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{{more citations needed|date=September 2014}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Etymology of ''Kolkata''}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
There are several theories about the origin of ''Kolkata'', erstwhile ''Calcutta'' in [[English language|English]], the name of [[Kolkata|the capital]] of the eastern [[India]]n state of [[West Bengal]].

''[[Ain-i-Akbari|Ain-i- Akbari]]'', the rent-roll of [[Akbar]], the sixteenth-century [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] emperor, and ''[[Manasamangal Kāvya|Manasa-mangal]],'' the work of a [[Bengali language|Bengali]] poet, [[Bipradas Pipilai]], of the late fifteenth century, both make mention of the city's early name's being ''Kolikata'', from which [[Kolkata|Kolkata/Calcutta]] have been derived<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/ainiakbarivolum00mubgoog|title=The Ain I Akbari|last1=Abū al-Faz̤l ibn Mubārak|first1=1551-1602|last2=Blochmann|first2=H. (Henry)|date=1873|publisher=Calcutta : Asiatic Society of Bengal|others=Harvard University}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Ain I Akbari /|last=Abū al-Faz̤l ibn Mubārak|date=1873|publisher=Calcutta|hdl = 2027/hvd.hl426v}}</ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9821/Calcutta Britannica entry]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://web.isical.ac.in/~theophys-07/calcutta.html#A%20Short%20History%20Of%20Calcutta|title=About Calcutta|website=web.isical.ac.in|access-date=2019-11-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Kolkata|title=Kolkata - History|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2019-11-01}}</ref><ref name="bharatonline.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bharatonline.com/west-bengal/travel/kolkata/history.html|title=History of Kolkata - Origin of Kolkata, History & Origin of Calcutta West Bengal|website=www.bharatonline.com|access-date=2019-11-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kol.bsf.gov.in/index/ctb_files/Kolkata%20an%20Introduction.pdf|title=Kolkata : An Introduction|website=Official website of HQ Special Director General (Eastern Command), BSF|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kmcgov.in/KMCPortal/jsp/MunicipalHistoryHome.jsp|title=Official Website of Kolkata Municipal Corporation|website=www.kmcgov.in|access-date=2019-11-09}}</ref>

There is lot of discussion on how the city got its name. There are different views on the issue. The most popular and likely one is that the city got its name from its connection to the Hindu goddess Adyashakti paramba [[Kali]] with the original name's being either ''Kalikshetra'' (in [[Sanskrit]]), meaning the place of ''Adyashakti Kāli'', or ''Kalikkhetrô'' (the Bengali pronunciation of Kalikshetra), meaning "area of Goddess Kali", with ''Kolikata'' being thought to be a variation of ''Kalikkhetrô''. This theory is the most possible one as in the rural Bengali pronunciation the 'kh' consonant is replaced by 'k' and the 'tro' joined consonant is replaced by 'to', resulting in ''Kalikhetrô'' being ''Kaliketô'' which is very close to ''Kolikata''.
Other more or less plausible theories abound, like:
* The name derived from the location of the original settlement beside a ''khal'' (which means canal in [[English language|English]])
* According to a [[folk etymology]], Britishers, when they visited the city, saw the goddess with a skull garland. This reminded them of the place [[Golgotha]], which later became Kolkotha.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}
* According to another theory, the place was known for the manufacture of shell-lime. And the name derived from lime (''kali'') and burnt shell (''kata'').
*An interesting, but very possibly casually fabricated, anecdote exists on the nomenclature of Kolkata. According to it, a British merchant was travelling through the village, when he came upon a peasant stacking hay into the barn. Not knowing where he was, the merchant asked the peasant about that place. The peasant, unfortunately, did not understand English, and he guessed that the ''[[sahib]]'' must be inquiring about the date the crop was harvested. In his own language, he replied ''"kāl kāʈa hoyechilo"'' which in [[English language]] means "harvested yesterday" (''kal'' – yesterday, ''kāʈa'' – cut, which, when added with ''hoyechilo'', also means cut, but here it means harvested). The merchant was happy in the knowledge that he had learned about the name of the place, and left the place. Following English [[Transcription (linguistics)|transcription]], "Kāl Kāʈa" became "Calcutta" {{Citation needed|date=February 2012}}.
* The name may have its origin in the words ''khal'' meaning "canal", followed by ''kaṭa'', which may mean "dug".<ref name="Nair">{{Cite book
|last = Nair|first=P. Thankappan |title = Calcutta in the 17th century |pages=54–58|publisher = Firma KLM |location=Kolkata|year = 1986}}</ref>
* The name may have been derived from the Bengali term ''kilkila'' ("flat area").<ref name=calcuttawebhistory>{{cite web| url=http://www.calcuttaweb.com/about/history/| title = Kolkata (Calcutta): History| publisher=Calcuttaweb.com| access-date =2006-06-01}}</ref><ref name="chatterjeename">{{cite book |title=Water resources, conservation and management |last=Chatterjee |first=S.N. |year=2008 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers and Distributors |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-81-269-0868-4 |page=85 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lpREeIZQvrcC |access-date=14 June 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130619194712/http://books.google.com/books?id=lpREeIZQvrcC |archive-date=19 June 2013 }}</ref>
* Another theory is that the name derives from [[Kalighat]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kalighattemple.com/|title=Kalighat Kali Temple|website=kalighattemple.com|language=en|access-date=14 June 2020|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917134630/http://kalighattemple.com/|archive-date=17 September 2017}}</ref>
* According to another theory, the area specialised in the production of [[Calcium oxide|quicklime]] or ''koli chun'' and coir or ''kata''; hence, it was called ''Kolikata''.<ref name="chatterjeename" />

The area where the city is now located was originally inhabited by the people of three villages— ''[[Kalikata]]'', ''[[Sutanuti]]'' and ''[[Gobindapur, Kolkata|Gobindapur]]''. However, the boundaries of the three villages gradually became less distinct, and before the [[battle of Plassey]], the city could be divided into four different sub-areas – European Kolkata (Dihi Kolkata), a residential village with some sacred spots (Gobindapur), a traditional Indian market (Bazar Kalikata or Burrabazar) and a riverine mart concentrating on cloth trade (Sutanati).<ref>Mukerji, Dr.S.C. 1991. The Changing Face of Calcutta: An Architectural Approach. Government of West Bengal</ref> After the battle of Plassey in 1757, the British started rebuilding the city with the notions of making it the capital for their Empire.

The [[Calcutta High Court]] ruled in 2003<ref>{{cite news| first = Subhrangshu | last = Gupta| title =Job Charnock not Kolkata founder: HC Says city has no foundation day| url =http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030518/nation.htm#3| publisher=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]] online edition| date = 2003-05-17| access-date = 2006-12-17}}</ref> that [[Job Charnock]], the Englishman generally believed to be the founder of the Kolkata, is not the founder of the city and that hence Kolkata has no birthday. According to the court, the city owes its genesis in the [[Maurya Empire|Maurya]] and [[Gupta Empire|Gupta]] period and it was an established trading post long before the slave dynasty of the [[Delhi Sultanate]], the [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]], the Portuguese, the French or the British established a modern township there. References to the existence of an ancient riverine port (named Kalikata) exist in the travel journals of Chinese scholars and Persian merchants dating from centuries [[Common Era|BCE]].<ref name="bharatonline.com"/> The Hindu epic ''[[Mahabharata]]'', lists the King of "Vanga" (meaning [[Bengal]]), as having fought alongside the Kauravas in the great war.

In spite of the high court ruling, the growth of the present city can be dated from 1690, when Job Charnock, an agent of the [[English East India Company]] chose the place for a trade settlement. In 1698, the East India Company bought three villages (Sutanuti, Kalikata and Gobindapur) from a local landlord family of [[Sabarna Roy Choudhury]]. The next year, the company began developing the city as a [[Presidency City]]. In 1727, as per the order of [[George I of Great Britain|King George I]], a civil court was set up in the city. The Calcutta Municipal corporation (recently renamed as [[Kolkata Municipal Corporation]]) was formed and the city had its first mayor.

Although the city's name has always been pronounced ''Kolkata'' or ''Kôlikata'' in Bengali, the anglicised form ''Calcutta'' was the official name until 2001, when it [[Renaming of cities in India|was changed]] to ''Kolkata'' in order to match Bengali pronunciation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~easwaran/papers/india.html |title= The politics of name changes in India|access-date=14 June 2020|last=Easwaran|first= Kenny|publisher=Open Computing Facility, University of California at Berkeley
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110719150356/http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~easwaran/papers/india.html |archive-date = 19 July 2011}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:City name etymologies|Kolkata, Etymology of]]
[[Category:History of Kolkata]]
[[Category:Names of places in India|Kolkata]]

Etymology of Kolkata - Revision history

CleanupBot at 04:40, 2 January 2022