Day 29 of the cycle · East

West Bengal

The name of Bengal or Bangla is derived from the ancient kingdom of Vanga, or Banga. Stone Age tools dating back 20,000 years have been excavated in the State. Remnants of civilization in the region date back four thousand years, The region was a part of the Vanga kingdom of ancient India.

The first recorded independent king of Bengal was Shashank, reigning around the early 7th century. After a period of anarchy, the Buddhist Pala dynasty ruled the region for four hundred years, followed by a shorter region of the Hindu Sena dynasty.

During the 12th century Islam made its first appearance in Bengal when the Sufi missionaries arrived.. Bengal was ruled by various Muslim rulers and governors till the Mughal period in the 16th century.

After the Mughals, history of modern Bengal begins with the advent of European and English trading companies. Battle of Plassey in 1757 changed the course of history when the English first gained a strong foothold in Bengal and India. In 1905 it was partitioned to achieve some political returns but people’s growing movement led to the reunion in 1911. This triggered off hectic movement for freedom which culminated with Independence in 1947, and partition.

After 1947, the merger of native princely states began which ended with its final reorganisation in 1956 (as per Recommendations of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956) when some Bengali speaking areas of a neighbouring State were transferred to West Bengal.

The land frontiers of the State touch Bangladesh in the east and are separated from Nepal in the west, Bhutan lies in the north-east, while Sikkim is on the north. On the west are the States of Bihar and Jharkhand, while on the South lies Odisha and the Bay of Bengal washes its southern frontiers.

Agriculture is the main source of income for about 70 per cent of the population. Jute and rice are the principle crops grown in the State, along with the tea, maize tobacco and sugarcane.