About Kolkata

The Name of Kolkata and the anglicized name Calcutta have their roots in Kalikata, the name of one of three villages (Kalikata, Sutanuti, Govindopur) in the area before the arrival of the British.

The discovery of the nearby Chandraketugarh, an archaeological site, provides evidence that the area has been inhabited for over two millennia. The city’s documented history, however, begins with the arrival of English East India Company in 1960, when the company was consolidating its trade business in Bengal. Job Charnock, an administrator with the company was traditionally credited as the founder of the city and in response to a public interest litigation the High Court ruled in 2003 that the city does not have a specific founder.