Profile of Mumbai City District
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Chapter - 0 3 Profile of Mumbai City District Content - • Introduction • History of Name ‘Mumbai’ • Mumbai History • Administration • Transportation • M u m b ai City District • Sliopping in Mumbai Introduction - This chapter provides information about the area of research. Chapter reveals the history of Mumbai and also provides current condition about the administration and transport in Mumbai. It further discusses the geographical features of 'Mumbai City District’ and discusses about some of the famous shopping places in Mumbai City. Mumbai, also known as ‘Bombay’ in its early years, is the capital of Indian State of Maharashtra. Mumbai is situated on the west coast of India. The seven islands that constitute city have the history of fishing colonies. It consists of two regions, Mumbai City District and Mumbai Suburban District. The city district region is also known as ‘Island City’ or ‘South Mumbai’.' The total area of Mumbai is 603.4 km^, out of which city spans 67.79 km^ and suburban spans 370 km^, remaining area belongs to Defense, Mumbai Port Trust, Borivali National Park etc^... Mumbai lies at the mouth of Ulhas River on the western coast of India. This coastal region is also known as the Konkan and it shares boundaries with Thane district.^ Mumbai has tropical wet and dry climate, which includes seven months of dryness and monsoon in June to September. Occasionally, it rains during October and November. The cooler season occurs between December to February, followed by the summer seasons from March to June. Mumbai is the largest city by population and it is the financial and commercial capital of the country.'' Till 1970, Mumbai was largely known for its textile mills and the seaport. As of 2008, the World Cities Study Group (GaWC) has ranked Mumbai as an ‘Alpha World City’, third in its categories of Global Cities. Mumbai was ranked among the fastest cities in the country for business startup in 2009.^ ' "Once Upon a Time in Bombay". Foreign Policy. 24 June 2011. Retrieved from www.foreignpolicy.com/Articies, Retrieved on 24 February 2012. ■ "Area and Density - Metropolitan Cities". Ministry of Urban Development (Government of India), p. 33. Retrieved 15 April 2010. ’ Greater B o m b a y District Gazetteer 1960, p. 2, official site o f Mu m b a i city collector. ■’"Mumbai, a land of opportunities - Times O f India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 20 July 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2011. ^ " G A W C World Cities Ranking List". Diserio.com. Retrieved from www.diserio.com/gawc-world- cities on 5 M a y 2010. 98 Picture No. 3.1 Mumbai Map Haji All Dargah* Mahalaxrm Temple Jj Hanging Butcher Island Garden Taraporewa Aquarium Raj Bhavan Flora Fountain ShivajiTerminus Marine Driv^ Sachivalaya j^^beroi Towers i Chowpatty Beacf Pnnce ofWales Museum Gateway of India World Trade Centre, ■Nanman Point c o la b a I Shahid Bhagat Singh Rd Mumbai Source: Google Maps 99 3.1 History of Name - ‘Mum bai’ - Mumbai has a very long history of its changing names. The oldest known names for the city are ‘Kokamuchee’ and ‘Galajunkja’ which are hardly known to anybody these days.^ The history of the names of Mumbai goes back to 1507 with 'Ali Mohammad Khan’ first referred it as ‘Manbai’. In 1508 Portuguese writer used name ‘Bombaim’ in his book “Legends of India”. The meaning of Bombaim according to protuguese phrase is ‘Good Little Bay’.’ In 1516 another Portuguese explorer named it as ‘Maiambu’ on the name of local Hindu goddess of “Mumbadevi”. The other variations recorded in the 16'*^ and 17'’’ centuries are: Mombayn (1525), Bombay (1538), Bombain (1552), Monbaym (1554), (fe7JAYAK.\RV4 Mombaim (1563), \\lUiriRARY/5/ Mombaym (1644), Bombaye (1666), Bombaiim (1666), Bombeyee (1676), Boom Bay (1690). lf\ 12-3Sg In the 17'’’ century, the Protuguese name it officially as Bombay. The English name was officially changed to “Mumbai” in November 1995 due to efforts of a political party belongs to Marathi people ‘Shiv Sena’. Since then mentions of the city name other then Mumbai have been controversial, and resulted in emotional outburst among local people and sometimes between political parties. * Patel, Sujata; Masselos, Jim, eds. (2003). " B o m b a y a n d M u m b a i : identities, Politics a n d Populism". B o m b a y and Mumbai. The City in Transition. Delhi, India: The Oxford University Press. ’ Shirodkar, Prakashchandra P. (1998). Researches in Indo-Portuguese history 2. Publication Scheme. ISBN 978-81-86782-15-6. 100 3.2 History of Mumbai- PreIndependence: Mumbai was built on seven island which are - Bombay Island, Parel, Mazagaon, Mahim, Colaba, Worli and Old Woman’s Island also known as little colaba.* There is no evidence on since when these islands exists, but according to some local knowledge history of these island goes back to "Stone Age” which were occupied later by fishing communities. In 1407 these islands were governed by ‘Gujrat Sultanate'. ^ This sultanate led construction of many Mosques in Mumbai. The Haji Ali Dargah is one of famous construction of ‘Gujrat Sultanate in 1431. Mughal Empire was the dominant power in the Indian subcontinent during mid of 16"’ century. The 'Treaty of Bassein’ was signed by ‘Gujrat Sultanate’ with the ‘Portuguese Empire’ on 2^'^ December 1534. According to the treaty the seven island of Bombay, and some other part was offered to the Portuguese.The Portuguese are very much influential in the growth of Roman Catholic religions in Bombay. These islands were leased to the British East India Company in 1668 for a sum of £10 per annum by the Royal Charter of 27‘^ March 1668. In 1687, the British East India Company transferred its headquarters from Surat to Bombay. The city was reshaped with large scale civil engineering projects aimed at merging all the seven islands into a single in 1782 onwards. This project known as “Hornby Vellard” was completed by 1784. ‘‘ in 1817, British East India Company under M. Elphinstone defeated ‘Baji Rao 11’, the last of the Maratha Peshwa in the Battle of Khadki. This success of British witnessed freedom of Bombay from all attacks by native powers. The land reclamation in 1845 brought all seven islands together. Farooqui, A m a r (2006). Opium city: the making of early Victorian Bombay. Three Essays Press. ISBN 978-81-88789-32-0. ’David, M. D. (1995). Bombay, the city of dreams: a history of the first city in India. Himalaya Publishing House. Greater B o m b a y District Gazetteer. Maharashtra State Gazetteers, v. 27, no. 1. Gazetteer Department (Government of Maharashtra). I960. " Dwivedi, S. and Mehrotra, R. (2001). Bombay: The Cities Within. Eminence Designs. ISBN 81- 85028-80-X. 101 On 16’'^ April 1853, India’s first passenger railway line was established, connecting Bombay to the neighboring town of Thane.The opening of the ‘Suez Canal’ in 1869 transformed Bombay into one of the largest seaports on the Arabian Sea. As the capital of the Bombay Presidency, it witnessed the Indian Independence Movement, with the ‘Quit India Movement’ in 1942 and ‘The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny’ in 1946 are some landmark events of that.'^ Picture No. 3.2 Land Reclamation Project of Seven Islands '■ Dwivedi, S. and Mehrotra, R. (2001). Bombay: The Cities Within. Eminence Designs. ISBN 85028-80-X. " ibid 102 Post Independence: After the independence in 1947, the territory of Bombay Presidency retained by India was restructured into Bombay State. On April 1950, Municipal limits of Bombay were expanded by merging the ‘Bombay Suburban District' and Bombay City’ to form ‘Bombay Municipal Corporation’. The Sanyukta Maharashtra Movement to create a separate Maharashtra state including Bombay was in its peak in 1950s, following the protests during the movement in which 105 people were killed. The Bombay Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) was set up on 26''’ January 1975 by the Government of Maharashtra as an apex body responsible for planning and development in the metropolitan cities. Mumbai has witnessed changes since independence. Emerge of Hindi film industry, sometimes also known as Bollywood, has also contributed in the mass development of the city. City also attracts many tourists. Many transporters has started special service of ‘Mumbai Darshan’ on daily basis where one can enjoy the ride that covers all famous spots of city. Rail transport is considered as the lifeline of the city as it convenient and comparatively cheap mode of transport that links with almost all the parts of Mumbai City District and Suburban District. Apart from the developmental history, Mumbai has also witnessed incidences that broke peacefulness of the city. Following the demolition of the ‘Babri-Masjid’ in Ayodhya, the city was rocked by the Hindu-Muslim riots of 1992-93 in which more than 1000 people were killed. On 12"^ March 1993, a series of 13 co-ordinated bombing at several city landmarks has resulted in 257 deaths and over 700 injuries. In 2006, 209 people were killed and more than 700 were injured when seven bombs were exploded on the city’s Commuters trains. The blasts that occurred at the Opera House, Zaveri Bazaar and Dadar on 13 July 2011 were the latest in the series of terrorist attacks on Mumbai.'"' "Three bomb blasts in Mumbai, 18 dead, over 130 injured". Retrieved from http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/three-bomb-blasts-in-mumbai-18-dead-over-130-injured. Retrieved 14 July 2011. 103 3.3 Administration - Brihanmumbai Muncipal Corporation (BMC) an civic body administers the city. BMC is the largest civic organization in the country.'" The Bombay High Court exercises jurisdiction over Maharashtra, Goa, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The two revenue districts of Mumbai come under the jurisdiction of a District Collector.