kids encyclopedia robot

West Bengal facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
West Bengal

বঙ্গ প্রদেশ
পশ্চিমবঙ্গ
State of India
Kolkata skyline at night.jpg
Kolkatatemple.jpg
Biswa Bangla Gate.jpg
Tea garden in dooars.jpg
HAZARDUARI - PALACE.jpg
Digha Sankarpur 2Arnab.jpg
Royal Bengal Tiger walking down Mangrove Island in Sundarbans 3.jpg
Darjeeling.jpg
From top: Kolkata skyline from Howrah, Dakshineswar Kali Temple near Kolkata, Kolkata Gate, also known as the Biswa Bangla Gate at New Town, tea garden in the Dooars region, Hazarduari Palace in Murshidabad, sunrise in Digha beach, Bengal tiger in Sundarbans National Park, view of Darjeeling from Happy Valley Tea Estate
Official seal of West Bengal
Seal
Nickname(s): 
বাংলা, বঙ্গ
A map showing us where the location of West Bengal is in India
A map showing us where the location of West Bengal is in India
Map of West Bengal
Map of West Bengal
Country  India
Region East India
Established 1 November 1956
Area
 • Total 88,752 km2 (34,267 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total 91,347,736
Time zone UTC+05:30 (IST)
Official languages Bengali · Nepali · only for Darjeeling district,English
294 elected, 1 nominated

West Bengal (Bengali: বঙ্গ প্রদেশ/পশ্চিমবঙ্গ) is a state in India. It is in the eastern part of the country. West Bengal is the fourth most populous state in India. It is also the seventh most populous sub-national entity in the world. West Bengal is the sixth largest contributor to India's GDP.

Both West Bengal and Bangladesh are parts of historical and geographic region of Bengal. Kolkata is the capital city of West Bengal. In 2001, 80,221,171 people lived in West Bengal. With an area of 34,267 mi² (88,752 km²), it is bigger than Serbia but smaller than Jordan. In traditional Indian geography it falls under the East Indian zone.

West Bengal has a tropical climate, so it is very hot and humid in summer and cool in winter. The people who live here are called Bengalis. Bengalis also live in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a country to the east of West Bengal

History

All of India was once ruled by the British Empire. The Indians wanted freedom, but the Hindus and the Muslims of India always argued. So it was decided to divide the country into two parts—one part for Muslims and the other part for Hindus. In 1947 Bengal, which was a province of India, was divided into West Bengal and East Bengal,which is now called Bangladesh. West Bengal went to India, and East Bengal went to Pakistan and was called East Pakistan. In 1971, Bangladesh became independent, as a result of the Bangladesh Liberation War.

Famous people from West Bengal include:

Provincial symbols of Bengal (west)

  • White-throated Kingfisher (Shankar)

    White-throated Kingfisher, provincial bird of Bengal

  • Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) 3

    Fishing cat, provincial animal of Bengal

  • Alstonia scholaris

    Devil tree, provincial tree of Bengal

  • Flower & flower buds I IMG 2257

    Night-flowering Jasmine, provincial flower of Bengal


Images for kids

  • A coin of the King Shashanka showing the obverse and reverse sides

    oin of the King Shashanka, who created the first separate political entity in Bengal, called the Gauda Kingdom

  • A map showing the extent of the Pala Empire

    he Pala Empire was an imperial power during the Late Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal

  • Firoz Minar a red stone tower at Gauda

    iroz Minar at Gauḍa was built during the Bengal Sultanate

  • An map of Bengal in 1880

    An 1880 map of Bengal

  • A photograph of the engine and several cars of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway with people in either side of it

    he Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999

  • Kalinagar Floods B

    Many areas remain flooded during the heavy rains brought by a monsoon

  • The Grand Hotel in Kolkata

    The Grand Hotel in Kolkata. Tourism, especially from Bangladesh, is an important part of West Bengal's economy.

  • PaddyandjuteBengal

    Freshly sown saplings of rice in a paddy; in the background are stacks of jute sticks.

  • Photograph of Satyajit Ray seated with Ravi Shankar with several others in the background

    [Satyajit Ray]], a pioneer in Bengali cinema along with Ravi Sankar.

  • Panchura Temple made from terracott

    Panchchura Temple in Bishnupur, one of the older examples of the terracotta arts of India.

  • Photograph of a woman wearing a red Jamdani sari

    [Jamdani]] Sari of Bangladesh is very popular in West Bengal.

  • Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata

    Salt Lake Stadium / Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata

  • Netaji Indoor Stadium - Kolkata 2014-08-25 7446-7450 Compress

    Netaji Indoor Stadium, Kolkata

  • NSCBI International airport

    Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport is a hub for flights to and from Bangladesh, East Asia, Nepal, Bhutan and north-east India.

  • Durgapur Xpressway

    Durgapur Expressway

  • SBSTC bus in karunamoyee

    An SBSTC bus in Karunamoyee

  • Kolkata Metro

    Kolkata Metro, India's first metro rail system

  • University of Calcutta 7383

    University of Calcutta, the oldest public university of India.

  • West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata (front entrance, 2006)

    The front entrance to the academic block of NUJS, Kolkata.

  • RKMVERI Prajna Bhavan HR

    Prajna Bhavan, housing the School of Mathematical Sciences and School of RKMVU.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Bengala Occidental para niños

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
West Bengal Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.