Kolkata Tour Packages

Kolkata is not an ancient city like Delhi, with its impressive relics of the past. In fact, its largely a British creation that dates back only some 300 years. The second largest city of India, It is a cosmopolitan city where people, technology and ideas have blended together with the socio-political culture to give the city a new shape. The city is full of historical monuments and palaces and is therefore also called the City of Palaces. Its glorious history dates back to 1690 when it was selected by the British for their trade settlements. The site was carefully chosen by the British as it was protected by the Hooghly River on the west, a creek on the north, and by salt lakes about two and a half miles to the east.

In 1690, Job Charnok, an agent of the East India Company chose this place for a British trade settlement. The site was carefully selected, being protected by the Hooghly River on the west, a creek to the north, and by salt lakes about two and a half miles to the east. There were three large villages along the east bank of the river Ganges, named, Sutanuti, Gobindapur and Kalikata. These three villages were bought by the British from the local land lords. The Mughal emperor granted East India Company freedom of trade in return for a yearly payment of 3,000 rupees.

What was Calcutta like before the British came?

It was a village; the capital city of Bengal was Murshidabad, around 60 miles north of Calcutta. In 1756, Siraj-ud-daullah, Nawab of Bengal, attacked the city and captured the fort. Calcutta was recaptured in 1757 by Robert Clive when the British defeated Siraj-ud-daullah on the battle field of Plassy. In 1772, Calcutta became the capital of British India, and the first Governor General Warren Hastings moved all important offices from Murshidabad to Calcutta. Till 1912, Calcutta was the capital of India, when the British moved the capital city to Delhi. In 1947, when India gained freedom and the country got partitioned between India and Pakistan, Calcutta was included in the Indian part of Bengal, West Bengal. Calcutta became the capital city of the state of West Bengal.

Today, this pulsating city with its distinct imperial flavor has become the capital of West Bengal, a state of the Indian Union. Kolkata provides enormous opportunities in economy, industry, education, culture, tourism and many more aspects that other cities may not.