Baranagar, city in eastern India, in eastern Bangla State, a suburb of Kolkata. Located in the Ganges River delta, Baranagar lies on the east bank of the Hugli (Hooghly) River, a distributary of the Ganges. A part of the Kolkata metropolitan area industrial belt, the city has several industries, including jute and cotton mills; it also manufactures chemicals and machinery. Many residents of Baranagar commute to jobs in Kolkata. Fast-moving electric trains link the two cities, which are also connected by a major highway. The Indian Statistical Institute and the Indian Institute of Psychometry are located in Baranagar. Portuguese and then Dutch settlers arrived in the 17th century and made their living from the region's large population of pigs (Barah Nagar means pig town in Bengali). The town was ceded to Britain in 1795. Population (1991) 224,821.
