West Bengal

Calcutta, Mother Teresa, William Carey, Bengal tigers and Darjeeling tea all make the state of West Bengal famous. Bordering Bangladesh and stretching from the Himalayan Mountains to the Bay of Bengal, 82 million people (comprising 203 people groups) live in this cultural and industrial hub of India.

The capital of West Bengal is Calcutta. Built by the British East India Company 300 years ago, Calcutta was the capital of British India until the early 20th century. When India gained independence, Bengal was split along Hindu/Muslim lines, creating West Bengal and East Bengal (now Bangladesh). Calcutta lost its economic partner in the partition, and millions of refugees poured into the city. Today 13 million people live in Calcutta, which has the world's lowest standard of living, vast slums and over one million homeless.

In 1793, the British missionary William Carey came to Calcutta. Eight years later, he produced the first book ever published in the Bengali language-the Bible. In the 20th Century, Mother Teresa established her Hospital for the Dying and Destitute right next door to the Kalighat, the Hindu temple dedicated to Kali (the goddess of destruction), from whom the city derives its name. In September 2000, in an attempt to reclaim its pre-colonial heritage, Calcutta returned to its traditional name, Kolkata.

As a major industrial state, West Bengal boasts over 11,000 factories, which produce everything from footwear to pharmaceuticals. More than 70 percent of the population, however, is involved in agriculture. Rice, jute, potatoes, tobacco, cardamom and wheat are important crops. In the north, tea is king. Twenty-two percent of India's tea is produced in the Darjeeling region, and most of this is exported. Darjeeling tea finds its way to Buckingham Palace and into the teacups of royalty.

The official language of West Bengal is Bengali (85.8%). Minority languages include Hindi (5.3%), Santali (2.6%), Urdu (2.1%) and Nepali (1.3%). Most of the people are Hindu (75.1%) or Muslim (23.4%), with Christians comprising only six-tenths of one percent.