West Bengal is an eastern Indian state whose capital is Kolkata. Its landscape stretches from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. The Sundarbans and Durga Puja represent different kinds of heritage.
Begin with the state’s formation and geography. Then separate today’s government from Kolkata’s earlier role as an imperial capital.
How was West Bengal formed?
Partition and the first government
West Bengal was formed on 15 August 1947, when British India’s Bengal Province was partitioned. West Bengal became part of India. East Bengal became part of Pakistan.
Prafulla Chandra Ghosh became West Bengal’s first Chief Minister on 15 August 1947. His government belongs to the state’s beginning at Independence.
Keep the dates of two different changes separate. Partition created West Bengal in 1947. The earlier move of British India’s capital occurred in 1911.
West Bengal sources: West Bengal: state history · Roy speeches, p.1108.
West Bengal sources: State Assembly history.
Chief Minister and Governor hold different offices
Suvendu Adhikari of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is Chief Minister as of October 2026. He took oath on 9 May 2026. His government is West Bengal’s first BJP-led government.
R. N. Ravi is Governor. He assumed charge on 12 March 2026, after serving as Tamil Nadu’s Governor. The President’s appointment notice preceded his taking charge.
The Chief Minister leads the elected government. The Governor holds a separate constitutional office. Learn each name with its role.
PMO sources: PMO: 9 May oath · AIR: first BJP chief.
PMO sources: Lok Bhavan: Governor · President: appointment notice.
PMO sources: Chancellor bio.
Check 1. West Bengal’s Chief Minister and Governor are the same office.
How does the landscape change from north to south?
Himalayan north, plains and a coastal delta
West Bengal covers about 88,752 square kilometres. Its northern landscape reaches the Himalayan region near Darjeeling. The state extends southwards to the Bay of Bengal.
Do not picture the whole state as one coastal plain. The hills are in the north. The delta lies in the south. Kolkata is the capital, while Darjeeling and Siliguri are other cities.
A useful reading order is north to south: Himalayan hills, plains, then the coastal delta. The diagram shows that broad sequence. Use it to learn the broad pattern. It is not drawn to scale.
State forest facts sources: State forest facts · India portal: state facts.
- North: Himalayan hillsDarjeeling region.
Higher mountain terrain. - Across the state: plainsDifferent from the northern hills.
Kolkata is the capital. - South: coastal deltaSundarbans tidal channels.
Bay of Bengal coast.
State forest facts sources: State forest facts · UNESCO: park.
The Sundarbans crosses an international border
The Sundarbans is the world’s largest mangrove forest. The wider forest extends across India and Bangladesh. It does not lie entirely within West Bengal.
The Sundarbans lies within the Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna delta. Rivers bring sediment towards the sea. Tidal channels divide the low coastal land into islands and mudflats.
Mangroves are trees adapted to tidal coastal conditions. The Sundarbans supports Bengal tigers. Tigers can swim across its channels.
Read a location question carefully. West Bengal identifies the Indian state containing the Indian Sundarbans. It does not place the whole forest in one country.
UNESCO sources: UNESCO: park · UNESCO: delta.
Check 2. The entire Sundarbans lies within India.
Why are the two UNESCO listings different?
A natural place and a living cultural practice
Sundarbans National Park in India entered UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1987. The park is a protected part of the wider Sundarbans.
Durga Puja in Kolkata entered UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2021. The listing covers a living cultural practice.
For example, artisans make clay images and communities organise festival spaces. The skills, rites and shared work are part of the festival’s living heritage.
The distinction matters in questions. A festival’s intangible heritage recognition does not turn every festival venue into a World Heritage Site.
Explore the separate lessons on Sundarbans National Park and Durga Puja for fuller explanations.
UNESCO sources: UNESCO: park · UNESCO: festival.
- Sundarbans National Park · 1987Natural World Heritage property.
A specific protected place. - Durga Puja in Kolkata · 2021Intangible cultural heritage.
A continuing community practice.
Listing details: UNESCO natural heritage · UNESCO living heritage.
Check 3. Durga Puja’s UNESCO recognition is the same kind as the national park’s listing.
Why does Kolkata appear so often in history?
The imperial capital and the present state capital
Kolkata was formerly called Calcutta. Calcutta served as British India’s capital until the decision to transfer the capital to Delhi in 1911.
The transfer was announced at the Delhi Durbar on 12 December 1911. That announcement concerned the seat of British India’s government. Kolkata remains West Bengal’s capital today.
Think of two labels beside the same city. “Former imperial capital” describes an earlier role. “State capital” describes Kolkata’s present role. Losing the first role did not erase the city’s history.
Kolkata’s older buildings and institutions reflect that colonial period. Bengal’s cultural history also includes literature, cinema and the arts. Rabindranath Tagore received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.
Political changes and cultural achievements belong to different timelines. Neither a change of capital nor a change of ruling party measures the value of Bengali culture.
West Bengal sources: West Bengal: state history · Parliament: 1911 announcement.
West Bengal sources: Nobel Prize: Tagore.
Check 4. The 1911 transfer to Delhi means Kolkata cannot be a state capital today.
What changed in the 2026 election?
Election victory and the oath are separate events
The 2026 Assembly election ended three terms of Trinamool Congress (TMC) government under Mamata Banerjee. The BJP formed its first government in West Bengal.
Counting took place on 4 May 2026. The Assembly has 294 seats. The BJP’s later total reached 208 seats; the later Falta re-poll added a seat to the earlier total.
Adhikari defeated Banerjee in Bhabanipur. He also won Nandigram. Winning a seat comes first. A party needs enough seats to lead the state. The oath is a later step.
Adhikari’s oath followed on 9 May 2026. Do not use the oath date as the counting date.
Turnout was approximately 94% when rounded to a whole percentage point. The recorded figure was 93.7%. Its scope excludes Falta.
Turnout shows how many registered voters cast a vote. A party’s seat total counts the seats it won. A high turnout percentage does not mean that percentage of voters supported the winning party.
For instance, a party can win many constituencies without receiving every vote cast there. Keep turnout, vote share and seat share apart in your notes.
ECI sources: ECI: state seats · ECI: Bhabanipur.
ECI sources: ECI: Nandigram · ADR: turnout analysis, pp.2 and 6.
ECI sources: Falta: final seat total.
Check 5. Voter turnout and the winning party’s share of Assembly seats measure the same thing.
Practice: West Bengal’s geography, government and history
Answer five questions. Separate the state’s formation from the capital transfer and the 2026 change of government.
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