Calcutta

Calcutta
Type:	City
Location:	India (formerly Hindoostan)
First mentioned in:	The Seeds of Death
First appearance:	Ghosts of India [+]Loading...["Ghosts of India (novel)"]
Appearances:	AUDIO: The Emerald Tiger [+]Loading...["The Emerald Tiger (audio story)"] AUDIO: Storm of the Sea Devils [+]Loading...["Storm of the Sea Devils (audio story)"]

Calcutta was a city in India. (AUDIO: The Emerald Tiger ^[+]Loading...["The Emerald Tiger (audio story)"]) In 1904, it was located in the north-east of Hindoostan. (TV: Survivors of the Flux ^[+]Loading...["Survivors of the Flux (TV story)"])

According to the Fifth Doctor, it was the land of the goddess Kali. It was especially well known for its jewellery trade. (AUDIO: The Emerald Tiger ^[+]Loading...["The Emerald Tiger (audio story)"])

Calcutta was located in the north-east of Hindoostan, north of the Bay of Bengal and just south of the River Ganges. (TV: Survivors of the Flux ^[+]Loading...["Survivors of the Flux (TV story)"])

History

Calcutta appeared on a map of the region in 1904. (TV: Survivors of the Flux ^[+]Loading...["Survivors of the Flux (TV story)"])

Rani Jhulka dangled a dacoit over a tiger pit in Calcutta to get information. (COMIC: The Swords of Kali ^[+]Loading...["The Swords of Kali (comic story)"])

The Fifth Doctor materialised the TARDIS in Calcutta on 31 December 1926 with the intention of taking his companions Nyssa, Tegan Jovanka and Turlough to the second Unofficial Test match between All India and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which was played in the city on that day. The MCC won the match by four wickets. The Doctor considered it to be one of the best cricket matches of all time. (AUDIO: The Emerald Tiger ^[+]Loading...["The Emerald Tiger (audio story)"])

Ian Gilmore was once posted in Calcutta. (AUDIO: The Fifth Citadel ^[+]Loading...["The Fifth Citadel (audio story)"])

The Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble travelled to Calcutta in 1947. According to the Doctor, it was at the heart of the strife caused by the British Raj's failure to respond to a famine in the subcontinent in 1946. When the British didn't act to safeguard the people, Indians revolted and demanded independence. (PROSE: Ghosts of India ^[+]Loading...["Ghosts of India (novel)"]) This was the Partition of India. (TV: Demons of the Punjab ^[+]Loading...["Demons of the Punjab (TV story)"]) However, since the people of India were of many different faiths, the country was immediately plunged into a kind of religious civil war. Calcutta was at the front lines of this faith-based struggle — something which the Tenth Doctor and Donna observed at close range. (PROSE: Ghosts of India ^[+]Loading...["Ghosts of India (novel)"])

In January 1982, England engaged India in three cricket test matches, held in Culcutta, Chennai and Kanpur. All three matches resulted in a draw, (AUDIO: Divine Intervention ^[+]Loading...["Divine Intervention (audio story)"]) as reported in a newspaper read by the Fifth Doctor whilst at Heathrow Airport. (TV: Time-Flight ^[+]Loading...["Time-Flight (TV story)"], AUDIO: Divine Intervention ^[+]Loading...["Divine Intervention (audio story)"])

In the 21st century, Calcutta had a T-Mat centre. (TV: The Seeds of Death ^[+]Loading...["The Seeds of Death (TV story)"])

Behind the scenes

The details given in Ghosts of India are not entirely historically accurate. The independence-triggering famine was not in 1946, but rather in 1943. However, the implication of the Partition inherent in Ghosts of India, and Calcutta's tumultuous place in it, is more or less "correct" when compared to real life events in 1947.

Cricket match

In Divine Intervention, the Eighth Doctor remembers reading about the January 1982 cricket test match in Calcutta as the Fifth Doctor, which came to a draw. More specifically, this fourth match of the season took place on 1-6 January 1982 at Eden Gardens in Culcutta.