Calcutta as pronounced by the English, now called as Kolkata is the capital of the Indian State of West Bengal. The city located in eastern India was a colonial city developed by the British Empire and was the capital of the British India Empire until 1911.
Before the British rule, Kolkata was a small village and the capital of Bengal was Murshidabad which is situated at a distance of 60 miles from the present city. Calcutta was captured in the year 1757 by Robert Clive by defeating Siraj-Ud-Daulah in the battle of Plassey.
Being the then capital and the second city of the British Empire, Kolkata grew rapidly in the 19th century. The city has with it the revolutionary history of Indian struggle for independence.
