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History of Mumbai

The original inhabitants of Mumbai Bombay were the Kolis. These fisher folk worshipped the Goddess Mumbadevi from whom Mumbai derives its name. Over the centuries, the seven islands, which collectively form Mumbai, were predominantly under Hindu dynasties. They faced a Muslim invasion in the 14th century before being handed over to the Portuguese colonialists by Bahadur Shah, the Sultan of Gujarat in 1534. In 1661 the biggest island was included in the dowry of Catherine of Braganza, when she married Charles II of England. Although the British Government owned all seven islands by 1665, they were leased to the East India Company in 1668 for an annual rent of 10 pounds. The development of Bombay Mumbai as a thriving port owes much to this exchange of hands. By promising land grants and religious freedom, the East India Company attracted a huge number of Gujaratis, Parsis and South Indian Hindus who desperately wanted to escape from Portuguese religious persecution. In the next 20 years Bombay Mumbai became such a huge success that the Presidency of the East India Company moved here from Surat. The British built the Bombay Fort in the 1720's. Land reclamation projects to join all seven islands into a singular landmass began with much gusto. One important development in Bombay's favour was the construction of the first railway in Asia from Bombay to Thane in 1853. Ironically it was another country's war for independence - "The American Civil War", that contributed to Bombay's cotton boom, as it interrupted Britain's supply of cotton. By 1964, Bombay was onto a huge expansion and building surge. The inauguration of the Suez Canal in 1869 again proved to be a major boon for Bombay Mumbai. Post 1857 and the first war of Indian independence, the British crown regained Bombay from the East India Company on account of mismanagement. The first Indian National Congress was held in Bombay in 1885 and it was also where the Quit India Movement was launched in 1942. Post independence, Bombay became the capital of what was then called the Bombay Presidency, but this region was later divided into Maharashtra and Gujarat in 1960. This division which occurred on the grounds of language, led to the proliferation of a new pro Marathi right wing movement led by the Shiv Sena which drastically and dangerously weakened the cultural diversity of Bombay by discriminating against all non - Maharashtrians and Muslims. The proudly multicultural and multi-ethnic city witnessed intense riots in 1992 after the destructions of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya and a series of 13 bomb blasts in a single day in March 1993. The transition from Bombay to Mumbai was complete and the city was officially renamed Mumbai in 1996. Today, Mumbai is on its way to becoming the most populous city in the world by 2020 when the projected population is estimated at 28.5 million. Though how the city will manage to accommodate this gargantuan number is what the current 18 million wonder.