[[File:Calcutta QE3 Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta) is the capital of the [Asia]]n of West Bengal and is located in eastern India on the east bank of the . The city was a colonial city developed by the East India Company and then by the British Empire. Kolkata was the capital of the British Indian empire until 1911, when the capital was relocated to Delhi. Kolkata grew rapidly in the 19th century to become the second city of the British Indian Empire. This was accompanied by the development of a culture that fused Indian philosophies with Arabian tradition.