From Baikunthapur to Yorktown: North Bengal's historic link and revival

A very long time ago, a company from Britain took charge of collecting taxes in a place called Bengal, in India.

It forced farmers to grow crops like indigo and opium instead of food, so when a drought came in 1770, there was nothing to eat.

A terrible famine killed about ten million people, and much of Bengal's money stopped flowing to Britain.

Britain became poor and angry, and it tried to get money back by taxing tea in America.

The Americans were so upset that they threw a huge load of tea into Boston harbor in 1773, and this helped start the American fight for freedom.

Around the same time, brave people in Bengal also rose up against the company, but their rebellion was crushed and mostly forgotten.

An expert named Prasenjit K. Basu says North Bengal never grew rich like the United States did.

He suggests new ideas such as tea tourism, a heritage trail, making clothes, and growing special fruits to give the region new jobs.

With these changes, he hopes North Bengal can finally catch up with the rest of India.