Calcutta (redirected from Calcuttan)

Calcutta, India: see Kolkata.

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Kolkata

 formerly Calcutta

City (pop., 2001: city, 4,580,546; metro. area, 13,205,697), northeastern India. Capital of West Bengal state, former capital (1772–1912) of British India, and India's second largest metropolitan area, it is located on the Hugli (Hooghly) River, about 90 mi (145 km) from the river's mouth. The British established a trading centre at the site in 1690, which grew and became the seat of the Bengal presidency in 1707. It was captured by the nawab of Bengal, who in 1756 imprisoned the British there (in a prison that was later known as the Black Hole); the city was retaken by the British under Robert Clive. It was an extremely busy 19th-century commercial centre, but it began to decline with the removal of the colonial capital to Delhi in 1912. The decline continued when Bengal was partitioned between India and Pakistan in 1947 and when Bangladesh was created in 1971. The flood of refugees from those political upheavals boosted the city's population but also significantly added to its widespread poverty. Despite its problems, Kolkata remains the dominant urban area of eastern India and a major educational and cultural centre.

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Calcutta

a port in E India, capital of West Bengal state, on the Hooghly River: former capital of the country (1833--1912); major commercial and industrial centre; three universities. Pop.: 4 580 544 (2001)