West Bengal is the fourth-most populous state in India and the fourteenth-largest state by area. The state borders Nepal and Bhutan in the north and Bangladesh in the east. With Kolkata as its capital, West Bengal also borders the Indian states of Jharkhand, Sikkim, Assam, Bihar and Odisha. Read more to know some interesting facts and stories about West Bengal. Image: Wikimedia Commons Ancient History Though the origin of the name Bengal, also known as Bangla and Bango in Bengali, is unknown, it was suggested that the Bengali word ‘Bango’ might have been derived from the ancient kingdom of Vanga or Banga. According to the Indian epic Mahabharata, the region was mentioned as a part of the Vanga Kingdom. Shashanka was the first recorded independent king of Bengal, who reigned in the early 7th century. Following the Ghurid conquests led by Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji and the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate, Islam spread across the Bengal region. During the Islamic Bengal Sultanate, founded in 1352, Bengal was a major world trading nation and was often referred to as the richest country to trade with, by the Europeans. Following the death of Emperor Aurangzeb and the Governor of Bengal Shaista Khan, Mughal Bengal became a semi-independent state under the Nawabs of Bengal.  Colonial Period Many European traders like French, Dutch, British and Portuguese reached Bengal in the late 15th century. In 1757, The British East India Company, under the leadership of Major-General Robert Clive, defeated Siraj ud-Daulah, the last Nawab of Bengal, and his French allies...