Asansol
Although Asansol is predominantly a Bengali speaking city today, Asansol has mixed population of Bengali, Hindi and Urdu speaking people, English is the language of business communication and once widely spoken. After the railway works came, there was a substantial British and Anglo-Indian population. English medium schools started to impart education in English from as early as 1877. The first Christian Brother School in India St. Patrick's School was started in 1891. The students from this and other English medium schools provided the elite work force that was needed to operate the British Indian Railways, the British Indian Army, the Indian Civil Services and the coal mines.
Post independence, most of the Anglo-Indian community migrated to Canada and Australia. The community living in Asansol now is multicultural as there are a large number of Biharis,Punjabis, Marwaris, Gujaratis, Muslims and other non Bengalis.There is no Indian festival that is not celebrated in Asansol and the people of all communities take part in them with equal fervour.
