"West Bengal: The Historical Legacy Behind its Name, Despite Being Geographically in the East of India"                              The name "West Bengal" might seem a bit confusing at first because geographically, it is located in the eastern part of India. The reason behind the name lies in the historical context of the region.

Before India's independence in 1947, Bengal was a large province under British rule. It was partitioned in 1905 by the British administration into two entities - East Bengal and West Bengal - for administrative convenience. The partition was primarily based on linguistic and religious lines, with East Bengal having a majority Muslim population and West Bengal having a majority Hindu population.

However, in 1912, due to political and administrative reasons, the British authorities decided to reunite Bengal and form a unified province. This province was named "Bengal" without any directional qualifier. It encompassed the present-day Indian state of West Bengal and the present-day country of Bangladesh.

After India gained independence from British rule in 1947, Bengal was once again partitioned, this time along religious lines, resulting in the formation of West Bengal as a separate Indian state and East Bengal (later known as East Pakistan) as a part of the newly created state of Pakistan. East Pakistan later became the independent nation of Bangladesh in 1971.

The name "West Bengal" was retained for the Indian state to distinguish it from the historical region of Bengal, which is now divided between Bangladesh and West Bengal. Despite being geographically in the eastern part of India, West Bengal continues to be called "West Bengal" to maintain its historical and cultural connection with the region of Bengal as a whole.a