About West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in eastern India. With Bangladesh, which lies on its eastern border, the state forms the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. To its northeast lie the states of Assam and Sikkim and the country Bhutan, and to its southwest, the state of Orissa. To the west it borders the state of Jharkhand and Bihar, and to the northwest, Nepal.

Prior to the colonization of undivided Bengal by European rulers (British East India Company), Bengal was part of the Mughal Empire. During the European administration over Bengal, railways and modern universities were introduced, but the state also endured various devastating famines. A hotbed of the Indian independence movement through the early 20th century, Bengal was divided in 1947 into two separate entities, West Bengal - a state of India, and East Pakistan. Following India's independence in 1947, West Bengal's economic and political systems were dominated for many decades by Marxism, Naxalite movements and trade unionism. The state is currently administered by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), led by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya.

West Bengal occupies only 2.7% of the India's land area, though it supports over 7.8% of Indian population, and is the most densely populated state in India. While West Bengal has seen a resurgence in its economy after decades of stagnation, the state is still faced with poverty, social tensions and bureaucratic corruption.

There are 19 districts in West Bengal — Bankura, Bardhaman, Birbhum, Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, East Midnapore, Hooghly, Howrah, Jalpaiguri, Kolkata, Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, North 24 Parganas, North Dinajpur, Purulia, South 24 Parganas, Dakshin Dinajpur and West Midnapore. Each district is governed by a district collector or district magistrate, appointed either by the Indian Administrative Service or the West Bengal Civil Service. Each district is subdivided into Sub-Divisions, governed by a sub-divisional magistrate, and again into Blocks. Blocks consists of panchayats (village councils) and town municipalities.

There are 19 districts in West Bengal, namely:

1. Bankura District
2. Bardhaman District
3. Birbhum District
4. Cooch Behar District
5. Darjeeling District
6. East Midnapore
7. Hooghly District
8. Howrah District
9. Jalpaiguri district
10. Kolkata
11. Malda District
12. Murshidabad District
13. Nadia District
14. North 24 Parganas
15. North Dinajpur
16. Purulia
17. South 24 Parganas
18. South Dinajpur
19. West Midnapore