city, southeastern West Bengal state, northeastern India, just west of the Hugli (Hooghly) River (Hugli River) and part of the Kolkata (Calcutta) (Calcutta) urban agglomeration. It is connected by road and rail with Kolkata and Burdwan. Settled in 1673 by the French and expanded commercially, it was captured by the British in 1757 and again in 1794 but was restored to France in 1815. Following the 1949 plebiscite, it merged with India. Chandernagore has several colleges affiliated with the University of Burdwan. Pop. (2001) 162,187.