Siliguri
City in West Bengal, India
Siliguri (, Bengali pronunciation: [ʃiliɡuɽi]; ), also known as Shiliguri, is a major tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms the Twin Cities with the neighbouring city of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts in the Indian state of West Bengal. Known as the "Gateway of Northeast India", It is located on the banks of the Mahananda in the foothills of the Himalayas. Siliguri is the third largest urban agglomeration in West Bengal, after Kolkata and Asansol.
Siliguri has great strategic importance in West Bengal, with convenient access to three international borders: Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. It also connects the North-East with mainland India. Located in the foothills of Eastern Himalayas, Siliguri is a significant trading and transportation hub.
History
Etymology
According to Sailen Debnath, "Siliguri" means a stack of pebbles or stones. Until the 19th century this region was called as "Shilchaguri" when there was dense Dolka forest covering the region.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Siliguri” is city in West Bengal, India. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Siliguri, City and West, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “city in West Bengal, India” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5087.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Siliguri”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Siliguri primary sources, Siliguri archive and Siliguri research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Siliguri”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Siliguri” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.