Inflatable boat

The History of Mumbai recounts the growth of a collection of seven islands on the western coast of India becoming the commercial capital of the nation and one of the most populous cities in the world. Although the islands were inhabited since the Stone Age, the modern city was founded by the British colonists in the 18th and 19th century. The city was named Bombay by the British, an attribution to the word Bom Bahia (Good Bay) by the Portuguese soldier Francisco de Almeida when his ship sailed in the archipelago in 1508. It served as the city's official name until 1995, when it was changed to Mumbai.

During the 3rd century BCE, the islands became a centre for Hindu and Buddhist culture and religion under the patronage of the Maurya Empire. In the 9th century, the area came under the Silhara dynasty, before falling to the Muzaffarid dynasty of Gujarat in 1343. In 1534, the Treaty of Diu between Sultan Bahadur Shah of the Gujarat Sultanate and the Portuguese, placed the islands into Portuguese possession. In 1661, the islands were ceded to Charles II of England as the dowry of Catherine de Braganza, and he later leased them to the British East India Company in 1661.

The British undertook land-filling and draining of the marshlands, developing a modern port and city, which attracted migrant workers from across India. The population rose from 10,000 in 1661 to 60,000 by 1675. In the 19th century, Mumbai emerged as an important centre of international commerce, industry and culture and in the 20th century, it became an important centre for politics and government, becoming a strong base of the Indian independence movement. Following India's independence in 1947, the city's population has expanded exponentially. Modern service, commerce and technology sectors have replaced the older, heavier industries and the expansion of city limits has been accompanied by the foundation of the sister city of Navi Mumbai. Although suffering from widespread crime, pollution, and overpopulation, Mumbai remains a centre of life, culture and commerce in India, with its inhabitants enjoying living conditions and a vibrant, modern economy and urban infrastructure.

Ancient period (200 BCE - 1348 CE)

The seven islands of Bombay.

The present day Mumbai was originally an archipelago of seven islands, comprising of Bombay, Parel, Mazagaon, Mahim, Colaba, Worli, and Old Woman's Island (also known as Little Colaba). Further lay a large group of islands known as Sashti, meaning sixty-six villages– antecedent to the modern Salsette Island, and were largely inhabited by the Koli tribe of fishermen. The island of Trombay lay southeast to the Salsette Island. Pleistocene sediments found around Kandivali in northern Mumbai by Todd in 1939 indicate that these islands were inhabited since the Stone Age. The archipelago and modern city has been name after the Koli Goddess Mumbadevi.

The port of Sopara (present day Nala Sopara near Mumbai) was an important trading centre during ancient times. In the 3rd century BCE, the islands were incorporated into the Maurya Empire under the expansion campaign of Emperor Ashoka of Magadha. The empire's patronage gradually made the islands a centre of Hindu and Buddhist religion and culture, with the establishment of monasteries and trading routes. Buddhist monks, scholars, and artists created the artwork, inscriptions, and sculpture of the Kanheri, Elephanta, Jogeshwari, and Mahakali caves. The total number of Buddhist cave temples numbered 109, dating from the end of the 2nd century BCE.

Ancient statues of the Silhara dynasty around the Walkeshwar Temple

Later, Aryans from North India ruled over Bombay. These islands were known as Heptanesia (Ancient Greek: A Cluster of Seven Islands) to the Greek geographer Ptolemy in 150 CE. These islands then fell to the Satvahanas. After the end of the Satvahana rule in 220 CE, the Kshatrapa rulers held dominion over Bombay. Coins found at Bombay and Nashik indicate that during the 5th century, Bombay was ruled by the Kalachuris. These islands were then conquered by the Mauryas. The Mauryan presence in Bombay ended when the Chalukyas of Badami invaded Bombay in 590. By 610, these islands were completely under the control of the Chalukyas under Pulakesi II. The Silhara dynasty ruled the region between 810 and 1240. The Banganga Tank and Walkeshwar Temple were constructed under the patronage of the Silhara rulers. Marco Polo, an Italian explorer, had sailed through the islands of Bombay, during the late 13th century. Modern sources identify a 13th century King Bhimdev who had his capital in Mahikawati, present day Mahim and Prabhadevi. After his death in 1303, he was succeeded by his son Pratapbimba, who had built his capital city at Marol in Salsette, which he named Pratappur (the present day Pardapur or Parjapur, a deserted village near the centre of Salsette). The islands were wrested from Pratapbimba's control by Mubarak, the emperor of Delhi, who had occupied Mahim and Salsette under his expansion campaign in 1318. But it was later reconquered by Pratapbimba and he ruled these islands till 1331. Later, his brother-in-law Nagardev reigned for 17 years till 1348. In 1348, the islands came under the control of the Muzaffarid dynasty of Gujarat, thus ending the sovereignty of Hindu rulers over the islands of Bombay.

Islamic period (1348 - 1534)

The Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai built in 1431, by a Muslim saint named Haji Ali, when Mumbai was under Islamic rule

According to Friar Odoric of Pordenone, an Italian traveler, in 1322, Thane was the seat of Government of the Muslim kingdoms in the North Konkan and was ruled by a Turk ruler. In 1391, shortly after the establishment of the Gujarat Sultanate, Firoz Shah of Gujarat appointed Muzaffar Shah I as the viceroy of north Konkan. For the administartion of the Bombay islands, he appointed a governor for Mahim. During the reign of Sultan Ahmad Shah I of Gujarat (1412-1441), Malik-us-Sharq, a Gujarat noble of renown, was posted for some years at Mahim, and in addition to instituting a proper survey of the islands, did much to improve the existing revenue system. Firishta, a Persian historian, recorded that by 1429 the seat of Government of the Muslim had been transferred from Thane to Bombay (Mahim). About the same period, the Bhongles, who were basically Bhandari leaders, seized the island of Mahim and ruled it for at least eight years. However, it was shortly reconquered by Rai Qutb of the Sultanate of Gujarat. On his death in 1429-1430, Ahmad Shah I Wali (1422-1436) of the Bahmani Sultanate of Deccan despatched an army under Khalaf Hasan Basri to subjugate the north Konkan and he succeeded in capturing Salsette and Mahim.

The carrack which Francisco de Almeida employed on his voyage to Bombay

Hearing of this event, Sultan Ahmad Shah I sent his son Jafar Khan to recapture the lost territory. A battle was fought between him and the Deccan monarch, which had been reinforced by the arrival of a fresh army under Prince Alauddin Bahamani. The Sultanate of Gujarat were victorious in the battle. Thus in 1431, Mahim was recaptured by the Sultanate of Gujarat. But when Kutb Khan, the Gujarat commandant of Mahim died, Sultan Ahmad Shah I Wali again despatched a large army under Malik-ul-Tujjar against Bombay. In response, Sultan Ahmad Shah I sent down a huge army under Jafar Khan and Iftikhar-ul-mulk and Mukhlis-ul-mulk (head of the Gujarat naval depot at Diu). The power of the Gujarat Sultan was too firmly grounded to offer any chance of success. The Sultanate's patronage led to the construction of many Islamic mosques and structures. The most prominent structure that came up during their rule, was the Haji Ali Dargah, that was built by a Muslim saint named Haji Ali in 1431. Later, the islands came under Bahadur Khan Gilani of the Gujarat monarchy. During the years 1491-1494, the whole of the Konkan came under the Bahamani general Khaja Mahmud Gavan (1482-1518) and Bombay was subsequently wrested from Gilani's control. However, after a series of attacks, the islands were reconqured by the Gujarat Sultanate and it came under Sultan Bahadur Shah (1527-1536).

In 1508, Portuguese explorer and trader Francisco de Almeida's ship sailed into the deep natural harbour of the island and he called it Bom Bahia (Good Bay). However, the Portuguese paid their first visit to the Bombay islands on 21 January 1509 when they landed at Mahim after capturing a Gujarat barge in the Bandora (Bandra) creek of Bombay. In 1526, the Portuguese established their factory at Bassein. In 1528-29, Lopo Vaz de Sampaio, overtook the Gujarat fleet near Bombay, and seized the fort of Mahim belonging to the King of Cambay (Sultan of Gujarat) who was at war with Nizamuluco (Nizam-ul-mulk), the lord of Cheul (South of Bombay). Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat had grown apprehensive of the power of the Mughal emperor Humayun and he was obliged to sign the Treaty of Diu (1534) with the Portuguese. According to the treaty, the islands of Bombay and Bassein were offered to the Portuguese. However, Bassein and the seven islands of Bombay were surrendered later by a treaty of peace and commerce between Bahadur Shah and Nuno da Cunha on 25 October 1535.

Portuguese period (1534 - 1661)

Catherine of Portugal, whose marriage treaty with Charles II of England placed Bombay in the possession of the British Empire

The Portuguese were an empire dominated by the Roman Catholic Church. The history of the dominion of the Portuguese in Bombay is to a large extent the tale of the foundation and growth of their religious orders. The oldest Portuguese Franciscan building in Bombay, the church of St. Michael in Mahim was built during this period. During 1534-1548, the islands were leased to Mestre Diogo. Between 1545 and 1548, during the viceroyalty of Dom João de Castro, the four villages of Parel, Wadala, Sion, and Worli were granted to Manuel Serrao. In 1548, the villages of Trombay and Chembur were granted to Dom Roque Tello de Menezes and the Island of Pory (Elephanta Island) to Joao Pirez. In 1554, during the viceroyalty of Dom Pedro Mascarenhas, the islands of Bombay were leased to Garcia de Orta, a Portuguese physician and botanist. In 1570, the Jesuits built the church of St. Andrew at Bandra. By 1585 the Franciscans had obtained practical control of Salsette, Mahim, Bombay. A chapel of Nossa Senhora de Bom Concelho was erected at Sion and affiliated to the church of St. Michael in 1596, and in the same year a church of Nossa Senhora de Salvacao was built at Dadar, both of which were built by the Franciscans and are still in existence. The Portuguese Jesuits had set up their base at Mazagaon, and claimed the land. The Portuguese King however refused to handover the land to them, and in 1572 permanently leased the island to the Sousa e Lima family.

In 1614-15, the British fought the Battle of Swally with the Portuguese for the possesion of Bombay. In 1652, the Surat Council of the British Empire urged the British East India Company to purchase Bombay from the Portuguese. In 1654, the British East India Company drew the attention of Oliver Cromwell to this suggestion by the Surat Council. By the middle of the seventeenth century the growing power of the Dutch Empire forced the English to acquire a station in western India. The Directors of the Council of Surat reported in 1659 that every effort should be made to obtain Bombay from the King of Portugal. On 11 May 1661, the marriage treaty of Charles II of England and Catherine of Portugal placed Bombay in the possession of the British Empire.

British period (1661 - 1947)

Struggle with native powers (1661 - 1817)

St. Thomas Cathedral constructed by Charles Boone in 1718, was the the first Anglican Church in Bombay

On 18 January 1665, King Charles granted Humphrey Cooke the possession of Bombay. However, Salsette, Mazagaon, Parel, Worli, Sion, Dharavi, and Wadala still remained under Portuguese possesion. Later, Cooke managed to acquire Mahim, Sion, Dharavi, and Wadala for the English. Sir Gervase Lucas, who was appointed Governor of Bombay on 5 November 1666, reported that Bombay included all the islands except Colaba and Old Woman's Island. On 21 September 1668, the Royal Charter of 27 March 1668, led to the transfer of Bombay from Charles II to the British East India Company for an annual rent of £10. Sir George Oxenden became the first Governor of Bombay under the regime of the British East India Company. Gerald Aungier, who became Governor of Bombay on July 1669, established the mint and printing press in Bombay and developed the islands into a centre of commerce. He also offered various business incentives, which attracted various communities like Gujuratis, Parsis, Dawoodi Bohras, and Jews. On 20 February 1673, Rickloffe van Goen, the Governor-General of Dutch India attacked Bombay, but the attack was resisted by Aungier. The Treaty of Westminster (1674), concluded between England and Holland, relieved the British settlements in Bombay of further apprehension from the Dutch.

In 1682, the Company fortified the Middle Ground Coastal Battery isle in the archipelago to curb the sea piracy in the area. Between 1678 and 1682, Yakut Khan, the Siddi admiral of the Mughal Empire, landed at Sewri and torched Mahim. By 15 February 1689, Khan conquered almost the whole island, and razed the Mazagon Fort in June 1690. After a payment made by the British to Aurangzeb, the ruler of the Mughal Empire, Yakut evacuated Bombay on 8 June 1690. In 1715, the construction of Bombay Castle was finished, which fortified the island of Bombay from sea attacks by the Portuguese and Mughals. By 26 December 1715, Charles Boone assumed the Governorship of Bombay, and constructed the St. Thomas Cathedral in 1718, which was the first Anglican Church in Bombay. In 1737, Salsette was captured by the Maratha Empire and most of the Portuguese provinces in Bombay was ceded to the Marathas in 1739. In 1753, the Naval Dockyard was opened which remains the oldest docks in the city. The first land-use laws were also enacted in Bombay during this period. The British occupied Salsette in 1774, which was formally ceded to the British East India Company by the Treaty of Salbai signed in 1782. In 1782, William Hornby assumed the office of Governor of Bombay, and initiated the Hornby Vellard engineering project of connecting the isles in 1784. However, the project was rejected by the British East India Company in 1783. The construction of the Sion Causeway commenced in 1798 and was completed in 1803. In 1803, Bombay was hit by a severe famine, which led to a large scale emigration. On November 5 1817, the British East India Company defeated Bajirao II, the Peshwa of the Maratha Empire, in the Battle of Kirkee which took place on the Deccan Plateau. The success of the British campaign in the Deccan witnessed the freedom of Bombay from all attacks by native powers.

City development (1817 - 1885)

File:Bombay Thane train 1853.jpg

A train plying on the the first-ever Indian railway line between Bombay and Thane (circa 1853)

The encouragement to the trade of Bombay combined with the Company's military successes in the Deccan paved the way for the educational and economic progress which characterized the city during the nineteenth century. The Hornby Vellard project gained momentum in 1817. One of the chief improvements to the north of Colaba was the construction of the Wellington Pier (Apollo Bundar) which was opened for passenger traffic in 1819. Bombay was hit by a water famine in 1824. In July 1832, the Parsi-Hindu riots took place in consequence of a Government order for killing of dogs. In 1838, the islands of Colaba and Little Colaba was connected to Bombay by the Colaba Causeway. The Bank of Bombay was opened in 1840, which remains the oldest bank in the city. By 1845, all the seven islands had been connected to form a single island called Old Bombay having an area of 435 km² (167.95 sq mi) by the Hornby Vellard project. In 1845, the Mahim Causeway, which connected Mahim to Bandra was completed. In 1845, the Grant Medical College and hospital, the third in the country, was founded by Governor Robert Grant. Riots broke out between Muslims and Parsis in Octo­ber 1851, in consequence of an ill-advised article on Prophet Muhammad which appeared in the Gujarathi newspaper. On 16 April 1853 the first-ever Indian railway line began operations between Bombay and neighbouring Thane, over a distance of 21 miles.

A file photo of University of Bombay's Campus (circa 1870)

The first cotton mill in Bombay, the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company was established on 7 July 1854. The foundation of the University of Bombay in 1857 made it the first modern institution of higher education in India, along with the University of Calcutta. The Great Indian Peninsular Railway and the Bombay, Baroda, and Central India Railway (BB&CI) were started in 1860. The outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 increased the demand for cotton in the West, and led to an enor­mous increase in cotton-trade. In 1866, the British Government established the Bombay Coast and River Steam Navigation Company for the maintenance of steam ferries between Bombay and nearby islands; while the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 completely revolutionized the marine trade of Bombay. In 1870 the docks were consolidated under the Bombay Port Trust, and the Bombay Municipal Corporation was established in 1872, providing a modern framework of governance for the rapidly-growing city. Tramway communication was also instituted in 1872. Public gardens such as the Victoria Gardens and Northbrook Gardens were opened in 1873 and 1874 respectively. Violent Parsi-Muslim riots again broke out in February 1874, which were caused by an attack upon Prophet Muhammad published by a Parsi resident. The Bombay Gymkhana was formed in 1875 and soon organizations such as Bombay Quadrangular followed. Bombay became one of the few cities in the world to include a large national park within its limits, and the Bombay Natural History Society was founded in 1883. The Princess Dock was built in the year 1885 as part of a scheme for improving the whole fore­shore of the Bombay harbour.

Political consciousness and freedom struggle (1885 - 1947)

File:Image delegates INC1885.jpg

First session of the Indian National Congress in Bombay (28-31 December 1885)

The growth of political consciousness started after the establishment of the Bombay Presidency Association by Dadabhai Naoroji on 31 January 1885. The Bombay Millowners' Association was formed in February 1875 in order to protect interests threatened by possible factory and tariff legislation by the British. The foundation of the Indian National Congress in 1885 was one of the most important political event in Bombay. The first session of the Indian National Congress was held in Bombay from 28-31 December 1885. In 1888, the Bombay Municipal Act was enacted which gave the British Government wide powers of interference in civic matters. The Victoria Terminus of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway, one of the finest stations in the world, was also completed in 1888. On 11 August 1893, a very serious riot took place between the Hindus and Muslims in Bombay, which led to 1500 arrests and 80 were injured. In 1896, Bombay was hit by bubonic plague which killed thousands of citizens. In a single week in 1897, over 10,000 persons fled Bombay. On 9 March 1898 there was a serious riot which started with a sudden outbreak of hostility against the measures adopted by Government for suppression of plague. The riot led to a strike of dock and railway workers which paralysed the city for a few days. The significant results of the plague was the creation of the the Bombay City Improve­ment Trust in 1898 and the Haffkine Institute in 1899. The cotton mill industry was also adversely affected during 1900 and 1901 due to the flight of workers because of the plague. The years 1904-05, however, witnessed a reversion of this state of affairs.

Lokmanya Tilak was the most popular leader of the Indian Independence Movement in Bombay

The Partition of Bengal in 1905 initiated the Swadeshi movement, which led to the boycotting of British goods, had a tremendous impact on Bombay. On 22 July 1908, Lokmanya Tilak, the principal advocate of the Swadeshi movement in Bombay, was sentenced to six years imprisonment, which led to huge scale protests in the city. The Bombay Chronicle was started by Pherozeshah Mehta, the leader of the Indian National Congress, in April 1913, which played an important role in the national movement till India's Independence. The most important event in Bombay early in 1915 was the visit of Mahatma Gandhi to Bombay. The All India Home Rule League was inaugurated by Annie Besant at Madras in September 1916. Meanwhile, Tilak had already started his own Home Rule League at Bombay in May 1916 to bid for support of the mill workers in Bombay. Lord Willingdon convened the Provincial War Conference at Bombay on 10 June 1918, whose objective was to seek the co-operation of the people in the World War I measures which the British Government thought it necessary to take in the Bombay Presidency. The conference was followed by huge rallies across the city. The world-wide influenza epidemic raged through Bombay from September to December 1918, causing hundreds of deaths per day. The first important strike in the textile industry in Bombay began in January 1919. Bombay was the main centre of the Rowlatt Satyagraha movement started by Mahatma Gandhi from February — April 1919. The movement was started as a result of the Rowlatt Act, which indefinitely extended emergency measures during the First World War in order to control public unrest.

The Gateway of India in Bombay, through which the last British troops left India on 28 February 1948

Following World War I, which saw large movement of India troops, supplies, arms and industrial goods to and from Bombay, the city life was shut down many times during the Non-cooperation movement from 1920 to 1922. In 1926, the Back Bay scandal occured, when the Bombay Development Department under the British reclaimed the Back Bay area in Bombay after the financial crisis incidental to the post-war slump in the city. In 1927, the first electric locomotives were put into service up to Poona and Igatpuri and later electric multiple rake commuter trains ran up to Virar on the Bombay, Baroda, and Central India Railway railway. In the late 1920's, many Persians migrated to Bombay from Yazd to escape the drought in Iran. In the early 1930's, the nationwide Civil disobedience movement against the British Salt tax spread to Bombay. Vile Parle was the was the headquarters of the movement in Bombay under Jamnalal Bajaj. On 15 October 1932 industrialist and aviator J.R.D. Tata pioneered civil aviation in Bombay by flying a plane from Karachi to Bombay. Bombay was affected by the Great Depression of 1929, which saw a stagnation of mill industry and economy from 1933 to 1939. With World War II, the movements of thousands of troops, military and industrial goods and the fleet of the Royal Indian Navy made Bombay an important military base for the battles being fought in West Asia and South East Asia. The climatic Quit India rebellion was promulgated on 7 August 1942 by the Congress in a public meeting at Gowalia Tank. The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny of 18 February 1946 in Bombay marked the first and most serious revolt by the Indian sailors of the Royal Indian Navy against British rule. On 15 August 1947, finally India was declared independent. The last British troops to leave India, the First Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, passed through the arcade of the Gateway of India in Bombay on 28 February 1948. The 282 year long period of the British period in Bombay ended after India's Independence in 1947.

Post-independence period (1947 - 1960)

Flora Fountain was renamed Hutatma Chowk ("Martyr's Square") as a memorial to the Samyukta Maharashtra movement

Bombay was one of the most progressive cities in independent India. The city was the centre of domestic and international trade, modern industries and home to a large pool of educated, and skilled workers. The flow of migrants from different parts of India increased significantly, and the city population grew exponentially. City limits expanded with the incorporation of suburbs from the northern parts of Salsette Island. The Borivali National Park was expanded and large areas of wetlands were issued protection. The long-standing fishing villages dating back to the Koli peoples were given special status and their habitat was protected.

After 1955, when the State of Bombay was being re-organised along linguistic lines into the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, there was a demand that the city be constituted as an autonomous city-state. Bombay Citizens' commitee, an advocacy group comprising of leading Gujarati industrialists lobbied for Bombay's independent status. However, the Samyukta Maharashtra movement opposed this, and insisted that Bombay be declared the capital of Maharashtra. Following protests in which 105 people were killed by police firing, Maharashtra State was formed with Bombay as its capital on 1 May 1960.

Modern period (1960 - 2000)

Intermittent incidents of religious and political violence occurred throughout the 1960s, and large-scale industrial strikes were frequently organized by militant trade unions. In the 1960s and 1970s, tensions between the local Marathi communities and migrant communities from southern and northern India provoked hostility from political parties such as the Shiv Sena and led to incidents of violence. Modern educational institutions such as the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay were established and the University of Bombay was expanded to provide greater opportunities to young Indians. Mumbai's school system includes a large number of private institutions, considered of high national and international quality. The city attracts a large number of tourists from different parts of India and across the world, attracted to its vibrant cultural and commercial life, islands, beaches and seashores. Although smuggling was reduced considerably by the 1990s, city life was characterized by criminal networks engaging in rampant extortion, arms, drugs and human trafficking, kidnapping and homicides. The Mumbai police under commissioner Julio Ribero launched intensive operations to crush organized crime, but was also criticized for using controversial tactics such as extra-judicial killings. The volatile and often-bloody events marking underworld activities have entered into popular culture, being the subject of successful films, documentaries and literature. Police and local government officials and politicians are frequently assailed for entrenched corruption. Large and mostly illegal slum settlements, illicit constructions and property disputes are common and serious problems faced by the city. Mumbai's prominent status and importance to national life has made it a target of extremists and terorists. In December 1992, hundreds of people were killed and the city paralyzed by religious violence caused by the destruction of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya. In 1993, serial bomb blasts killed more than 250 people and damaged the Bombay Stock Exchange; these were believed to be orchestrated by mafia don Dawood Ibrahim in retaliation for the mosque demolition.

In 1995, the newly-elected Shiv Sena-led government would rename the city Mumbai. The Victoria Terminus was renamed the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, after the legendary Marathi king and hero. The airport was named the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, and the VJTI was renamed after Shivaji's mother Jijabai, also a popular historical figure and heroine, as the Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute. However some of the journalists and political observers viewed these renaming as exploitation of nationalist sentiments. Since independence, Mumbai has seen an exponential growth and diversification of service industries, from tourism, hoteling, cuisine and catering to information technology, telecommunications, finance, banking and commercial trading sectors. India's two largest stock markets, the BSE and the National Stock Exchange play a central role in the city's economic life, employing thousands of brokers, analysts and investors and attracting aspiring entrepreneurs and large corporations across the nation and the world. Mumbai has especially benefited from the liberalisation of the economy in the early 1990s, which resulted in a feverish growth for banking, finance, trading and investment sectors.

Mumbai's burgeoning population growth has made real estate and construction the fastest-growing and intensely competitive industries in the city. Mills and factories that characterized Mumbai's industrial economy were gradually relocated from the city owing to rising costs, unproductivity, militant trade unionist activities and concerns of pollution. In the 1990s, a sister township of Navi Mumbai was founded across Thane to help ease the overpopulation of Mumbai and relocate many of the city industries, and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust was founded in Nahva Sheva to ease the increasing loads of the Mumbai harbour and docks. At the same time, the presence of scientific and high technology industries has increased manifold. The Hindi film industry, popularly nicknamed "Bollywood", expanded exponentially in popularity and productivity after independence. Tens of thousands of aspiring artists flood into the city, hoping to work in film and television productions. Most Indian film actors, filmmakers, singers, musicians, celebrities and most of the technical staff of the industry are based in the city, along with most of the studios and production companies. Infe has over the years attracted increasing numbers of performing artists from foreign countries.

21st century

Main articles: 6 December 2002 Mumbai bus bombing, 27 January 2003 Mumbai Bombing, 13 March 2003 Mumbai train bombing, 28 July 2003 Mumbai bus bombing, 25 August 2003 Mumbai bombings, The Maharashtra floods of 2005, 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings, and 2008 attacks on North Indians in Maharashtra

One of the bomb-damaged coaches at the Mahim station.

On 6 December 2002, a bomb placed under a seat of an empty BEST bus exploded near the busy Ghatkopar station in Mumbai. Around 2 people were killed and 28 were injured. On 27 January 2003, a bomb placed on a bicycle exploded near the busy Vile Parle station in Mumbai. The bomb killed 1 and injured 25. On 13 March 2003, a bomb exploded as a train pulled into Mulund station in Mumbai. 10 people were killed and 70 were injured. On 28 July 2003, a bomb placed under a seat of a BEST bus exploded in Ghatkopar. The bomb killed 4 people and injured 32. On 25 August 2003, two blasts in South Mumbai - one near the Gateway of India and the other at Zaveri Bazaar in Kalbadevi occurred. At least 48 people were killed and 150 injured. Mumbai was lashed by torrential rains on 26 July-27 July 2005, during which the city received 37 inches (940 millimeters) of rain in 24 hours — the most any Indian city has ever received in one day. Around 83 people were killed. On 11 July 2006, a series of seven bomb blasts took place over a period of 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway in Mumbai. 209 people were killed and over 700 were injured. In 2008, the city experienced xenophobic attacks by the activists of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on the North Indian migrants in Mumbai. Attacks included assault on North Indian taxi drivers and damage of their vehicles.

See also

• Timeline of Mumbai events
• List of Governors of Bombay
• Growth of Mumbai
• Mumbai bombings

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• Somerset, Anne (1984). Ladies in Waiting: From the Tudors to the Present Day. Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
• Subrahmanyam, Sanjay (1997). The Career and Legend of Vasco Da Gama. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521646294. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
• Greater Bombay District Gazetteer. Maharashtra State Gazetteers. Vol. I. Government of Maharashtra. 1986. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
• Greater Bombay District Gazetteer. Maharashtra State Gazetteers. Vol. III. Government of Maharashtra. 1986. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
• "Portuguese Settlements on the Western Coast". Maharashtra State Gazetteer (PDF, 93 KB). Government of Maharashtra. 1977. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
• Thana District Gazetteer. Gazetteers of the Bombay Presidency. Vol. XIII. Government of Maharashtra. 1986 [1882]. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
• Thana — Places of Interest. Gazetteers of the Bombay Presidency. Vol. XIV. Government of Maharashtra. 2000 [1882]. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
• Yule, Henry (1870). The Travels Of Marco Polo. Vol. 1. Plain Label Books. ISBN 9780761476375. Retrieved 2008-08-15.

Further reading

• MacLean, James Mackenzie (1876). A Guide to Bombay. Bombay Gazette steam Press.
• Tindall, Gillian (1992). City of Gold. Penguin Books, Limited. ISBN 0-14-009500-4.
• Mehta, Suketu (2004). Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 9780375403729.
• Patel, Sujata (1995). Bombay, Metaphor for Modern India. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-563688-0. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Arun, Katiyar (1996). Bombay, A Contemporary Account. Harper Collins. ISBN 81-7223-216-0. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Contractor, Behram (1998). From Bombay to Mumbai. Oriana Books.
• Pinki, Virani (1999). Once was Bombay. Viking. ISBN 0-670-88869-9.
• Jagdish, Agarwal (1998). Bombay — Mumbai: A Picture Book. Wilco Publishing House. ISBN 81-87288-35-3.
• Cox, Edmund Charles (1887). Short History of Bombay Presidency. Thacker & Co.
• Chaudhari, K.K (1987). History of Bombay. Modern Period Gazetteers Dept., Govt. of Maharashtra.

External links

• Portuguese India History: The Northern Province (Provincia do Norte): Bassein (Baçaim), Bombay-Mumbai (Bombaim), Damao, Chaul
• Century City Time Line - Bombay
• A City emerges from Hindustan Times
• A New Bombay, A new India from Hindustan Times
• Bombay: History of a City from Hindustan Times
• A City emerges from The British Library
• To the Present from Hindustan Times