Fort
William is a must visit tourist attraction place of Calcutta. Situated
at the banks of river Hooghly, it was named after King William III of
England. Fort William of Kolkata, India, was established during the
tenure of British Raj in 1696. It was the guardroom of this two-storied
building, where the black hole tragedy took place. During the Plassey
war in 1757, Siraj Ud Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal attacked on the fort
and defeated the Britishers. This paved way for the construction of a
new fort by British. The new fort was initiated by Robert Clive, which got completed by 1780. The basic purpose of setting up Calcutta Fort William was to prevent attacks from Muslim invaders. The area that was cleared around the fort became maidan, where several exhibitions and fairs take place. The foundation of the old fort is still intact. Till date, it is a military area and the Arsenal inside it is worth watching, but for that prior permission of the commanding officer is required.