Consulate General of the United States, Kolkata

The official representation of the U.S. government in India began in November 1792, when the United States's first President, George Washington, nominated Benjamin Joy, of Massachusetts, to be consul. In the 1860s, the Consulate General had under its jurisdiction seven consular agencies: Aden, Akyab, Bassein Chittagong, Cocanada, Moulmein and Rangoon.{{cite journal

|title=Indo-American Relations: From Emergence into Strength

|journal=Span

|page=11

|date=July–August 2007

|url=http://span.state.gov/wwwfspjulyaug072.pdf

|accessdate=6 Sep 2012

|url-status=dead

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110701063403/http://span.state.gov/wwwfspjulyaug072.pdf

|archivedate=2011-07-01

}} The Metropolitan Building in Kolkata housed the United States Information Service office till 1991.

During the Vietnam War, the street outside the consulate was renamed after Ho Chi Minh. In 1995, British journalist John F. Burns characterized it as "one of the most beleaguered American diplomatic posts anywhere."{{cite news |title= Calcutta Hopes as Communists Push Free Market |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE2D81339F936A25753C1A963958260 |work=The New York Times|date= October 15, 1995 | author = John F. Burns | author-link = John F. Burns }}

An increase in the number of information technology (IT) companies in India is leading to an expansion of the consulate.{{cite news |title=US consulates prepare for expected visa rush| newspaper=The Statesman | date=2008-06-21 | url=http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=22&id=235975&usrsess=1 | accessdate=2008-08-13 }} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}

{{Expand section|date=November 2021}}

• Dean R. Thompson (August 2011–August 2015)
• Patti Hoffman (19 August 2015 – 11 August 2021)
• Melinda Pavek (12 August 2021–Incumbent)

{{main article|2002 attack on American cultural centre in Kolkata}}

The American Cultural Centre at the consulate was attacked on the morning of 22 January 2002 by Islamic militants. The motorcycle-borne attackers killed 5 people, four of which were Kolkata Police constables and one belonged to a private security agency. Two groups claimed responsibility for the attack. A Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami member, Farhan Malik, claimed responsibility and said the attack was in protest against "the evil empire of America", while another person claiming to be a member of Asif Raza Commandos, a gang with ties to radical Islamic groups, also claimed responsibility.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1774483.stm |title=Gunmen attack US centre in Calcutta |work=BBC News |date=2002-01-22 |accessdate=2013-07-27}}

• Embassy of the United States, New Delhi
• Consulate General of the United States, Mumbai
• Consulate General of the United States, Chennai
• Consulate General of the United States, Hyderabad

{{Reflist}}

• [https://in.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/kolkata/ Official U.S. Consulate General Kolkata website]

{{US diplomatic missions}}

{{Diplomatic missions in India}}

{{coord missing|West Bengal}}

Kolkata CG

Category:India–United States relations

United States

Category:1792 establishments in India

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