Kolkata is a huge city with several district articles that contain information about specific sights, restaurants, and accommodation. Kolkata (spelled Calcutta before 1 January 2001) is the capital city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the second largest city in India after Mumbai. [2] It is on the east bank of the River Hooghly. [3] When it is called Calcutta , it includes the suburbs. This makes it the third largest city of India. It is also known as city of joy It has 4,500,000 (4.5 million) people living in it. This also makes it the world's 8th largest metropolitan area as defined by the United Nations. [4 ... Kolkata, [a] also known as Calcutta [b] (its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, 80 km (50 mi) west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary financial and commercial centre of eastern and one of the gateways to northeastern India. [16] Kolkata is the seventh most populous city in India with an estimated city proper population of 4.5 million (0.45 crore) while its metropolitan ... Kolkata - Cultural Hub, Colonial Legacy, India's City: Calcutta did not become the capital of British India until 1772, when the first governor-general, Warren Hastings, transferred all important offices to the city from Murshidabad, the provincial Mughal capital. In 1773 Bombay (now Mumbai) and Madras (now Chennai) became subordinate to the government at Fort William. A supreme court administering English law began to exercise original jurisdiction over the city as far as the Maratha Ditch ...