User:BRPever/Darjeeling
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Darjeeling (Bengali: [ˈdarˌdʒiliŋ], Nepali: [darˈd͡ziliŋ]) is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies in the Lesser Himalayas at an elevation of 2,000 metres (6,560 ft). It is noted for its tea industry, its scenic views of the world's third-highest mountain Kangchenjunga, and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a narrow-gauge mountain railway which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Darjeeling is the headquarters of the Darjeeling district which has a partially autonomous status called Gorkhaland Territorial Administration within the state of West Bengal. It is also a popular tourist destination in India.
Darjeeling | |
---|---|
Nickname: The Queen of Hills[1] | |
Coordinates: 27°02′15″N 88°15′47″E | |
Country | India |
State | West Bengal |
District | Darjeeling |
Settled | 1815, Treaty of Sugauli |
Founded by | East India Company |
Government | |
• Type | Municipal Corporations in India |
• Body | Darjeeling Municipality |
• Chairman | Pratibha Rai[2] |
• Vice-Chairman | Sagar Tamang |
Area | |
• City | 10.60 km2 (4.09 sq mi) |
• Metro | 12.77 km2 (4.93 sq mi) |
Elevation | 2,042.16 m (6,700.00 ft) |
Population (2011)[3] | |
• City | 120,414 |
• Density | 11,000/km2 (29,000/sq mi) |
• Metro | 132,016 |
Languages | |
• Official | Bengali and Nepali[5] |
Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
Postal Index Number | 734101 |
Telephone code | 0354 |
Vehicle registration | WB-76 WB-77 |
Lok Sabha constituency | Darjeeling |
Vidhan Sabha constituency | Darjeeling |
Website | darjeelingmunicipality |
In the early 19th century during East India Company rule in India a sanatorium and a military depot were set up in the region. Subsequently, extensive tea plantations were established, the tea growers developing hybrids of black tea and creating new fermentation techniques. A distinctive Darjeeling tea emerged, which became internationally recognised and has ranked among the most popular black teas in the world.[6] The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway connecting the town with the North Bengal plains was completed in 1881 and has some of the few remaining steam locomotives in service in India.
Darjeeling has several British-style private schools that attract pupils from India and neighbouring countries. The culture of the town reflects its diverse demographic milieu which comprises the Lepcha, Khampa, Kirati, Gorkha, Newari, Sherpa, Bhutia, Bengali[7] as well as other Indian ethno-linguistic groups. Darjeeling and nearby Kalimpong were the centres of the Gorkhaland movement in the 1980s.