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Calcutta[kalkut´u] Pronunciation Key or Kolkata[kOlkut´u] Pronunciation Key, city (1991 pop. 10,916,272), capital of West Bengal state, E India, on the Hugli River. It is the second largest city in India and one of the largest in the world. Ten of Calcutta's suburbs : Haora, South Suburban City, Bhatpara, South Dum Dum, Kamarhati, Garden Reach, Panihati, Baranagar, Hugli-Chinsura, and Serampore : have well over 100,000 people each. The area of the Calcutta metropolitan area is 228.5 sq mi (591 sq km), extending more than 40 miles along the Hugli. Calcutta is the major seaport (see Haldia) and industrial center of E India; jute is milled, and textiles, chemicals, paper, and metal products are manufactured. Bengali, Hindi, and Urdu are the main languages. The city has terrible poverty, chronic unemployment, overcrowding, inadequate transportation, and resultant social unrest.
Calcutta was founded c.1690 by the British East India Company. In 1756 the nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daula, captured Calcutta and killed most of its garrison by imprisoning it overnight in a small, stifling room, known as the notorious "Black Hole." Robert Clive retook the city in 1757. From 1833 to 1912, Calcutta was the capital of British India.
The Univ. of Calcutta (founded 1857), several unaffiliated colleges, and the Indian Museum, which houses one of the world's outstanding natural history collections, are in the city. The Maidan, a large river-front park, is Calcutta's most attractive section. A subway through the central section of the city opened in 1986.
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