In 2011 the Government of West Bengal proposed a change in the official name of the state to Paschim Banga ( Bengali: পশ্চিমবঙ্গ Pôshchimbônggô). In 1947, at the end of British rule over the Indian subcontinent the Bengal Legislative Council and the Bengal Legislative Assembly voted on the Partition of Bengal along religious lines into two separate entities: West Bengal, which continued as an Indian state and East Bengal, a province of Pakistan, which came to be known be as East Pakistan and later became the independent Bangladesh. Although some early Sanskrit literature mentions the name Vanga, the region's early history is obscure. The Bengali word Bongo might have been derived from the ancient kingdom of Vanga (or Banga). One theory suggests the word derives from "Bang", the name of a Dravidian tribe that settled the region around 1000 BCE. The origin of the name Bengal ( Bangla and Bongo in Bengali) is unknown. West Bengal has two World Heritage sites and ranks as the seventh-most visited tourist destination in India. The state government debt of ₹4.0 lakh crore (US$53 billion), or 32.6% of GSDP, is fifth highest India, but has dropped from 40.65% since 2010–11. West Bengal also has the 28th-highest ranking among Indian states in human development index, with the index value being less than that of India. In 2020–21, the economy of West Bengal is the fourth-largest state economy in India with a gross state domestic product (GSDP) of ₹16.69 lakh crore (US$220 billion), and has the country's 20th-highest GSDP per capita of ₹127,900 (US$1,700). For many decades the state underwent political violence and economic stagnation. Post Indian independence, West Bengal's economy is based on agricultural production and small and medium-sized enterprises. Following widespread religious violence, the Bengal Legislative Council and the Bengal Legislative Assembly voted on the Partition of Bengal in 1947 along religious lines into two independent dominions: West Bengal, a Hindu-majority Indian state, and East Bengal, a Muslim-majority province of Pakistan which later became the independent Bangladesh. The region was a hotbed of the Indian independence movement and has remained one of India's great artistic and intellectual centres. The region was later conquered by the British East India Company at the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and became part of the Bengal Presidency. Following the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in the early 1700s, the proto-industrialised Mughal Bengal became a semi-independent state under the Nawabs of Bengal, and showed signs of the first Industrial revolution. Simultaneously, some parts of the region were ruled by several Hindu states, and Baro-Bhuyan landlords, and part of it was briefly overrun by the Suri Empire. It was absorbed into the Mughal Empire in 1576. During the Bengal Sultanate, the territory was a major trading nation in the world, and was often referred by the Europeans as the "richest country to trade with". Islam was introduced through trade with the Abbasid Caliphate, but following the Ghurid conquests led by Bakhtiyar Khalji and the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate, the Muslim faith spread across the entire Bengal region. The citadel of Gauḍa served as the capital of the Gauḍa Kingdom, the Pala Empire, and the Sena Empire. The region was part of several ancient pan−Indian empires, including the Vangas, Mauryans, and the Guptas. Ancient Bengal was the site of several major Janapadas, while the earliest cities date back to the Vedic period. The area's early history featured a succession of Indian empires, internal squabbling, and a tussle between Hinduism and Buddhism for dominance.
The state's main ethnic group are the Bengalis, with the Bengali Hindus forming the demographic majority. West Bengal includes the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region, the Ganges delta, the Rarh region and the coastal Sundarbans. The state capital is Kolkata, the third-largest metropolis, and seventh largest city by population in India. It also borders the Indian states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim and Assam. Part of the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, it borders Bangladesh in the east, and Nepal and Bhutan in the north. Covering an area of 88,752 km 2 (34,267 sq mi), it is also the eighth-most populous country subdivision of the world. With over 91 million inhabitants, it is the fourth-most populous state and the fourteenth-largest state by area in India. West Bengal ( / b ɛ ŋ ˈ ɡ ɔː l/, Bengali: Paschim Banga ( listen)) is a state in the eastern region of India along the Bay of Bengal.
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