MUMBAI

Bombay (city) or Mumbai, city in western India, capital of Maharashtra State, a port on the Arabian Sea, on the low-lying Bombay, Trombay, and Salsette islands. Bombay is the financial centre of India and a major national commercial, transport, and manufacturing hub. Bombay harbour, a broad, sheltered bay located between the city and the mainland, is one of the world's greatest natural harbours. The port receives a large portion of the nation's total imports and is a shipping point for goods produced in western India. Two major railways terminate in Bombay, providing service to all parts of India, and the city is served by a major international airport on Salsette Island.

Bombay is one of the most important centres in India for the production of cotton textiles. Other leading industries include printing and publishing, shipbuilding and repairing, and the manufacture of chemicals, machinery, metals, metal products, and fertilizers. Bombay is also the centre of India's large film industry, often termed "Bollywood", which greatly exceeds the output of the Hollywood film industry in number of films produced annually. A number of national daily newspapers, including the Times of India, are based in the city. Bombay is the financial centre of India, and located in the city are the headquarters of the national Bank of India, a mint, and a stock exchange. In the city at Trombay is the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (1957).

The city, which is steadily growing by the internal immigration of rural dwellers in search of a more prosperous life, is increasingly crowded on its narrow, peninsula-like site. The principal business district and residential sections are concentrated on the southern part of Bombay Island. Several fine sandy beaches are located on the west coast along the Arabian Sea. In the east, on the harbour, is a district known as the Fort, which contains the main public buildings of Bombay and many commercial establishments. Parks include Victoria Gardens, which has a zoo, and Hajiali Park, with a racecourse and a sports stadium. To the north on Salsette Island are industrial districts, suburbs, and shanty towns. Bombay has a cosmopolitan population with representatives of almost every linguistic and religious group of India, as well as a significant foreign population. Educational institutions in the city include the University of Bombay (1857), an institute of technology, and an academy of architecture. Also of note is the large Prince of Wales Museum of Western India (1905).

That the area was settled in ancient times is attested to by the 2nd- to 9th-century carvings of Kanheri Caves on Salsette Island and the 7th-century temples on nearby Elephanta Island. The area was incorporated in the kingdom of Gujarat in 1348. In 1534 it was acquired by the Portuguese, who named the harbour Bom Bahia (beautiful bay), from which the name of the city is derived. The site was ceded to the English in 1661; in 1668 it was leased to the British East India Company, which made its headquarters there in 1672.

Land reclamation projects were undertaken in the 18th and 19th centuries. Industrial development began in the 1850s with the construction of the railway and the establishment of the first cotton-spinning mill. The cotton textile industry boomed during the American Civil War when United States cotton shipments to Great Britain were interrupted; the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 added greatly to the port's prominence by significantly reducing the sailing time to Britain. The city was formerly capital of Bombay Presidency and Bombay State and in 1960 became the capital of the newly created Maharashtra State. On May 4, 1995, the state government decided to rename the city as Mumbai. Population (1991, greater city) 12,596,243.

Mumbai, or Bombay as it was formerly known, is the commercial capital of India and is situated on the west coast of India. It is a vibrant city and is like New York while New Delhi is like Washington D.C. A plaque outside Gateway of India, a famous landmark of Mumbai says that Bombay is urbs prima in India. Though New Delhi, with liberal assistance from Government of India has tried to overtake Mumbai, it still holds its own . Mumbai holds over 14 million people, more than Greece and contributes nearly 40 per cent of India's direct and indirect taxes. By the year 2020, it will be the largest city in the world. People from far-flung parts of the country, have woven their various faiths, customs, cultures and languages into the life of the city, giving it a truly cosmopolitan character. But it is also a city of appalling contrasts. Apart from the biggest slums in Dharavi, it has remarkable buildings - Mumbai CST, Rajabai Tower of the University, Municipal corporation, General Managers' offices of Central and Western railways and so on. One can get excellent views from the Hanging Gardens in Malabar Hills and can go by boat to the Elephanta Caves across the Arabian Sea. One can also see excellent miniatures in the Prince of Wales museum and exhibits on Gandhiji's life at Mani Bhavan. And Mumbai has the best bookshop in Crossword and the best music shop in Rhythm House.

This megapolis was once a cluster of seven islands - Colaba, Dongri, Mazagaon, Girgaon, Worli, Mahim and Pare-Sim. The city's glory is a tribute to the enterprise and vision of its citizens. Its rich heritage in art and culture is evident in the popularity of theatre and folk dances.

Some general Information

The archipelago which developed into modern Bombay has been inhabited from before history began. Stone age implements have been found at several sites in these islands, giving evidence of people who lived here long before recorded history. Later, in 237 BC, the coastal regions, and presumably the islands came under the Magadhan empire ruled by Ashok. During this long period the deep-sea fishermen called Kolis had villages on this archipelago.

 From AD 810 to 1260, the island of Bombay was ruled by the Silhara dynasty. These kings built the original Walkeshwar temple on Malabar Hill. It was during this time that the caves at Elephanta were carved out. Although the coastal town of Kalyan was a busy port, the natural harbour of Bombay was not developed till the 17th century.

In 1343 the island of Salsette was invaded by the Muslim kings of Gujarat. In the ensuing wars, Mahim fell to the Gujarati kings. The Konkani people seem to have appeared around this time. A mosque in Mahim dates from this period.

With Francis Almeida's arrival in the harbour of Bombay, the Portuguese sailed into the history of the city in 1508. After skirmishes and wars over territories, Bahadur Shah of Gujarat was forced to cede the main islands to the Portuguese in 1534. They established their capital in Bassein, and listed the seven islands of tradition. The Portuguese were occupied with proselytisation, not trade. Many of the older temples were destroyed during this period. A few constructions from this time still remain-- the forts at Bassein, Mahim and Sion, and the St. Andrew's church in Bandra.

In 1661, the Portuguese passed these islands on to the British as the dower property of Catherine of Braganza on her marriage to Charles II of England. The British East India Company received it from the crown in 1668, founded the modern city, and shortly thereafter moved their main holdings from Surat to Bombay. George Oxenden was the first governor of Bombay, but the town and port began to develop rapidly only after Gerald Aungier became the governor. He offered various inducement to skilled workers and traders to set up business in the new township. As a result, a large number of Parsis, Armenian, Bohras, Jews, Gujarati banias from Surat and Diu and Brahmins from Salsette entered Bombay. The first record of a Parsi in Bombay actually dates from 1640, during the Portuguese occupation of these islands. The population of Bombay was estimated to have risen from 10,000 in 1661 to 60,000 in 1675. Bombay began to take on the character which we see today.

The 18th century was a period of slow growth. The city grew into a major port, trading with all parts of the world. The shipbuilding industry moved to Bombay from Surat with the coming of the Wadias. By the middle of the century Bhandaris from Chaul, Vanjaras from the Ghats, slaves from Madagascar, Bhatias, Banias, Shenvi Brahmins, goldsmiths, ironsmiths and weavers from Gujarat migrated to the islands. This growth led to the introduction of the first land-use laws and the segregation of the British part of the islands from the black town. With increasing prosperity in the later part of this century, large scale engineering works were embarked upon. The vellard at Breach Candy was completed in 1784 during the Governorship (1771-1784) of William Hornby. Reclamations at Worli and Mahalaxmi followed. These works, in turn, attracted construction workers, like the Kamathis from Andhra, who began to come to Bombay from 1757 on. A regular civil administration was put in place towards the end of this century and the beginning of the next.

The island of Salsette was joined to Bombay by the Sion causeway, completed in 1803. Shortly thereafter, in 1838, Colaba was linked up to Bombay by another causeway. The Mahim Causeway was completed in 1845 entirely out of a private donation by Lady Avabai Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy. All the islands of Bombay were thus joined together. The Great Fire of 1803 demolished large parts of the Indian town and led to new and better laid-out constructions. In 1853 a 35-km long railway line between Thana and Bombay was inaugurated-- the first in India. Four years later, in 1854, the first cotton mill was founded in Bombay. With the cotton mills came large scale migrations of Marathi workers, and the chawls which accommodated them.

Following the first war of Independence in 1857, the Company was accused of mismanagement, and Bombay reverted to the British crown. With the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, and the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, exports, specially cotton, from Bombay became a major part of the colonial economy. The British Empire by now included the Deccan, and the Great Indian Peninsular Railway made internal travel faster. This network of commerce and communication led to an accumulation of wealth, channelled into building an Imperial Bombay by a succession of Governors, starting from Sir Bartle Frere. The Bombay Municipal Corporation was founded in 1872. Many of Bombay's famous landmarks, the Flora Fountain, the Victoria Terminus, the Hanging Gardens, etc, date from this time. The water works, including the lakes were built. However, this facade of an ordered and well-governed city was belied by the plague epidemics of the 1890s. This dichotomy between the symbolic and mundane continues even today.

Construction of Imperial Bombay continued well into the 20th century with the building of the Gateway of India, the General Post Office, the Town Hall (now the Asiatic Library) and the Prince of Wales Museum. Bombay expanded northwards into the inner suburbs, as well as the the northern suburbs. The Backbay reclamation scandal of the '20s barely checked the enthusiasm for land. The Port Trust had done a remarkable job of reclaiming 1880 acres of land. The freedom movement had reached a high pitch of activity. Gandhi returned from South Africa and reached Bombay on January 12, 1915. Following the many campaigns in the succeeding years, the end of the British imperial rule in India was clearly presaged by the "Quit India" declaration by the Indian National Congress on August 8, 1942, in Gowalia Tank Maidan, near Kemp's Corner. India became a free country on August 15, 1947. In the meanwhile, Greater Bombay came into existence through an Act of the British parliament in 1945.