About Kolkata Birthday / Foundation observance
Kolkata's "birthday" is 24 August, the date in 1690 when Job Charnock of the English East India Company landed at Sutanuti and set up a trading post, long described as the founding of Calcutta. In 2003 the Calcutta High Court ruled that the city was already a settled place and so has no founder and no birthday, and the state stopped official celebrations. Many Kolkatans and private groups still mark the day, which in 2027 falls on Tuesday, 24 August 2027.
Kolkata is one of the few Indian cities that has a disputed birthday, and the dispute went all the way to the High Court. For much of the twentieth century 24 August was taught in schools as the day Calcutta was founded. Since 2003 it has officially been nothing of the kind, yet every year the date still brings a wave of "Happy Birthday, Kolkata" posts, heritage walks and newspaper features.
Why is 24 August called Kolkata's birthday?
24 August is called Kolkata's birthday because on 24 August 1690 Job Charnock, the East India Company's agent in Bengal, returned to Sutanuti on the east bank of the Hooghly and raised the Company's flag there. He had used the site before. This time the settlement stuck, and British histories later treated his landing as the moment Calcutta began.
The city grew out of three villages: Sutanuti, Gobindapur and Kalikata. In November 1698 the Company, through Charnock's son-in-law Charles Eyre, bought the zamindari rights to them from the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family for 1,300 rupees. Sources give the date of the deed as 9 or 10 November. A fort was built on the site by about 1701 and named Fort William, and in 1772 Calcutta became the capital of British India, which it remained until 1911.
- Late 15th centuryKalikata in a Bengali poem
The name appears in the work of the poet Bipradas Pipilai.
- c. 1590sKalikata in the Mughal records
The name appears in the revenue roll of Akbar's reign in Abul Fazl's Ain-i-Akbari.
- 24 August 1690Charnock lands at Sutanuti
The Company sets up a lasting trading post.
- November 1698The three villages change hands
The Sabarna Roy Choudhury family sells its rights to the Company.
- 1990Tercentenary
The state government and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation celebrate 300 years.
- 2001The name changes
The state officially renames Calcutta as Kolkata.
- 16 May 2003High Court ruling
The court holds that Charnock is not the founder and the city has no birthday.
What did the Calcutta High Court decide about Kolkata's birthday?
The Calcutta High Court decided in 2003 that Job Charnock should not be regarded as the founder of Kolkata and that the city has no birthday. The case was a public interest petition filed in 2001 by the Sabarna Roy Choudhury Paribar Parishad, a body of descendants of the old zamindar family, together with several scholars. The court asked a committee of historians to examine the question.
The committee reported that a well-developed society and an important trading centre existed on the site long before 1690, and the court's order traced the area's origins as far back as the Maurya and Gupta periods. Accepting this, the court held on 16 May 2003 that Charnock could not be treated as the sole founder, named several people and the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family among those who shaped the early city, and directed that textbooks stop calling him the founder. After the ruling, the state government and the municipal corporation stopped marking 24 August officially.
Why do people still mark 24 August?
People still mark 24 August because the date had been part of the city's self-image for generations, and a court order did not change habit. Private organisations, heritage groups and many residents continue to treat it as "Kolkata Day", often as an occasion to talk about the city's past rather than to honour Charnock.
Historians remain divided. Those who keep the date tend to see it as the start of the colonial port city, with its fort and administration, rather than of settlement on the site. The other side argues that calling an English trader the founder erases the Bengali merchants, weavers, zamindars and pilgrims who were already there, and that a place with a Kali temple and a name in Mughal records cannot be "born" in 1690. Another question raised in the debate is whether someone who leased land can be called a city's founder at all.
Charnock himself is buried in the churchyard of St John's Church in central Kolkata. His mausoleum was raised by Charles Eyre in 1695, and the granite used in it, brought from near Madras, later gave its name to a rock type, charnockite. The Sabarna Roy Choudhury family runs a heritage museum, the Sabarna Sangrahashala, at Barisha in south Kolkata.
Where does the name Kolkata come from?
The name Kolkata most likely comes from Kalikata, one of the three villages, but where Kalikata itself comes from is debated. These are the main explanations scholars and local tradition offer.
| Theory | Suggested origin |
|---|---|
| Place of Kali | Kalikshetra, "the field of Kali", worn down over time into Kalikata |
| Kalighat | Named after the Kali temple at Kalighat, near the old village |
| Dug canal | From khal (canal) and kata (dug) |
| Lime and coir | From koli chun (quicklime) and kata (coir), goods once made in the area |
| Flat land | From kilkila, a word for flat ground |
What can you write on 24 August for Kolkata?
A good 24 August message for Kolkata talks about the city people actually live in. Mention a neighbourhood, a smell, a sound, a book stall or a tram line. Keep Charnock out of it unless you are writing history.
Happy Kolkata Day. Somewhere on College Street a book is waiting for you. Come home soon.
Shubho Kolkata Dibosh, Ma and Baba. Have a phuchka on my behalf this evening, and save me the Sunday newspaper.
Happy Kolkata Day. I hope today comes with good adda and better cha.
On 24 August, here's to every street in this city that was here before anyone thought to give it a birthday.
Happy Kolkata Day from the banks of the Hooghly. The trams are slower, the adda is longer, and we miss you.
- Kalikata
- One of the three villages that grew into Calcutta; the likely source of the city's name.
- Sutanuti
- The riverside village where Charnock landed in 1690, in today's north Kolkata.
- Sabarna Roy Choudhury
- The zamindar family that held rights over the three villages until 1698.
- Adda
- Long, unhurried conversation among friends, a Kolkata institution.
- Shubho
- Bengali for "good" or "auspicious"; used in wishes such as "Shubho jonmodin", happy birthday.
Kolkata's own calendar has bigger days than 24 August, above all Durga Puja in autumn and Pohela Boishakh, the Bengali New Year, in April.
How to wish someone on Kolkata Birthday / Foundation observance
A 24 August message works best as a love letter to Kolkata itself rather than to Charnock: its neighbourhoods, trams, adda, books, food and the Hooghly. Many Bengalis object to crediting an English trader with founding a place their ancestors already lived in, so avoid "Happy 300-and-something birthday, Charnock's city". "Kolkata Day" or a simple line about loving the city is safer.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + regional language.
When is Kolkata Birthday / Foundation observance in 2026 and 2027?
Kolkata Birthday / Foundation observance is on 24 Aug every year. Only the weekday changes.
- 2026
- 2027
Frequently asked questions
When is Kolkata Birthday / Foundation observance in 2027?
Kolkata Birthday / Foundation observance 2027 falls on Tuesday, 24 August 2027.
Who founded Kolkata?
Kolkata has no single founder. Job Charnock of the East India Company set up a trading post at Sutanuti in 1690, but the Calcutta High Court ruled in 2003 that a settled society and trading centre already existed there, so he cannot be called the founder.
Is Kolkata's birthday still celebrated on 24 August?
The state government and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation stopped official celebrations after the 2003 High Court ruling. Private organisations, heritage groups and many residents still mark 24 August informally as "Kolkata Day".
How old is Kolkata?
Kolkata is much older than 1690. The name Kalikata appears in a late-15th-century Bengali poem and in the Mughal revenue records of Akbar's reign, and a committee of historians told the High Court that a trading settlement existed well before Charnock arrived.
Why was Calcutta renamed Kolkata?
The West Bengal government changed the city's official English name from Calcutta to Kolkata in 2001 to match the Bengali pronunciation, which had always been Kolkata.
Where is Job Charnock buried?
Job Charnock is buried in the churchyard of St John's Church in central Kolkata. His mausoleum was built by his son-in-law Charles Eyre in 1695.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .