Mamata Banerjee is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current chief minister of the Indian state of West Bengal since 20 May 2011, the first woman to hold the office. Having served multiple times as a Union Cabinet Minister, Mamata Banerjee became the Chief Minister of West Bengal for the first time in 2011. She founded the All India Trinamool Congress in 1998 after separating from the Indian National Congress, and became its second chairperson later in 2001. She often refers to herself as Didi.
The International Kolkata Book Fair is a winter fair in Kolkata. It is a unique book fair in the sense of not being a trade fair—the book fair is primarily for the general public rather than whole-sale distributors. It is the world's largest non-trade book fair, Asia's largest book fair and the most attended book fair. It is the world's third-largest annual conglomeration of books after the Frankfurt Book Fair and the London Book Fair. Many Kolkatans consider the book fair an inherent part of Kolkata, and instances of people visiting the fair every day during its duration are not uncommon. The fair offers a typical fairground experience with a book flavour—with picnickers, singer-songwriters, and candy floss vendors. With a total footfall of over 2 million people, it is world's largest book fair by attendance.
Emami Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Kolkata. The company caters to a number of niche categories in the personal care and healthcare segments.
On 28 May 2010, a Jnaneshwari Express train derailed at about 1 a.m. in the West Midnapore district of West Bengal, India. It was disputed as to whether sabotage or a bomb caused damage on the railway track, which in turn led to the derailment, before an oncoming goods train hit the loose carriages, resulting in the deaths of at least 148 passengers.
The 1993 Kolkata Writers' Building March was a protest organized by Mamata Banerjee, then a leader of the Indian National Congress, on July 21, 1993, to demand the introduction of mandatory photo voter ID cards in elections. The protest aimed to potentially destabilize the ruling Left Front government led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The protest, which led to violence and police firing, resulted in the deaths of 13 people and became a significant turning point in West Bengal's political history. After the main organizers of the 1993 rally broke away to form All India Trinamool Congress the mantle of the rally was taken by AITMC.
Madan Mitra is an Indian politician, actor from West Bengal. Madan Mitra started his career with party Indian National Congress. He held many positions of Indian Youth Congress, the party's youth wing. In 1998, he joined Trinamool Congress party, founded by his colleague Mamata Banerjee, and his movie debut was in the 2023 Bengali film Oh! Lovely. In 2011, he was elected to the legislative assembly and became a state minister. He was arrested for the Sarada Chit Fund conspiracy case and got bail after 22 months.
AMRI Hospitals is a for-profit private hospital chain which is headquartered in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal, India. In September 2023, Manipal Hospitals acquired a majority stake (84%) in the company.
The Mihrawan derailment occurred on 31 May 2012, when seven coaches of the Dehradun bound Doon Express derailed near Mihrawan in the Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh, India. The accident took place at 1.13 PM killing four and injuring fifty more instantly. Reacting to the incident, Railway Ministry spokesman Anil Saxena told the press that "While four of the coaches got tilted, three of them derailed. So the coaches which are affected are the 11th onwards from the engine, up to the 17th coach". The region, where accident took place, does not have good road connectivity. Relief and rescue teams had to rush to the spot from Varanasi and Lucknow. On the possible cause for the accident, Railway Board member AP Mishra said that exact cause has to be ascertained. It could have been "due to excessive heat causing track expansion or some miscreant activity", he said, adding that the railway track could be cleared by the next morning. The train was heading towards Varanasi at the time of its derailment.
The 2013 Canning riots were anti-Hindu riots in state of West Bengal on 21 February 2013. The riots occurred in the Canning subdivision, after a Muslim cleric was stopped and killed by half dozen unidentified assailants near Nalekhali. Following this incident, more than 200 homes were burned down in the villages of Naliakhali, Herobhanga, Gopalpur and Goladogra villages in the Canning police station area. Several shops were looted in Jaynagar Majilpur police station area under Baruipur subdivision. Incidents of violence were reported from Canning, Jaynagar, Kultali and Basanti police station areas.
The Saradha Group financial scandal was a major political scandal caused by the collapse of a Ponzi scheme run by Saradha Group, a consortium of over 200 private companies that was believed to be running collective investment schemes popularly but incorrectly referred to as chit funds in Eastern India.
Radhe Shyam Agarwal is an Indian entrepreneur, co-founder and executive chairman of Emami, a global group of company engaged in the business of FMCG, paper, real estate, edible oils, health care and cement. Radhe is among the top 100 richest Indians and was listed by Forbes as having a net worth of $1.43 billion in 2015.
Radhe Shyam Goenka is an Indian entrepreneur, co-founder and whole time Director of Emami, a diversified business conglomerate engaged in the business of FMCG, paper, real estate, edible oil & bio-diesel, health care cement, pharma retail, book & leisure retail, solar power and contemporary art. Radhe is among the top 100 richest Indians and listed on Forbes world's billionaire.
On 31 March 2016, a 150 m (490 ft) steel span of the under-construction Vivekananda Road flyover in the Girish Park neighbourhood of Kolkata, India, collapsed. 27 people died and 80 more were injured in the accident.
The 2011 AMRI Hospital fire was a major fire at a private hospital in Dhakuria, Kolkata, that occurred in the early morning of 9 December 2011. The hospital is part of a private hospital chain owned by the Emami & Sarachi group, known as AMRI Hospitals. The fire claimed 89 victims and was thought to have been caused by a short circuit in the basement. The spread of the fire was aided by the illegal storage of flammable material in the basement of the hospital. After the incident the directors of the hospital were taken into custody. They were said to have caused the fire due to inattention of the hospital staff, workers, cleaners, and nurses.
The 2018 Kolkata bridge collapse refers to the collapse of the Majerhat Bridge, in the city of Kolkata, India, on 4 September 2018. The bridge collapsed at around 4:45 PM (IST), resulting in the death of three people injuries to at least 25 others.
On 11 June 2019, following the assault of two junior doctors at Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital (NRSMCH) the previous night, junior doctors in Kolkata began protesting and demanded that the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, should intervene and provide adequate security to medical professionals. The protests caused a collapse of healthcare facilities in the state. Protests continued through 13 June, despite attempts at mediation, resulting in the chief minister issuing an ultimatum to the protesting doctors. The doctors ignored the ultimatum, asking the government to meet their demands for security and for the chief minister to give them a public apology.
The 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election was the 17th quinquennial legislative election held in West Bengal, to elect all 294 members of West Bengal Legislative Assembly. This electoral process of 292 seats unfolded between 27 March to 29 April 2021, taking place in eight phases. Voting for the two remaining constituencies was delayed to 30 September 2021.
No NRC movement was originated in West Bengal, after NRC Assam Draft List was published in 2018. It predated the anti-CAA protests and created the conditions for protests against the CAA to grow, especially in West Bengal. The NRC Assam Final Draft List, published on 30 July 2018, has excluded four million residents. The initial protests against NRC were organised by the Matua (Namashudra) community in West Bengal. On 1 August 2018, the members of the Matua community protested across the state, in places such as Dumdum, Sodepur, Titagarh, Palta, Halisahar, New Barrackpore, Madhyamgram, Barasat, Thakurnagar and Bhaybla in North 24 Parganas district and Chakdah, Bagula, Badkulla in Nadia district. They blocked the national highway-6 connecting Kolkata and Mumbai at Chandrapur in Howrah district. Sarva Bharatiya Namashudra Vikash Parishad promised to continue protests against NRC. They also blocked Railway traffic in various places in Bengal. Matua Mahasangha contended that NRC Assam would exclude millions of Matuas. The rail blockade by Matuas disrupted rail traffic in Sealdah division.
The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed in the Indian state of West Bengal on 17 March 2020 in Kolkata. The Health and Family Welfare department of Government of West Bengal has confirmed a total of 13,43,442 COVID-19 positive cases, including 1,09,806 active cases, 15,120 deaths and 12,18,516 recoveries, as of 28 May 2021.
On 13 January 2022, the Bikaner–Guwahati Express train derailed near Domohani, Maynaguri, Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal. Nine people were killed and 50 people were injured. This was the first major train derailment in 2022, and the first in India since the Seemanchal Express derailment in Bihar in February 2019.
