www.whatisindia.com

What Is India News Service
Wednesday, November 07, 2007



   

West Bengal covers the bottleneck of India in the east stretching from the Himalayas in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south.  It is bounded on the north Sikkim and Bhutan, on the east by Assam and Bangladesh, on the south by Bay of Bengal and on the west by Orissa, Bihar and Nepal.

West Bengal has two natural divisions, the Himalayan north comprising the districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar and the alluvial plain that lies south of it.

The state produces 15.3 per cent of the country’s total output of rice.  Major industries include engineering, auto mobiles, chemicals pharmaceuticals, aluminum, ceramics, jute, cotton, bonemeal, bicycle, dairy poultry and timber-processing.  An expert committee has rejected the theory that Kolkata was founded by the English trader Job Charnock.

Calcutta, capital of India upto1912, now commercial capital of the north-eastern states of India and the center of Industries like jute, tea, hides and skins, coal, lac, etc.  Places of interest: Victoria Memorial (Picture Gallery and Museum), Indian Museum, Zoological Garden, Pareshnath Temple (Jaim Temple), Kalighat Temple (Architecture: Typical Mediaeval Bengal), Nakhoda Mosque, Dhakshineswar Temple, Nandan, Mahajatti Sadan, Belvedere House (originally the residence of British Viceroys when they visited Calcutta, now turned into National Library). 

 

Rajasimha Bhavan (Official residence of State Governor), Marble Palace, Eden Gardens, Binoy Badal-Dinesh Bag (erstwhile Dalhousie Square), Ashutosh Museum of Arts (of the Calcutta University), Birla Industrial and Technological Museum, Birla Planetorirum, Saheed Minar (formerly Ochterlony Monument), Fort William, Jorasanka Thakurbatti (Birth place of Rabindranath Tagore), Rabindra Sarovar (Lake with swimming pool, Japanese Buddhist temple and Toy Train), Nehru Children’s Museum, New Market, Howrah Bridge (renames as Rabindra Setu), etc.  India’s first Science City was inaugurated in Calcutta on July 1, 1997. 
Key Varanasi Blast Suspect Killed
 

 

Democracy without the liberty to choose the form of participation in public affairs - even if it be a bandh, hartal, dharmaghat or strike by the people - is meaningless. (Not What People Want, Times of India, SHIKHA MUKERJEE, Nov 07, 2007)

It appears it is the Americans who most fear that the proposed civil nuclear cooperation deal will collapse, if you look at their recent actions. (Us Needs Deal More Than Us, Pioneer, Rajeev Srinivasan, Nov 07, 2007)

Two persons were killed and 10 others, including one from the security force, injured in a fresh bout of violence in the Nandigram area of West Bengal on Tuesday. (2 Die In Nandigram Landmine Blast, Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 07, 2007)

Even as two persons were killed in fresh violence in the Nandigram area on Tuesday, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee reviewed the situation at a meeting with senior State and police officials here. (Central Forces Yet To Arrive In Nandigram, Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 07, 2007)

The excitement surrounding the ongoing CBI inquiry ntothe death of Rizwanur Rahman has diverted attention from certain very obvious aspects of the episode. (Left Off The Constitution, Telegraph, RUDRANGSHU MUKHERJEE, Nov 07, 2007)

When the securities scam ran riot during his stewardship of the finance ministry, Dr Manmohan Singh diagnosed the malaise as “systemic failure”. (Edits, Statesman, Editorial, Statesman, Nov 07, 2007)

The proposed special economic zone belt at Nandigram on Tuesday once again turned into a battlefield as two rival groups stepped up violence in their desperate attempt to "capture" as much land as possible before the deployment of the . . . . . (Nandigram Turns War Zone, 3 Die, Asian Age, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 07, 2007)

What started off as a violent agitation against a rumour of land acquisition in Nandigram block in West Bengal’s East Midnapore (Purba Medinipur) district 10 months ago has, in fact, taken the form of a struggle for turf control between the . . . . (Fanning The Flames In Nandigram, Frontline, SUHRID SANKAR CHATTOPADHYAY, Nov 07, 2007)

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has, once again, expressed his concern over the situation in the Nandigram area of West Bengal’s Purbo Medinipur district, and said he has asked the Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, to look into the developments urgently. (Look Into The Issue Urgently: Manmohan Tells Patil, Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 07, 2007)

The report of the third National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), released in the second week of October, has immense significance for policymakers in health, nutrition, education and gender issues. (Plight Of Women And Children, Frontline, T.K. RAJALAKSHMI, Nov 07, 2007)

The latest issue of People’s Democracy has an editorial on the Gujarat riots in the wake of Tehelka’s sting operation. (No Closure, Indian Express, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 07, 2007)

There is always a danger when stridency becomes more important than substance. (Woman At Arms, Telegraph, Editorial, The Telegraph, Nov 06, 2007)

An event occurred unnoticed on January 31, 2006. Since it will continue to affect every aspect of our economic life for years, I have thought it appropriate to take note of it even so late. (Haircuts For Camels, Telegraph, Ashok V. Desai, Nov 06, 2007)

CBI officers today interrogated IG (enforcement branch) Nazrul Islam in connection with the mysterious death of computer graphics teacher Rizwanur Rahman. (Cbi Interrogates Ig Islam, Tribune, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 06, 2007)

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has expressed concern over the recent violence in Nandigram and asked Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil to look into the developments there. (Nandigram: Pm Expresses Concern, Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 06, 2007)

The news about food riots in West Bengal is getting alarming by the day. What began as a protest against hoarding by ration shop owners in Bankura and Birbhum districts before the festive season has spread to numerous other districts. (Food Riots In Bengal, Pioneer, Editorial, The Pioneer, Nov 06, 2007)

Unfamiliarity with the many ways of speaking English can create diplomatic hiccups. (Macho Vs Mature, Times of India, Swapan Dasgupta, Nov 05, 2007)

Why a Union Minister from West Bengal is opposed to the deployment of the Central Reserve Police Force in Nandigram as sought by the State government when those belonging to States such as Andhra Pradesh and Assam, are agreeable to . . . . . (Nandigram: Brinda Karat Sees A Conspiracy, Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 05, 2007)

The Andhra Pradesh police has re-opened a 31-year-old case that symbolised a defining moment in the blood-soaked Naxalite history. A senior Maoist leader was arrested and produced before a local court yesterday. (Andhra Reopens 31-Yr-Old Naxalite Case , Tribune, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 05, 2007)

The Punjab government’s decision to implement police reforms in the state is welcome. (Reforming The Police, Tribune, Editorial, The Tribune, Nov 05, 2007)

 

More West Bengal stories

 

Home Page

 


Archives | Links | Search
About Us | Feedback | Guestbook

© 2005 Copyright What Is India Publishers (P) Ltd. All Rights Reserved.