C states were Ajmer, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Coorg, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Cutch, Manipur, Tripura, the only Part D state was the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which were administered by a lieutenant governor appointed by the central government. The Union Territory of Puducherry was created in 1954 comprising the previous French enclaves of Pondichéry, Karaikal, Yanam, Andhra State was created on 1 October 1953 from the Telugu-speaking northern districts of Madras State. The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 reorganised the states based on linguistic lines resulting in the creation of the new states, as a result of this act, Madras State retained its name with Kanyakumari district added to from Travancore-Cochin. Andhra Pradesh was created with the merger of Andhra State with the Telugu-speaking districts of Hyderabad State in 1956, kerala was created with the merger of Malabar district and the Kasaragod taluk of South Canara districts of Madras State with Travancore-Cochin. The Laccadive Islands which were divided between South Canara and Malabar districts of Madras State were united and organised into the territory of Lakshadweep. Bombay State was enlarged by the addition of Saurashtra State and Kutch State, Rajasthan and Punjab gained territories from Ajmer and Patiala and East Punjab States Union respectively and certain territories of Bihar was transferred to West Bengal. Bombay State was split into the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra on 1 May 1960 by the Bombay Reorganisation Act. Nagaland was formed on 1 December 1963, the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966 resulted in the creation of Haryana on 1 November and the transfer of the northern districts of Punjab to Himachal Pradesh. The act also designated Chandigarh as a territory and the shared capital of Punjab
3.
West Bengal
–
West Bengal is an Indian state, located in East India on the Bay of Bengal. It is Indias fourth-most populous state, with over 91 million inhabitants and it has a total area of 34,267 sq mi, making it similar in size to Serbia. A part of the ethno-linguistic Bengal region, it borders Bangladesh in the east and Nepal and it also has borders five Indian states, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata, the seventh-largest city in India, the geography of West Bengal includes the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region in its extreme north, the Ganges delta, the Rarh region and the coastal Sundarbans. The main ethnic group are the Bengali people, with Bengali Hindus forming the demographic majority, Ancient Bengal was the site of several major janapadas, including Vanga, Radha, Pundra and Suhma. In the 2nd century BC, the region was conquered by the emperor Ashoka, in the 4th century AD, it was absorbed into the Gupta Empire. From the 13th century onward, the region was ruled by sultans, powerful Hindu states and Baro-Bhuyan landlords. The British East India Company cemented their hold on the following the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Between 1977 and 2011, the state was administered by the worlds longest elected Communist government, a major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to Indias net domestic product. It is noted for its activities and the presence of cultural and educational institutions. The states cultural heritage, besides varied folk traditions, ranges from stalwarts in literature including Nobel-laureate Rabindranath Tagore to scores of musicians, film-makers and artists. West Bengal is also distinct from most other Indian states in its appreciation and practice of playing football besides cricket. The origin of the name Bengal is unknown, one theory suggests that the word derives from Bang, a Dravidian tribe that settled the region around 1000 BC. The word might have derived from the ancient kingdom of Vanga. Although some early Sanskrit literature mentions the name, the early history is obscure. At the end of British Rule over the Indian subcontinent, the Bengal region was partitioned in 1947 along religious lines into east and west, the east came to be known as East Bengal and the west came to known as West Bengal, which continued as an Indian state. In 2011, the Government of West Bengal proposed a change in the name of the state to Poschimbongo. This is the name of the state, literally meaning western Bengal in the native Bengali language
4.
Kolkata
–
Kolkata /koʊlˈkɑːtɑː/ is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. In 2011, the city had a population of 4.5 million, while the population of the city and its suburbs was 14.1 million, making it the third-most populous metropolitan area in India. Recent estimates of Kolkata Metropolitan Areas economy have ranged from $60 to $150 billion making it third most-productive metropolitan area in India, after Mumbai, in the late 17th century, the three villages that predated Calcutta were ruled by the Nawab of Bengal under Mughal suzerainty. After the Nawab granted the East India Company a trading licence in 1690, Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah occupied Calcutta in 1756, and the East India Company retook it the following year. In 1793 the East India company was enough to abolish Nizamat. Calcutta was the centre for the Indian independence movement, it remains a hotbed of contemporary state politics, following Indian independence in 1947, Kolkata, which was once the centre of modern Indian education, science, culture, and politics, suffered several decades of economic stagnation. Many people from Kolkata—among them several Nobel laureates—have contributed to the arts, the sciences, Kolkata culture features idiosyncrasies that include distinctively close-knit neighbourhoods and freestyle intellectual exchanges. Though home to major cricketing venues and franchises, Kolkata differs from other Indian cities by giving importance to association football, there are several explanations about the etymology of this name, The term Kolikata is thought to be a variation of Kalikkhetrô, meaning Field of Kali. Similarly, it can be a variation of Kalikshetra, alternatively, the name may have been derived from the Bengali term kilkila, or flat area. The name may have its origin in the words khal meaning canal, followed by kaṭa, according to another theory, the area specialised in the production of quicklime or koli chun and coir or kata, hence, it was called Kolikata. The discovery and archaeological study of Chandraketugarh,35 kilometres north of Kolkata, Kolkatas recorded history began in 1690 with the arrival of the English East India Company, which was consolidating its trade business in Bengal. The area occupied by the city encompassed three villages, Kalikata, Gobindapur, and Sutanuti. Kalikata was a village, Sutanuti was a riverside weavers village. They were part of an estate belonging to the Mughal emperor and these rights were transferred to the East India Company in 1698. In 1712, the British completed the construction of Fort William, facing frequent skirmishes with French forces, the British began to upgrade their fortifications in 1756. The Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, condemned the militarisation and his warning went unheeded, and the Nawab attacked, he captured Fort William which led to the killings of several East India company officials in the Black Hole of Calcutta. A force of Company soldiers and British troops led by Robert Clive recaptured the city the following year, declared a presidency city, Calcutta became the headquarters of the East India Company by 1772. In 1793, ruling power of the Nawabs were abolished and East India company took control of the city
5.
Kolkata district
–
Kolkata district is an administrative district of the Indian state of West Bengal. It contains the part of the city of Kolkata. As regards civic infrastructure, the area of Kolkata District is under the administration of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. But other parts of the area, and of the citys suburban areas, belong to the districts of North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly. Kolkata District is bordered by Howrah District, North 24 Parganas District, the office of the Kolkata Collector is in B. B. D. Bag, north of the General Post Office, none of the constituencies is reserved for Scheduled Castes candidates. Kolkata Uttar consists Chowringhee, Entally, Beliaghata, Jorasanko, Shyampukur, Maniktala, cossipur, Shyampukur, Jorabagan, Barabazar, Bowbazar and Taltola constituencies formed the Calcutta North West. Entally, Beliaghata, Sealdah, Vidyasagar, Burtola, Manicktola, along with four assembly constituencies from South 24 Parganas district, Chowringhee, Rashbehari Avenue and Ballygunje constituencies formed the Calcutta South. According to the 2011 census Kolkata district has a population of 4,486,679 and this gives it a ranking of 35th in India. The district has a density of 24,252 inhabitants per square kilometre. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was -1. 88%, Kolkata has a sex ratio of 899 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 87. 14%. Kolkata metropolitan area Map of Kolkata district
6.
Municipal corporation
–
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which they are located, often, this event is marked by the award or declaration of a municipal charter. A city charter or town charter is a document establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages and is considered to be a version of a constitution. Traditionally the granting of a charter gave a settlement and its inhabitants the right to town privileges under the feudal system, townspeople who lived in chartered towns were burghers, as opposed to serfs who lived in villages. Towns were often free, in the sense that they were protected by the king or emperor. Today the process for granting charters is determined by the type of government of the state in question, in monarchies, charters are still often a royal charter given by the Crown or the state authorities acting on behalf of the Crown. In federations, the granting of charters may be within the jurisdiction of the level of government such as a state or province. In Brazil, municipal corporations are called municípios and are created by means of legislation at the state level. All municipal corporations must also abide by a municipal law which is passed and amended at the municipal level. In Canada charters are granted by provincial authorities, in Germany, municipal corporations existed since antiquity and through medieval times, until they became out of favour during the absolutism. In order to strengthen the spirit, the city law of Prussia dated 19 November 1808 picked up this concept. It is the basis of municipal law. In India, a Municipal Corporation is a local government body. This standard varies from state to state, according to laws passed by state legislatures, the Corporation of Chennai was the first Municipal Corporation in India. It was established on 29 September 1688 by the British East India Company, the second was Hyderabad Municipal Corporation established in 1869 by the Nizam rulers of Hyderabad State. The third was the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, established in 1876, the Bombay Municipal Corporation was established in 1888 by the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act. The Delhi Municipal Council was established in 1911 during the Delhi Durbar when New Delhi was proclaimed to be the new Capital of India and it was elevated to Municipal Corporation level on 7 April 1958 by an Act of Parliament which established the Municipal Corporation of Delhi
7.
Kolkata Municipal Corporation
–
Kolkata Municipal Corporation or KMC is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city of Kolkata. This civic administrative body administers an area of 200.71 km2 and its motto, Purosree Bibardhan, is inscribed on its emblem in Bengali script. KMC is headed by Sovan Chatterjee the present Mayor of Kolkata, the KMC was established in 1876. Later mayors include Deshapriya Jatindra Mohan Sengupta, Bidhan Chandra Roy, Nalini Ranjan Sarkar, Abul Kasem Fazlul Haque, the city is divided into 144 administrative wards that are grouped into 15 boroughs. Each of these elects a councillor to the KMC. Each borough has a committee consisting of the elected from the respective wards of the boroughs. The Corporation, through the committees, maintains government-aided schools, hospitals and municipal markets and partakes in urban planning. The corporation as the apex body discharges its function through the Mayor-in-Council, consisting of a mayor, assisted by a deputy mayor, the mayor is responsible for the overall functioning of the KMC and has a tenure of five years. At present, the All India Trinamool Congress holds the power in the KMC, recently the KMC has faced a lot of criticism for legalising unauthorized construction largely responsible for a number of deaths because of fire. This was also responsible of the growth in the city. The city also has an apolitical titular post, that of the Sheriff of Kolkata, the Sheriff presides over various city-related functions and conferences. Another ancillary civic body is the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority responsible for the statutory planning, the KMA includes a large suburban hinterland around the urban centres of Kolkata. The jurisdiction of the KMC covers the area covered by the Kolkata Police, according to KMC website, erstwhile Joka-I & Joka-II Gram Panchayats were added to municipal limits, although information on their distribution into wards was not available. This addition increases the area of KMC to 200.71 square kilometres, in 2011, it was announced that Kolkata Police and Kolkata Municipal Corporation area will be coterminous. Kolkata Postal District however extends right up to Barrackpur in the North, Barasat in the East, up to Baruipur in South-East and Joka in South, the Postal code in this entire area starts with 700, indicating Postal Sorting District of Kolkata. Thus Kolkata Postal area is bigger than the area of KMC. In general term, people identify a locality with its Postal address, Postal address of people residing in the delivery jurisdiction of any of the 160 Delivery Post offices of Kolkata will be having PIN Code no. from 700001 to 700160. So for all practical purpose, anyone residing in Kolkata Postal area, the KMC is responsible for administering and providing basic infrastructure to the city
8.
Lok Sabha
–
The Lok Sabha is the Lower house of Indias bicameral Parliament, with the Upper house being the Rajya Sabha. The house meets in the Lok Sabha Chambers of the Sansad Bhavan in New Delhi, under the current laws, the strength of Lok Sabha is 545, including the two seats reserved for members of the Anglo-Indian community. The total elective membership is distributed among the states in proportion to their population, a total of 131 seats are reserved for representatives of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The quorum for the House is 10% of the total membership, term of the House The Lok Sabha, unless sooner dissolved, continues to operate for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and the expiration of the period of five years. An exercise to redraw Lok Sabha constituencies boundaries has been carried out by the Delimitation Commission based on the Indian census of 2001, the 16th Lok Sabha was elected in May 2014 and is the latest to date. The Lok Sabha has its own channel, Lok Sabha TV. A major portion of the Indian subcontinent was under British rule from 1858 to 1947, the Indian Councils Act 1861 provided for a Legislative Council consisting of the members of the Executive Council and non-official members. The Indian Councils Act 1892 established legislatures in each of the provinces of British India, although these Acts increased the representation of Indians in the government, their power still remained limited, and the electorate very small. The Indian Councils Act 1909 and the Government of India Act 1919 further expanded the participation of Indians in the administration, the Constituent Assembly was divided into two for the separate nations, with each new Assembly having sovereign powers transferred to it for the respective dominion. The Constitution of India was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into effect on 26 January 1950, proclaiming India to be a sovereign, democratic republic. This contained the principles of the law of the land which would govern India in its new form. The Lok Sabha was duly constituted for the first time on 17 April 1952 after the first General Elections held from 25 October 1951 to 21 February 1952 and he / She should not be less than 25 years of age. He / She possesses such other qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under any law made by Parliament, a seat in the Lok Sabha will become vacant in the following circumstances, When the holder of the seat, by writing to the speaker, resigns. When the holder of the seat is absent from 60 consecutive days of proceedings of the House, when the holder of the seat is subject to any disqualifications mentioned in the Constitution or any law enacted by Parliament. A seat may also be vacated when the holder stands disqualified under the Anti-Defection Law, a member both of Parliament and of a House of the Legislature of a State. System of elections in Lok Sabha Members of the Lok Sabha are directly elected by the people of India, for the purpose of holding direct elections to Lok Sabha, each state is divided into territorial constituencies. This provision does not apply for states having a population of less than 6 million, note, The expression population here refers to the population ascertained at the preceding census of which relevant figure have been published. Lok Sabha has certain powers that make it more powerful than the Rajya Sabha, motions of no confidence against the government can be introduced and passed in the Lok Sabha
9.
Vidhan Sabha
–
The Vidhan Sabha or the Legislative Assembly is the lower house or the sole house of the state legislature in the different States of India. The same name is used for the lower house of the legislatures for two of the Union Territories, Delhi and Puducherry. The upper house in the seven states with a legislature is called the Legislative Council. Members of a Vidhan Sabha are direct representatives of the people of the state as they are directly elected by an electorate consisting of all citizens above the age of 18 of that state. Its maximum size as outlined in the Constitution of India is not more than 500 members and not less than 60 members. However, the size of the Vidhan Sabha can be less than 59 members through an Act of Parliament, such is the case in the states of Goa, Sikkim, Mizoram and the Union Territory of Puducherry. In some states Governor may appoint 1 member to represent minorities, e. g. the Anglo-Indian community, if he finds that minority inadequately represented in the House. Those elected or nominated to Vidhan Sabha are referred to as Members of Legislative Assembly or MLAsEach Vidhan Sabha assembles for a five-year term, during a State of Emergency, its term may be extended past five years or it may be dissolved. The term of the Legislative Assembly is five years, but it may be dissolved even earlier than five years by the Governor on the request of the Chief Minister. The term of a Legislative Assembly may be extended during an Emergency, a Vidhan Sabha can also be dissolved if a motion of no confidence is passed within it against the majority party or coalition. To become a member of a Vidhan Sabha, a person must be a citizen of India and he or she should be mentally sound and should not be bankrupt. He or she should also state an affidavit that there are no criminal procedures against him or her, Speaker of Vidhan Sabha who is responsible for the conduct of business of the body, and also a Deputy Speaker to preside during the Speakers absence. The Speaker acts as a judge and manages all debates. A motion of no confidence against the government in the state can only be introduced in the Vidhan Sabha, if it is passed by a majority vote, then the Chief Minister and his Council of Ministers must collectively resign. A money bill can only be introduced in Vidhan Sabha, in bicameral jurisdictions, after it is passed in the Vidhan Sabha, it is sent to the Vidhan Parishad, where it can be kept for a maximum time of 14 days. Unless by the Finance Minister of the state in the name of the Governor of that state, in matters related to ordinary bills, the will of Legislative Assembly prevails and there is no provision of joint sitting. In such cases, Legislative council can delay the legislation by maximum 4 months
10.
Hooghly River
–
The Hooghly River or the Bhāgirathi-Hooghly, called Ganga traditionally, is an approximately 260-kilometre-long distributary of the Ganges River in West Bengal, India. It splits from the Ganges as a canal in Murshidabad District at the Farakka Barrage, the town of Hugli-Chinsura, formerly Hooghly, is located on the river, in the Hooghly. The origins of the Hooghly name are uncertain, whether the city or the river was named first, the Farakka Barrage is a dam that diverts water from the Ganges into a canal near the town of Tildanga in Murshidabad district. This supplies the Hooghly with adequate water even in the dry season and it parallels the Ganges, past Dhulian, until just above Jahangirpur where the canal ends and the river takes its own course. Just south of Jahangirpur it leaves the Ganges area and flows south past Jiaganj Azimganj, Murshidabad, the river then flows south past Katwa, Navadwip and Kalna. At Kalna it originally formed the border between Nadia District and Hooghly District, and then further south between Hooghly District and North 24 Parganas District and it flows past Halisahar, Chinsurah, Serampore, and Kamarhati. Then just before entering the cities of Kolkata and Howrah. At Nurpur it enters an old channel of the Ganges and turns south to empty into the Bay of Bengal through the estuary of about 20 mi wide, two of its primary tributaries are Damodar and Rupnarayan. The tide runs rapidly on the Hooghly, and produces an example of the fluvial phenomenon known as a tidal bore. This consists of the head-wave of the tide, hemmed in where the estuary narrows suddenly into the river. It is felt as high up as Kolkata, and frequently destroys small boats, the difference from the lowest point of low-water in the dry season to the highest point of high-water in the rains is reported to be 20 ft 10 in. The greatest mean rise of tide, about 16 ft, takes place in March, April or May - with a declining range during the season to a mean of 10 ft. In its upper reaches the river is known as the Bhāgirathi. In 1974, the Farakka Barrage began diverting water into the Hooghly during the dry season so as to reduce the difficulties at Kolkatas port. Like the rest of the Ganges, the Bhāgirathi-Hooghly is considered sacred to Hindus, the Bhāgirathi-Hooghly river system is an essential lifeline for the people of West Bengal. It was through this river that the East India company sailed into Bengal and established their settlement, Calcutta. People from other such as the French, Dutch, Portuguese. The river provides a supply of water to the plain of West Bengal for irrigation
11.
South Eastern Railway zone
–
The South Eastern Railway is one of the 17 railway zones in India and Part of Eastern Railways. It is headquartered at Garden Reach, Kolkata, West Bengal and it comprises Adra railway division, Chakradharpur railway division, Kharagpur railway division and Ranchi railway division. The Bengal Nagpur Railway Company was incorporated in 1887 to take over from the Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway, the work was completed in 1888. The extension of the line from Nagpur to Asansol was completed by 1891. A 161-mile branch line that connected Bilaspur to Umaria coal mine was built, by the turn of the twentieth century, work on the Calcutta–Bombay and Calcutta–Madras lines was completed. Through the first half of the century work on the BNR lines progressed steadily. In 1921 the Talcher coalfields were connected by a line starting from Nergundi. In 1931, the Raipur–Vizianagaram line was set up, which connected the east coast with the Central Province, by the end of the 1930s the BNR owned the largest narrow-gauge network in the country. On 1 August 1955, the erstwhile Bengal Nagpur Railway portion was separated and a new zone, in July 1967, the South Eastern Railway took over the Bankura Domodar River line. Till April 2003, the South Eastern Railway comprised eight divisions, Kharagpur, Adra, Sambalpur, Khurda Road, Visakhapatnam, in April 2003 two new zones were carved out from the SER. On 13 April 2003 the SER reorganized Adra and Chakradharpur divisions to form the new Ranchi division, the South Eastern Railway has electric multiple unit sheds in Tikiapara and Panskura. Electric locomotive sheds are in Santragachi, Tatanagar, Bokaro Steel City, diesel locomotive sheds are located in Kharagpur, Bokaro Steel City, and Bondamunda. The coach maintenance yard is in Santragachi, the South Eastern Railway has a major workshop located in Kharagpur. The South Eastern Railway caters to the states of West Bengal, Jharkhand, S. E. also runs regular electric multiple units services to areas adjacent to Kolkata, from Howrah to Kharagpur, Amta, Medinipur, Tatanagar, Balasore Rourkela and Santragachi to Shalimar. It also handles freight traffic to Kolkata and Haldia. Howrah Station Eastern Railway zone Official website
12.
Kidderpore
–
Khidirpur or Kidderpore is a neighborhood of metropolitan Kolkata. The gateway of Kidderpore is at the crossing of Diamond Harbour Road, at that place a roadside restaurant dating from the British era remains, named Panchubabus Shop or Panchubabur Dokan, one of the landmarks of Kidderpore. The area is home to quite a few dargahs of Sufi saints like Syed Baba and Shah Warsi Baba. A number of soldiers killed during the 2nd World War were buried at the Solana Muslim burial ground, even in the field of Indian literature, this part of Kolkata produced three jewel poets. They were Rongolal Bandhopadhyay, Hemchandra Bandopadhyay and Michael Madhushudan Dutta, one of the oldest parts of the city, Kidderpore has many legends associated with respect to the stoical origin of its name. It is said that some British could not converse in Bengali, whenever they passed by, their asking in broken Hindi for the directions to the port where their ships used to dock sounded somewhat like kidder-port. More plausibly, the name is a corruption of Khidrpur or Khizarpur, Kidderpore is located at 22. 53°N88. 32°E /22.53,88.32. It has an elevation of 9 m. Kidderpore Bridge is one of the few bridges in Kolkata that has trams plying across it, the Kidderpore Tram Depot connects famous locations like Kalighat, Tollygunge and Ballygunge, etc. The main Kidderpore intersection is connected with North, South and Central Kolkata by various private and state bus services, shared autos which ply from nearby distances and is a cheap and affordable option. Kidderpore can also be accessed by the Kolkata Circular Railway which has a station in the locality, pauls School Kidderpore, Diamond Harbour Road St. Ibrahim road. Labbaik coaching center. M. M Ali road Kidder Pore Muslim High Secondary School, child Care Primary School. Ram Kamal Street Kidderpore Drawbridge at Port area Hastings House, Warren Hastings residence. Hanging Place of Maharaja Nandakumar at Hastings National Library
13.
Behala
–
Behala is a neighbourhood in South West Kolkata, in the Indian state of West Bengal. Behala was officially known as South Suburban Municipality until it was merged with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation in January,1984, Behala, Parnasree, Thakurpukur, Haridebpur and Sarsuna police stations serve this area under the South West Division of Kolkata Police also known as Behala Division. Behala is one of the oldest residential areas of the city, the Sabarna Roy Choudhurys, one of the oldest zamindar families of western Bengal and the trustee of Kalighat Kali Temple lives here. It is also home to Sourav Ganguly, former Indian national cricket captain and Sovan Chatterjee, Behala is also an important industrial area of the city. There are many factories and industries include the manufacturing units like chemicals, plastic and plastic recycling, spray painting. There are many schools, hospitals, banks and other important institutes in the region, the Durga Puja celebration of Sabarna Roy Choudhury family at Barisha was launched in 1610 by Laksmikanta Majumdar, making it the second oldest family Durga Puja in western Bengal. Today Durga Puja at Behala is marked by exotic theme-based sarbojanin pujas, Barisha Chandi Mela, a 10-day fair held every year in November–December since 1792, is another notable festival. The major landmarks at Behala are West Bengal State Archaeology Museum, Sabarna Sangrahashala, Behala Airport, Sonar Durgabari, Barisha Chandi Mandir, the word Behala is commonly believed to have its root in Behula, the name of the female protagonist of Manasamangalkavya. Alternatively, the name may have derived from the Bengali term Bahulapur. Bahula is also an epithet of the goddesses Chandi and Kali, rev. James Long, who used to live in this parts, described Behala as Byala in one of his early writings. Names like Rajarbaganbehala, Sahapurbehala, Naskarpurbehala and Santoshbatibehala are also found in the old proceedings of South Suburban Municipality, Behala was once a part of the Sunderbans. The history of Barisha dated back to the Pala Era, in the 12th century, Barisha was a small village of farmers, fishermen and honey-gathers when a Kulin Kayastha named Dhananjay Mitra settled here. During the reign of Akbar Barisha came under the lordship of Basanta Roy who set up his capital at modern-day Sarsuna, roy’s nephew and the king of Jessore Pratapaditya murdered him and incorporated Barisha with his kingdom. After the Mughals defeated Pratapaditya, Laksmikanta Majumdar of the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family was given jagirdari of a vast tract of land by Raja Man Singh in 1608. On 10 November 1698, to the dissatisfaction of the entire Sabarna Roy Choudhury family, settlement in the area dates back to the 1797, but its urbanization is relatively recent. Population growth started in Behala after the partition of India, aath-chala-the ancestral home of Sabarna Roy Choudhurys zamindari could be regarded as the most ancient historical structure in the entire city of Kolkata. It is the structure, sitting under which under a lease from the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family on 10 November 1698, today, Behala encompasses one of the largest suburban agglomerations of the city of Kolkata. It consists of small localities like Parnasree Pally, Taratala, Sahapur, Behala Tram depot, Manton, Behala Chowrasta, Sakherbazaar, Silpara
14.
Wajid Ali Shah
–
Wajid Ali Shah was the tenth and last Nawab of Awadh, holding the position for 9 years, from 13 February 1847 to 11 February 1856. Nawab Wajid Ali Shahs first wife was Begum Hazrat Mahal, a woman who has gone down in history for her valour and courage in standing up to the might of the British forces in the revolt of 1857. His kingdom, long protected by the British under treaty, was eventually annexed bloodlessly on 11 February 1856, the Nawab was exiled to Garden Reach in Metiabruz, then a suburb of Kolkata, where he lived out the rest of his life on a generous pension. He was a poet, playwright, dancer and great patron of the arts and he is widely credited with the revival of Kathak as a major form of classical Indian dance. Wajid Ali Shah succeeded to the throne of Awadh when the kingdom was well past its heyday, the British had annexed much of the kingdom under the treaty of 1801, and had impoverished Awadh by imposing a hugely expensive, British-run army and repeated demands for loans. In different circumstances perhaps, he might have succeeded as a ruler because he had many qualities that make a good administrator and he was generous, kind and compassionate towards his subjects, besides being one of the most magnanimous and passionate patrons of fine arts in the Indian tradition. When he ascended the throne, he took keen interest in the administration of justice, introduced reforms, Wajid Ali Shah was widely regarded as a debauched and detached ruler, but some of his notoriety seems to have been misplaced. The main case for condemnation comes from the British Resident of Lucknow, General Sleeman and this provided the British with the facade of benevolence they were looking for, and formed the official basis for their annexation. Recent studies have, however, suggested that Oudh was neither as bankrupt nor as lawless as the British had claimed, in fact, Oudh was for all practical purposes under British rule well before the annexation, with the Nawab playing little more than a titular role. The army was composed mostly of British officers, while the strings were firmly under the control of the East India Company. In his book Awadh Under Wajid Ali Shah, Dr. G. D and he was not only a munificent patron of music, dance, drama, and poetry, but was himself a gifted composer. He had received training under great Ustads like Basit Khan, Pyar Khan. Pyar Khan, Jafar Khan and Basit Khan were the descendants of Mian Tansen and were the sons of the famous tanseni Chajju Khan. Bahadur Hussain Khan/Zia-ud-Daulah was the musician of Wajid Ali Shah. Bahadur Hussain Khan was the son of the famous Sufi saint Jeevan Shah of Jhansi, although Wajid Ali Shahs pen-name was Qaisar, he used the pseudonym Akhtarpiya for his numerous compositions. Under this pen name, he wrote over forty works – poems, prose and he is said to have composed many new ragas and named them Jogi, Juhi, Shah-Pasand, etc. The source for information on music in Nawabi Lucknow comes from the text Ma’danul Moosiqui of Hakim Mohammed Karam Imam. During his time, complicated ragas like hori and dhrupad were ignored and easier raginis like tilak, pilu, sendura, khammach, bhairvi, as these were liked by the king and easily understood by all sections of society, they came to be well-loved by commoners
15.
Indian Rebellion of 1857
–
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major, but ultimately unsuccessful, uprising in India in 1857–58 against British rule. For nearly 100 years, that rule had been presided over by the British East India Company, the rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form of a mutiny of sepoys of the Companys army in the garrison town of Meerut,40 miles northeast of Delhi. It then erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions chiefly in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, though incidents of revolt also occurred farther north and east. The rebellion posed a threat to British power in that region. On 1 November 1858, the British granted amnesty to all rebels not involved in murder, though they did not declare the hostilities formally to have ended until 8 July 1859. The rebellion is known by names, including the Sepoy Mutiny, the Indian Mutiny, the Great Rebellion, the Revolt of 1857, the Indian Insurrection. Many Indians did rise against the British, however, very many also fought for the British, after the outbreak of the mutiny in Meerut, the rebels very quickly reached Delhi, whose 81-year-old Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah Zafar, they declared the Emperor of Hindustan. Soon, the rebels had captured large tracts of the North-Western Provinces. The East India Companys response came rapidly as well, with help from reinforcements, Kanpur was retaken by mid-July 1857, and Delhi by the end of September. However, it took the remainder of 1857 and the better part of 1858 for the rebellion to be suppressed in Jhansi, Lucknow. Other regions of Company controlled India—Bengal province, the Bombay Presidency, in the Punjab, the Sikh princes crucially helped the British by providing both soldiers and support. In some regions, most notably in Awadh, the took on the attributes of a patriotic revolt against European presence. However, the rebel leaders proclaimed no articles of faith that presaged a new political system, even so, the rebellion proved to be an important watershed in Indian- and British Empire history. India was thereafter administered directly by the British government in the new British Raj, on 1 November 1858, Queen Victoria issued a proclamation to Indians, which while lacking the authority of a constitutional provision, promised rights similar to those of other British subjects. In the following decades, when admission to these rights was not always forthcoming, the victory was consolidated in 1764 at the Battle of Buxar, when the East India Company army defeated Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. After his defeat, the granted the Company the right to the collection of Revenue in the provinces of Bengal, Bihar. The Company soon expanded its territories around its bases in Bombay and Madras, later, the Anglo-Mysore Wars, in 1806, the Vellore Mutiny was sparked by new uniform regulations that created resentment amongst both Hindu and Muslim sepoys. After the turn of the 19th century, Governor-General Wellesley began what became two decades of accelerated expansion of Company territories and this was achieved either by subsidiary alliances between the Company and local rulers or by direct military annexation
16.
Lucknow
–
Lucknow is the capital of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and is also the administrative headquarters of the eponymous District and Division. It is the largest city in Uttar Pradesh, the eleventh most populous city, in North India, it is the third largest city after Delhi and Jaipur. Lucknow has always known as a multicultural city that flourished as a North Indian cultural and artistic hub. It continues to be an important centre of governance, administration, education, commerce, aerospace, finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, design, culture, tourism, music, the city stands at an elevation of approximately 123 metres above sea level. Lucknow district covers an area of 2,528 square kilometres, bounded on the east by Barabanki, on the west by Unnao, on the south by Raebareli and in the north by Sitapur and Hardoi, Lucknow sits on the northwestern shore of the Gomti River. Hindi is the language of the city and Urdu is also widely spoken. Lucknow is the centre of Shia Islam in India with the highest Shia Muslim population in India, historically, the capital of Awadh was controlled by the Delhi Sultanate which then came under Mughal rule. It was later transferred to the Nawabs of Awadh, in 1856, the British East India Company abolished local rule and took complete control of the city along with the rest of Awadh and, in 1857, transferred it to the British Raj. Along with the rest of India, Lucknow became independent from Britain on 15 August 1947 and it has been listed the 17th fastest growing city in India and 74th in world. Lucknow, along with Agra and Varanasi, is in the Uttar Pradesh Heritage Arc, Lucknow is the anglicised spelling of the local pronunciation lakhnau. According to one legend, the city is named after Lakshmana, the legend states that Lakshmana had a palace or an estate in the area, which was called Lakshmanapuri. However the Dalit movement believes that Lakhan Pasi, a ruler, was the settler of the city and is named after him. The settlement came to be known as Lakhanpur by the 11th century, a similar theory states that the city was known as Lakshmanavati after Lakshmana. The name changed to Lakhanavati, then Lakhnauti and finally Lakhnau, yet another theory states that the citys name is connected with Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. Over time, the changed to Laksmanauti, Laksmnaut, Lakhsnaut, Lakhsnau and, finally. From 1350 onwards, Lucknow and parts of the Awadh region were ruled by the Delhi Sultanate, Sharqi Sultanate, Mughal Empire, Nawabs of Awadh, the British East India Company and the British Raj. Lucknow was one of the centres of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and actively participated in Indias independence movement. Until 1719, the subah of Awadh was a province of the Mughal Empire administered by a Governor appointed by the Emperor, persian adventurer Saadat Khan, also known as Burhan-ul-Mulk, was appointed nizam of Awadh in 1722 and established his court in Faizabad, near Lucknow
17.
Oudh
–
The Oudh State or Kingdom of Oudh was a princely state in the Awadh region during the British Raj until 1856. Oudh, the now obsolete but once official English-language name of the state, also written in British historical texts as Oude, the capital of Oudh State was in Faizabad, but the British Agents, officially known as residents, had their seat in Lucknow. The Nawab of Oudh, one of the richest princes, paid for, Oudh joined other Indian states in an upheaval against British rule in 1858 during one of the last series of actions in the Indian rebellion of 1857. In the course of this uprising a few detachments of the British Indian Army from the Bombay Presidency overcame the disunited collection of Indian states in a rapid campaign. Even so, determined rebels continued to wage sporadic guerrilla clashes until the spring of 1859 and this ill-fated rebellion is also historically known as the Oudh campaign. After the British annexation of Oudh, the North Western Provinces became the North Western Provinces, in 1732, under Mughal sovereignty, a senior official of the Mughal Empire established a hereditary polity in Oudh. As the power of the Mughals waned, with the rise of the Maratha Empire, since the state was located in a prosperous region, the British East India Company soon took notice of the affluence in which the Nawabs of Oudh lived. The result would be direct British interference in the state matters of Oudh. Three years later, in 1819, the ruler of Oudh took the style of Padshah, after Oudhs territory was merged with the North Western Provinces, it formed the larger province of North Western Provinces and Oudh. Between 5 July 1857 and 3 March 1858 there was an upheaval by the son of the deposed king joining the Indian Rebellion of 1857. But the dynasty also belonged from the line to the Kara Koyunlu through Qara Yusuf. They were renowned for their secularism and broad outlook, all rulers used the title of Nawab. Scott 1799 –1804 John Ulrich Collins 1804 –1807 John Baillie 1807 –1815 Richard Charles Strachey 1815 –1817 J. R
18.
Fort William, India
–
Fort William is a fort built in Calcutta on the eastern banks of the River Hooghly, the major distributary of the River Ganges, during the early years of the Bengal Presidency of British India. It was named after King William III of England and Ireland, in front of the Fort is the Maidan, which used to be a part of the Fort and is the largest urban park in Calcutta. There are actually two Fort Williams, the old and the new, the original was built in 1696 by the British East India Company under the supervision of John Goldsborough. Sir Charles Eyre started construction near the bank of the River Hooghly with the South-East Bastion and it was named after King William III in 1700. John Beard, his successor, added the North-East Bastion in 1701, the original building had two stories and projecting wings. An internal guard room became the Black Hole of Calcutta, in 1756, the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj Ud Daulah, attacked the Fort, temporarily conquered the city, and changed its name to Alinagar. This led the British to build a new fort in the Maidan, the rebuilding of the fort was started by Robert Clive in 1758, after the Battle of Plassey, and completed in 1781 at a cost of approximately two million pounds. The area around the Fort was cleared, and the Maidan became the Lungs of Kolkata and it stretches for around 3 km in the north-south direction and is around 1 km wide. Fort William is one of Kolkatas most enduring Raj era edifice. This is a fort of stupendous dimensions and is spread over an area of 70.9 hectares and it was built by Robert Clive in the year 1781. The Old Fort was repaired and used as a house from 1766 onwards. Today this fort located in the periphery of the lush green Maidan is the property of Indian Army, the headquarters of Eastern Command is based at Fort William and it has provisions for accommodating 10,000 army personnel. The Army guards it heavily, and civilian entry is restricted, the Fort is built of brick and mortar in the shape of an irregular octagon with an area 5 km². Five of its sides face landward, and three towards the Hooghly River, the design is that of a star fort, suited to defence against cannon, but from before the advent of explosive shells. It is surrounded by a dry moat 9 m deep and 15 m broad, there are six gates, Chowringhee, Plassey, Calcutta, Water Gate, St Georges and the Treasury Gate. There are similar forts at places like Thalassery in Kerala and it has a 9-hole golf course currently
19.
Hussainiya
–
A hussainia, also known as an ashurkhana, imambargah, or imambara, is a congregation hall for Shia commemoration ceremonies, especially those associated with the Remembrance of Muharram. The name comes from Husayn Ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad, Imam Hussain was killed by the Umayyad caliph Yazid I at the Battle of Karbala in Iraq, on October 10,680 AD. Shias commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussain every year on the day of Ashura in hussainias all over the world. A hussainiya is different from a mosque in that it is intended mainly for gatherings for Muharram in the mourning of Hussain ibn Ali, in South Asia, a hussainia can also be referred to as an imambara, imambargah, or ashurkhana. In Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, it is called a matam, in Lebanon, its called Arabic, حسينية – hussainiā. In Afghanistan and Central Asia, the equivalent term for a Shia congregation hall is takyakhana, the Azakhana was built in 1802 with one Mosque. Imambargah Haveli Sadaat, one of the oldest Imambargahs in Gujranwala and it was built by the Naqvi Sadat family, who migrated from Fateh garh churian, Punjab, India. Imambargah Bait Aal e Imran, in Kotla Arab Ali Khan, Gujrat, the site was donated by Choudhary Ghulam Hassan, a Shia by birth, and his wife in 1979. Ashura Mourning of Muharram Battle of Karbala Husayn ibn Ali Hoseni Dalan Tasua Imambaras of Lucknow Rawda Khwani
20.
Ghat
–
As used in many parts of Northern South Asia, the term ghat refers to a series of steps leading down to a body of water, particularly a holy river. In Bengali-speaking regions, this set of stairs can lead down to something as small as a pond or as large as a major river, Ghats are the areas in holy riverside cities like Varanasi and Haridwar where stairs exist to reach the Ganges. It is also used for mountainous regions like the Western and Eastern Ghats, the word Ghat is explained by numerous Dravidian etymons such as Telugu katta and gattu Tamil kattu and Kannada gatta. This etymology was proposed by Burrow and endorsed by Mayrhofer and Asko Parpola, slavic languages have a word gat that means corduroy road, but it is not clear if it is related to ghat. The numerous significant ghats along the Ganges are known generally as the Varanasi ghats, in Madhya Pradesh in western India there are further significant ghats along the Narmada River. People who live on the steps are also called ghats, the word is also used in some places outside of the Indian subcontinent where there are Indian communities. For example, in George Town, Penang in Malaysia, the label Ghaut is used to identify the extensions of those streets which formerly ended in ghats before reclamation of the quayside, in both Penang and Singapore, there are areas named Dhoby Ghaut. In Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and Kannada, ghat is a used to identify a difficult passage over a mountain. One such passage is the Bhor Ghat that connects the towns Khopoli and Khandala, charmadi Ghat of Karnataka is also notable. In many cases, the term is used to refer to a mountain range itself, as in the Western Ghats, ghattam in Malayalam also refers to mountain ranges when used with the name of the ranges being addressed, while the passage road would be called as a churam. Temple tank Ghats of Varanasi, webpage at Varanasi official website
21.
Port of Kolkata
–
The Port of Kolkata is a riverine port in the city of Kolkata, India, located around 203 kilometres from the sea. It is the oldest operating port in India, and was constructed by the British East India Company, the Port has two distinct dock systems - Kolkata Docks at Kolkata and a deep water dock at Haldia Dock Complex, Haldia. In the 19th century Kolkata Port was the port in British India. After independence its importance decreased because of factors including the Partition of Bengal, reduction in size of the port hinterland, with the turn of the century the volume of throughput has again started increasing steadily. Kolkata Port was established by the British East India Company after the company received trading rights from the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, following the shift of power from the company to the British crown, a port commission was set up in 1870. Though the port was conceived to be a port and gateway of eastern India. It was bombed twice by the Japanese forces, after independence, the Commissioners for the Port of Kolkata were responsible for the port till January 1975 when Major Port Trusts Act,1963, came into force. The Port is now run by a Board of Trustees having representatives from the Government, Trade Bodies, various Port Users, Labour Unions, the Kolkata Port Trust manages two separate dock agglomerations - the Kolkata Dock System and the Haldia Dock Complex. It is situated on the bank of the Hooghly River at 22°32′53″N 88°18′05″E about 203 km upstream from the sea. The pilotage station is at Gasper/ Saugor roads,145 Kilometres to the south of the KDS and it is situated at 22°02′N 88°06′E around 60 kilometres away from the pilotage station. The complex consists of, Impounded Dock, System with 12 Berths 3 Oil Jetties in the River 3 Barge Jetties in the River for handling Oil carried by Barges. All the docks are impounded dock systems with locks from river, KoPT has the largest dry dock facility in India. These dry docks cater to the repair and maintenance needs of the vessels calling on the Eastern Ports of India. In addition, shipbuilding facilities are available in these dry docks. All the dry docks are inside the dock system. There are five dry docks of which three are in Kidderpore Dock and two are in Netaji Subhas Dock, Kolkata Dry Dock & Workshop facilities have been awarded ISO9001,2000 certificate in recognition of their excellence in quality. Due to the constraints of the river no seagoing vessel above 200 GRT is allowed to navigate without a pilot of the Kolkata Port Trust. Sagar Lighthouse is situated at Middleton Point on the Sagar Island 1.5 kilometres inshore and it is visible from a distance of 28 kilometres in clear weather
22.
Caribbean
–
The Caribbean is a region that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands and the surrounding coasts. The region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland, east of Central America, situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region comprises more than 700 islands, islets, reefs and cays. These islands generally form island arcs that delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea, in a wider sense, the mainland countries of Belize, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana are often included due to their political and cultural ties with the region. Geopolitically, the Caribbean islands are usually regarded as a subregion of North America and are organized into 30 territories including sovereign states, overseas departments, and dependencies. From December 15,1954, to October 10,2010, there was a known as the Netherlands Antilles composed of five states. The West Indies cricket team continues to represent many of those nations, the region takes its name from that of the Caribs, an ethnic group present in the Lesser Antilles and parts of adjacent South America at the time of the Spanish conquest. The two most prevalent pronunciations of Caribbean are KARR-ə-BEE-ən, with the accent on the third syllable. The former pronunciation is the older of the two, although the variant has been established for over 75 years. It has been suggested that speakers of British English prefer KARR-ə-BEE-ən while North American speakers more typically use kə-RIB-ee-ən, usage is split within Caribbean English itself. The word Caribbean has multiple uses and its principal ones are geographical and political. The Caribbean can also be expanded to include territories with strong cultural and historical connections to slavery, European colonisation, the United Nations geoscheme for the Americas accords the Caribbean as a distinct region within the Americas. Physiographically, the Caribbean region is mainly a chain of islands surrounding the Caribbean Sea, to the north, the region is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico, the Straits of Florida and the Northern Atlantic Ocean, which lies to the east and northeast. To the south lies the coastline of the continent of South America, politically, the Caribbean may be centred on socio-economic groupings found in the region. For example, the known as the Caribbean Community contains the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos Islands, which are in the Atlantic Ocean, are members of the Caribbean Community. The Commonwealth of the Bahamas is also in the Atlantic and is a member of the Caribbean Community. According to the ACS, the population of its member states is 227 million people. The geography and climate in the Caribbean region varies, Some islands in the region have relatively flat terrain of non-volcanic origin and these islands include Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, the Cayman Islands, Saint Croix, the Bahamas, and Antigua
23.
Suriname
–
Suriname, officially known as the Republic of Suriname, is a sovereign state on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, at just under 165,000 square kilometers, it is the smallest country in South America. Suriname has a population of approximately 566,000, most of live on the countrys north coast, in and around the capital and largest city. Long inhabited by cultures of indigenous tribes, Suriname was explored and contested by European powers before coming under Dutch rule in the late 17th century. In 1954, the country one of the constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its indigenous peoples have been active in claiming land rights and working to preserve their traditional lands. Suriname is considered to be a culturally Caribbean country, and is a member of the Caribbean Community, while Dutch is the official language of government, business, media, and education, Sranan, an English-based creole language, is a widely used lingua franca. Suriname is the territory outside Europe where Dutch is spoken by a majority of the population. The people of Suriname are among the most diverse in the world, spanning a multitude of ethnic, religious, and linguistic groups. This area was occupied by cultures of indigenous peoples long before European contact, remnants of which can be found in petroglyph sites at Werehpai. The name Suriname may derive from a Taino indigenous people called Surinen, British settlers, who founded the first European colony at Marshalls Creek along the Suriname River, spelled the name as Surinam. When the territory was taken over by the Dutch, it part of a group of colonies known as Dutch Guiana. The official spelling of the countrys English name was changed from Surinam to Suriname in January 1978, a notable example is Surinames national airline, Surinam Airways. The older English name is reflected in the English pronunciation, /ˈsʊrᵻnæm/ or /ˈsʊrᵻnɑːm/, in Dutch, the official language of Suriname, the pronunciation is, with the main stress on the third syllable and a schwa terminal vowel. Indigenous settlement of Suriname dates back to 3,000 BC, the largest tribes were the Arawak, a nomadic coastal tribe that lived from hunting and fishing. They were the first inhabitants in the area, the Carib also settled in the area and conquered the Arawak by using their superior sailing ships. They settled in Galibi at the mouth of the Marowijne River, while the larger Arawak and Carib tribes lived along the coast and savanna, smaller groups of indigenous peoples lived in the inland rainforest, such as the Akurio, Trió, Warrau, and Wayana. Beginning in the 16th century, French, Spanish, and English explorers visited the area, a century later, Dutch and English settlers established plantation colonies along the many rivers in the fertile Guiana plains
24.
Sushma Swaraj
–
Sushma Swaraj pronunciation is an Indian politician, former Supreme Court lawyer and the current Minister of External Affairs of India, in office since 26 May 2014. A leader of Bharatiya Janata Party, Swaraj is the woman to be Indias Minister of External Affairs. She has been elected seven times as a Member of Parliament, at the age of 25 in 1977, she became the youngest cabinet minister of north Indian state of Haryana. She also served as 5th Chief Minister of Delhi for a term in 1998. In the 2014 Indian general election, she won the Vidisha constituency in Madhya Pradesh for a second term and she became the External Affairs Minister in the union cabinet on 26 May 2014. Sushma Swaraj was born at Ambala Cantt, Haryana on 14 February 1952 to Hardev Sharma & Shrimati Laxmi Devi and her father was a prominent Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh member. Her parents hailed from Dharampura area of Lahore, Pakistan and she was educated at Sanatan Dharma College in Ambala Cantonment and earned a bachelors degree with majors in Sanskrit and Political Science. She studied law at Punjab University, Chandigarh, a state-level competition held by the Language Department of Haryana saw her winning the best Hindi Speaker award for three consecutive years. In 1973, Swaraj started practise as an advocate in the Supreme Court of India, Swaraj began her political career with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad in the 1970s. Her husband, Swaraj Kaushal, was associated with the socialist leader George Fernandes. She actively participated in Jayaprakash Narayans Total Revolution Movement, after the Emergency, she joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. Later, she became a leader of the BJP. She was a member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly from 1977 to 1982, acquiring the Ambala Cantonment assembly seat at the age of 25, in July 1977, she was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister in the Janata Party Government headed by then Chief Minister Devi Lal. She became State President of Janata Party in 1979, at the age of 27 years and she was Education Minister of Haryana state in the Bharatiya Janata Party–Lok Dal coalition government during the period of 1987 to 1990. After a tenure in national politics, in October 1998 she resigned from the Union Cabinet to take over as the first female Chief Minister of Delhi. However, the BJP had lost the Assembly elections because of rising prices and she resigned from her Assembly seat and returned to national politics. In April 1990, she was elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha, Swaraj was elected to the 11th Lok Sabha from South Delhi constituency in April 1996 elections. She was Union Cabinet Minister for Information and Broadcasting during the 13-day government of PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1996 and she was re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha from South Delhi Parliamentary constituency for a second term in March 1998
25.
Paramaribo
–
Paramaribo is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 240,000 people, almost half of Surinames population, the historic inner city of Paramaribo has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002. The city is named for the Paramaribo tribe living at the mouth of the Suriname River, the name Paramaribo is probably a corruption of the name of an Indian village, Parmirbo. This was the location of the first Dutch settlement, a trading post established by Nicolaes Baliestel, English and French traders also tried to establish settlements in Suriname, including a French post established in 1644 near present-day Paramaribo. The Dutch settlement was abandoned some time before the arrival of English settlers in 1650, the settlers were sent by the English governor of Barbados, Lord Francis Willoughby, 5th Baron Willoughby of Parham, and established a town on the site of Paramaribo. The town was protected by a fort, called Fort Willoughby, in 1662, Governor Willoughby was granted the settlement and surrounding lands by King Charles II. In 1667, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, Paramaribo was conquered by a squadron of ships under Abraham Crijnssen, the Treaty of Breda in 1667, confirmed Paramaribo as the leading town of the now Dutch colony of Suriname. The fort protecting Paramaribo was renamed Fort Zeelandia in honor of the Dutch province that had financed Crijnssen’s fleet, the population of Paramaribo has always been very diverse. Among the first British settlers were many Jews and one of the oldest synagogues in the Americas is found in Paramaribo, the population of the town was greatly increased after 1873, when former slaves were allowed to stop working for their former masters and leave the sugar plantations. Paramaribo has remained the capital of Suriname, from its colonial days through the independence of Suriname in 1975 to the present day, the old town has suffered many devastating fires over the years, notably in January 1821 and September 1832. In 1987 an administrative reorganization took place in Suriname and the city was divided into 12 administrative jurisdictions, the city is located on the Suriname River, approximately 15 kilometres inland from the Atlantic Ocean, in the Paramaribo district. Evolution of Paramaribo Paramaribo features a tropical rainforest climate, under the Köppen climate classification, the city has no true dry season, all 12 months of the year average more than 60 mm of rainfall, but the city does experience noticeably wetter and drier periods during the year. During autumn is the driest period of the year in Paramaribo, Paramaribo on average receives roughly 2200 mm of rainfall each year. Paramaribo has a population of 240,924 people, in the past decades a significant number of Brazilians, Guyanese and new Chinese immigrants have settled in Paramaribo. Paramaribo is the business and financial centre of Suriname, all banks, insurance corporations and other financial and commercial companies are headquartered in Paramaribo. Around 75 percent of Surinames GDP is consumed in Paramaribo, tourism is an increasingly important sector, with most visitors coming from the Netherlands. Administratively, Paramaribo forms its own district in Suriname, the resorts of Paramaribo district therefore correspond to boroughs of the city. There are twelve resorts in the Paramaribo district, Paramaribo is served by the Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport, the Jules Wijdenbosch Bridge, which is part of the East-West Link, connects Paramaribo with Meerzorg on the other side of the Suriname River
India
