The East India Company used to bring local widows to the area for sex work. Its area contains several hundred multi-story brothels and an estimated 11, sex workers There are some legends that this area was owned by Dwarkanath Tagore. He and some local zamindars are said to have started a brothel business. Brothels extended in every direction, block after block. The area was a vast expanse of lanes, houses, shops, and of course, sex workers.

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Sonagachi is Asia's largest red-light district. As per historian , during the early days of the city, the area was the den of a notorious Muslim dacoit by the name of Sanaullah, who lived here with his mother. The mother built a mosque in memory of her son, although it fell into disrepair. The Sona Gazi was converted into Sonagachi.
Prostitution in Kolkata formerly Calcutta is present in different forms. Prostitution may be brothel -based or non-brothel based as in the case of call girls. Prostitution is legal in India. The total number of prostitutes in Kolkata is unknown. Some estimates state that there are more than 6, brothel-based women and girls in prostitution in Kolkata. The population of prostitutes in Sonagachi constitutes mainly of Nepalese , Indians and Bangladeshis.
By Tom Gillespie TomGillespie1. The seedy world of Sonagachi in Kolkata, India, is swamped with hundreds of multi-storey brothels, housing roughly 14, prostitutes from all over India. Many of the sex workers have been trafficked into the profession, and are forced to sleep through the day and work tirelessly through the night.