Bombay Halwa
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the
capital city A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...
of the
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
of
Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
. Mumbai is the
financial capital Financial capital (also simply known as capital or equity in finance, accounting and economics) is any Economic resources, economic resource measured in terms of money used by entrepreneurs and businesses to buy what they need to make their prod ...
and the most populous city proper of
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
with an estimated population of 12.5 million (1.25 
crore Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...
). Mumbai is the centre of the
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Mumbai Metropolitan Region (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Muṁbaī Mahānagara Pradēśa''; abbreviated to MMR and previously also known as Greater Bombay Metropolitan Area), is a metropolitan area consisting of Mumbai and its Satellite city, satellite tow ...
, the seventh-most populous metropolitan area in the world with a population of over 23 million (2.3 crore). Mumbai lies on the
Konkan The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the eas ...
coast on the west coast of India and has a deep
natural harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be moored. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...
. In 2008, Mumbai was named an
alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter ''aleph'' , whose name comes from the West Semitic word for ' ...
world city A global city (also known as a power city, world city, alpha city, or world center) is a city that serves as a primary node in the global economic network. The concept originates from geography and urban studies, based on the thesis that glo ...
. Mumbai has the highest number of billionaires out of any city in
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
. The seven islands that constitute Mumbai were earlier home to communities of
Marathi language Marathi (; , 𑘦𑘨𑘰𑘙𑘲, , ) is a Classical languages of India, classical Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra and is also spoken in Goa, and parts of Guj ...
-speaking
Koli people The Koli is an Indian caste that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Nepal. Koli is an agriculturist caste of Gujarat but in coastal areas they also work as fishermen along with agriculture. In the beginning of 20th ce ...
. For centuries, the
seven islands of Bombay The Seven Islands of Bombay ( Portuguese: ''Ilhas de Bom Baim'') were 16th-century Portuguese colonial possessions lying off the Konkan region by the mid-west coast of India. History They were partly handed over to England under this tit ...
were under the control of successive indigenous rulers before being
ceded The act of cession is the assignment of property to another entity. In international law it commonly refers to land transferred by treaty. Ballentine's Law Dictionary defines cession as "a surrender; a giving up; a relinquishment of jurisdicti ...
to the
Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...
, and subsequently to the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
in 1661, as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza in her marriage to
Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...
. Beginning in 1782, Mumbai was reshaped by the
Hornby Vellard The Hornby Vellard was a project to build a causeway uniting all seven islands of Bombay into a single island with a deep natural harbour. The project was started by the governor William Hornby in 1782 and all islands were linked by 1838. The wo ...
project, which undertook reclamation of the area between the seven islands from the
Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...
. Along with the construction of major
roads A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. The ...
and
railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to roa ...
, the reclamation project, completed in 1845, transformed Mumbai into a major seaport on the
Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...
. Mumbai in the 19th century was characterised by economic and educational development. During the early 20th century it became a strong base for the
Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...
. Upon India's independence in 1947 the city was incorporated into
Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created in 1950 from the erstwhile Bombay Province, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Province (in British India roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Mah ...
. In 1960, following the
Samyukta Maharashtra Movement Samyukta Maharashtra Movement, () commonly known as the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti, was an organisation in India that advocated for a separate Marathi-speaking state in Western India and Central India from 1956 to 1960. The Samiti demanded t ...
, a new state of Maharashtra was created with Mumbai as the capital. Mumbai is the
financial Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...
, commercial, and entertainment capital of
South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
. Mumbai is often compared to
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
, and the city is home to the
Bombay Stock Exchange BSE Limited, also known as the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), is an Indian stock exchange based in Mumbai. It is the 6th largest stock exchange in the world by total market capitalization, exceeding $5 trillion in May 2024. Established with t ...
, situated on
Dalal Street Dalal Street (), () is the metonym for the financial markets of India, the Indian financial services industry of the country as a whole, or the actual financial district itself. It is located in the Financial District of Fort in Mumbai and is ...
. It is also one of the world's top ten centres of commerce in terms of global financial flow, generating 6.16% of India's
GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performance o ...
, and accounting for 25% of the nation's industrial output, 70% of
maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Princ ...
trade in India (
Mumbai Port Trust Mumbai Port (also known as the Bombay Port) is a port which lies midway on the west coast of India, on the natural deep-water Mumbai harbour in Maharashtra. The harbour spread over is protected by the mainland of Konkan to its east and north an ...
, Dharamtar Port and
JNPT Jawaharlal Nehru Port, also known as JNPT and Nhava Sheva Port, is the second largest container port in India after Mundra Port. Operated by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust Authority (JNPTA), it is located on the eastern shores of Arabian Sea ...
), and 70% of capital transactions to India's economy. The city houses important financial institutions and the corporate
headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...
of numerous
Indian companies India is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country (with over 1.4 billion people), and the most populous democracy in the world. The Indian economy is the world's fifth largest b ...
and
multinational corporations A multinational corporation (MNC; also called a multinational enterprise (MNE), transnational enterprise (TNE), transnational corporation (TNC), international corporation, or stateless corporation, is a corporate organization that owns and cont ...
. The city is also home to some of India's premier scientific and nuclear institutes and the
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
and
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...
film industries. Mumbai's business opportunities attract migrants from all over India.


Etymology

The name ''Mumbai'' (
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...
: ) originated from ''Mumbā'' or ''Mahā-Ambā''—the name of the patron Hindu goddess ( Kula Devata)
Mumbadevi Mumba Devi Temple is a Hindu temple in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India dedicated to the goddess ', the local incarnation of the Parvati (Mother Goddess). Mumba Devi is the goddess of the city of Mumbai. The name Mumbai is derived from Mumba Devi. T ...
of the native
Koli Koli may refer to: People * Koli people, Indian caste group * Koli Christians, a Christian subgroup * Muslim Kolis, Muslim community * Koli (surname), Indian surname * Koli Sewabu (born 1975), Fijian rugby union footballer Places * Koli, Fin ...
community—and from ''ā'ī'', meaning "mother" in the
Marathi language Marathi (; , 𑘦𑘨𑘰𑘙𑘲, , ) is a Classical languages of India, classical Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra and is also spoken in Goa, and parts of Guj ...
, which is the mother tongue of the Koli people and the official language of Maharashtra. According to certain accounts, the Koli community, which hails from
Kathiawar Kathiawar (), also known as Saurashtra, is a peninsula in the south-western Gujarat state in India, bordering the Arabian Sea and covering about . It is bounded by the Kutch district in the north, the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest, and by the ...
and Central Gujarat, is believed to have introduced their deity Mumba from Kathiawar (
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
), where her worship continues to this day. However, other sources disagree that Mumbai's name was derived from the goddess Mumba. The oldest known names for the city are ''Kakamuchee'' and ''Galajunkja''; these are sometimes still used. Portuguese writer
Gaspar Correia Gaspar Correia (1492 – c. 1563 in Goa) was a Portuguese historian who wrote ''Lendas da Índia'' (Legends of India), one of the earliest and most important works about Portuguese rule in Asia.
recorded the name "Bombaim" after 1512 in his ''Lendas da Índia'' (''Legends of India''). While some
Anglophone The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...
authors have suggested this name possibly originated as an alleged Galician-Portuguese phrase ''bom baim'', meaning "good little bay", such suggestions lack any scientific basis.Machado, José Pedro, "Dicionário Onomástico Etimológico da Língua Portuguesa", Livros Horizonte, 2003, verbete "Bombaim", volume I, pp. 265/266. Portuguese linguist
José Pedro Machado José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...
attributes that interpretation to a deficient knowledge of the Portuguese language of these authors, mixing up the Portuguese word "bom" with the English "bay", from the English version of the name. In 1516, Portuguese explorer
Duarte Barbosa Duarte Barbosa (c. 14801 May 1521) was a Portuguese writer and officer from Portuguese India (between 1500 and 1516). He was a scrivener in a '' feitoria'' in Kochi, and an interpreter of the local language, Malayalam. Barbosa wrote the ''Book o ...
used the name ''Tana-Maiambu'': ''Tana'' appears to refer to the adjoining town of
Thane Thane (; previously known as Thana, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city located on the northwestern side of the list of Indian states, state of Maharashtra in India and on ...
and ''Maiambu'' to ''Mumbadevi''. The form ''Bombaim'' is still commonly used in Portuguese. Other variations recorded in the 16th and the 17th centuries include: ''Mombayn'' (1525), ''Bombay'' (1538), ''Bombain'' (1552), ''Bombaym'' (1552), ''Monbaym'' (1554), ''Mombaim'' (1563), ''Mombaym'' (1644), ''Bambaye'' (1666), ''Bombaiim'' (1666), ''Bombeye'' (1676), ''Boon Bay'' (1690) and ''Bon Bahia''. After the English gained possession of the city in the 17th century, the Portuguese name was
anglicise Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...
d as ''Bombay''. Ali Muhammad Khan, imperial
dewan ''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the el ...
or revenue minister of the Gujarat province, in the ''Mirat-i Ahmedi'' (1762) referred to the city as ''Manbai''. The French traveller
Louis Rousselet Louis-Théophile Marie Rousselet (1845–1929) was a French traveller, writer, photographer and pioneer of the darkroom. His photographic work now commands high prices. Many of his drawings and photographs were made into engravings by others. ...
, who visited in 1863 and 1868, states in his book ''L'Inde des Rajahs'', which was first published in 1877: "Etymologists have wrongly derived this name from the Portuguese Bôa Bahia, or (French: "bonne bai", English: "good bay"), not knowing that the tutelar goddess of this island has been, from remote antiquity, Bomba, or Mumba Devi, and that she still ... possesses a temple". By the late 20th century, the city was referred to as ''Mumbai'' or ''Mambai'' in Marathi,
Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...
, Gujarati,
Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...
and Sindhi, and as ''Bambai'' in
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
. The Government of India officially changed the English name to ''Mumbai'' in November 1995. This came at the insistence of the Marathi nationalist
Shiv Sena Shiv Sena (1966–2022) (; ; SS) was a right-wing Marathi regionalist Hindutva-based political party in India founded in 1966 by Bal Thackeray, who was later succeeded by Uddhav Thackeray. The party is split into two parties: the Uddha ...
party, which had just won the Maharashtra state elections, and mirrored similar name changes across the country and particularly in Maharashtra. According to ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
'' magazine, "they argued that 'Bombay' was a corrupted English version of 'Mumbai' and an unwanted legacy of British colonial rule." ''Slate'' also said "The push to rename Bombay was part of a larger movement to strengthen Marathi identity in the Maharashtra region." While Mumbai is still referred to as Bombay by some of its residents and by some Indians from other regions, mention of the city by a name other than ''Mumbai'' has been controversial.


People from Mumbai

A resident of Mumbai is called ''Mumbaikar'' () in
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...
, in which the suffix ''-kar'' means a 'resident of'. The term had been in use for quite some time but it gained popularity after the official name change to Mumbai. Older terms such as ''Bombayite'' are also used.


History


Early history

Mumbai is built on what was once an archipelago of seven islands:
Isle of Bombay Isle of Bombay was one of the Seven Islands of Bombay, an archipelago of islands that were, in the eighteenth century, connected to form the area of the modern city of Bombay in India India, officially the Republic of India, is a cou ...
,
Parel Parel (ISO 15919, ISO: Paraḷ, pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, əɾəɭ is a neighbourhood in the south of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Originally one of the Seven Islands of Bombay, Parel became an industrial center after the unificatio ...
,
Mazagaon Mazagaon, also spelled Mazgaon and Mazagon (Portuguese era Mazagão), and pronounced by the Christian Bombay East Indians as 'Mazgon' or 'Maz-a-gon' and Marathi-speakers as Mazhgav. It was one of the seven islands of Bombay. It is now a part ...
,
Mahim Mahim (, ) is a neighbourhood in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The Mahim Junction railway station on the Western Railway zone, Western Railway and Harbour line (Mumbai Suburban Railway), Harbour Railway of the Mumbai Suburban Railway, Mumbai Suburb ...
,
Colaba Colaba (; or ISO 15919, ISO: Kolābā) is a part of the city of Mumbai, India. It is one of the four peninsulas of Mumbai while the other three are Worli, Bandra and Malabar Hill. During the Portuguese rule in the 16th century, the island was ...
,
Worli Worli (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Varaḷī'', Help:IPA/Marathi, əɾ(ə)ɭiː is a locality in central Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. It is one of the four peninsulas of Mumbai with the others being Colaba, Bandra and Malabar Hill. The sea connect ...
, and
Old Woman's Island The Old Woman's Island, also known as ''Little Colaba'' is one of the seven islands composing the city of Mumbai, India, and part of the historic Old Mumbai. The Colaba Causeway built in 1838, connected this last island to the mainland of Mum ...
(also known as ''Little Colaba''). It is not exactly known when these islands were first inhabited.
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
sediments found along the coastal areas around
Kandivali Kandivli (Pronunciation: aːn̪d̪iʋəliː formerly Khandolee is a suburb in the north of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India and has a large Marathi, Koli population followed by others. British records highlight that the area names that end with "v ...
in northern Mumbai suggest that the islands were inhabited since the
South Asian Stone Age The South Asian Stone Age spans the prehistoric age from the earliest use of stone tools in the Paleolithic period to the rise of agriculture, domestication, and pottery in the Neolithic period across present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepa ...
. Perhaps at the beginning of the
Common Era Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the ...
, or possibly earlier, they came to be occupied by the Koli fishing community. In the 3rd century BCE, the islands formed part of the
Maurya Empire The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary source ...
, during its expansion in the south, ruled by the Buddhist emperor
Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...
of
Magadha Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in the eastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshadowed, conquered, and ...
. The
Kanheri Caves The Kanheri Caves (''Kānherī-guhā'' aːnʱeɾiː ɡuɦaː are a group of caves and rock-cut monuments cut into a massive basalt outcrop in the forests of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, on the island of Salsette in the western outskirts ...
in
Borivali Borivali (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, oːɾiʋəliː is a suburb which is located in the north-western end of Mumbai, India. Traditionally the tribals and East Indians lived in Borivali. The attractions include Sanjay Gandhi National ...
were excavated from basalt rock in the first century CE, and served as an important centre of Buddhism in Western India during ancient Times. The city then was known as ''Heptanesia'' (
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
: A Cluster of Seven Islands) to the Greek geographer
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...
in 150 CE. The Mahakali Caves in
Andheri Andheri (Help:IPA/Marathi, n̪d̪ʱeɾiː is a suburb situated in Western Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Government and politics For administrative purposes, Andheri is bifurcated into Andheri (west) and Andheri (east). Andheri (west) comes ...
were cut out between the 1st century BCE and the 6th century CE. Between the 2nd century BCE and 9th century CE, the islands came under the control of successive indigenous dynasties:
Satavahanas The Satavahanas (; ''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras (also ''Andhra-bhṛtyas'' or ''Andhra-jatiyas'') in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavaha ...
,
Western Satraps The Western Satraps, or Western Kshatrapas (Brahmi: , ''Mahakṣatrapa'', "Great Satraps") were Indo-Scythian (Saka) rulers of the western and central parts of India (extending from Saurashtra in the south and Malwa in the east, covering moder ...
,
Abhira Abhira may refer to: *Abhira people The Abhira people (Devanagari: आभीर) were a legendary people mentioned in ancient Indian epics and scriptures. A historical people of the same name are mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythr ...
,
Vakataka The Vakataka dynasty () was an ancient Indian dynasty that originated from the Deccan in the mid-3rd century CE. Their state is believed to have extended from the southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the Tungabhadra River in the ...
, Kalachuris, Konkan Mauryas,
Chalukyas The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...
and
Rashtrakutas The Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal Indian polity ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta Indian inscriptions, inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing th ...
, before being ruled by the
Shilahara Shilahara was a royal dynasty that established itself in northern and southern Konkan in 8th century CE, present-day Mumbai and Southern Maharashtra ( Kolhapur) during the Rashtrakuta period. The founder of the Shilahara dynasty, Sanaphulla, ...
s from 810 to 1260. Some of the oldest edifices in the city built during this period are the
Jogeshwari Caves The Jogeshwari Caves are some of the earliest Hinduism cave temple sculptures located in the Mumbai suburb of Jogeshwari, India. The caves date back to the sixth century, Chalukya dynasty, Chalukya dynasty. They were found during the excavatio ...
(between 520 and 525),
Elephanta Caves The Elephanta Caves are a collection of cave temples predominantly dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, which have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They are on Elephanta Island, or ''Gharapuri'' (literally meaning "the city of caves") ...
(between the sixth to seventh century),
Walkeshwar Temple Walkeshwar Temple, also known as the (Baan Ganga Temple), is an Ancient Hindu temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva located in Walkeshwar, near Malabar Hill neighbourhood, in South Mumbai precinct of the city of Mumbai, India. It is situated at ...
(10th century), and
Banganga Tank The Banganga Tank is a temple tank which is part of the Hindu Walkeshwar Temple complex in the Malabar Hill area of the city of Mumbai, India. History The tank was built in AD 1127 by Lakshman Prabhu, a minister in the court of Silhara kin ...
(12th century). King Bhimdev founded his kingdom in the region in the late 13th century and established his capital in ''Mahikawati'' (present day
Mahim Mahim (, ) is a neighbourhood in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The Mahim Junction railway station on the Western Railway zone, Western Railway and Harbour line (Mumbai Suburban Railway), Harbour Railway of the Mumbai Suburban Railway, Mumbai Suburb ...
). The Pathare Prabhus, among the earliest known settlers of the city, were brought to ''Mahikawati'' from
Saurashtra Saurashtra, Sourashtra, or variants may refer to: ** Kathiawar, also called Saurashtra Peninsula, a peninsula in western India ** Saurashtra (state), alias United State of Kathiawar, a former Indian state, merged into Bombay State and since its d ...
in Gujarat around 1298 by Bhimdev. The
Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.
annexed the islands in 1347–48 and controlled it until 1407. During this time, the islands were administered by the Muslim Governors of
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
, who were appointed by the
Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.
. The islands were later governed by the independent
Gujarat Sultanate The Gujarat Sultanate or Sultanate of Gujarat was a late medieval Islamic Indian kingdom in Western India, primarily in the present-day state of Gujarat. The kingdom was established in 1394 when Muzaffar Shah I, the Governor of Gujarat, decla ...
, which was established in 1407. As a result of the Sultanate's support, numerous mosques were built, with one notable example being the
Haji Ali Dargah The Haji Ali Dargah is a Sufi shrine, and the monument of Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari, that is located on an islet off the coast of Worli in southern Mumbai, in the state of Maharashtra, India. An exquisite example of Indo-Islamic architecture, ...
in
Worli Worli (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Varaḷī'', Help:IPA/Marathi, əɾ(ə)ɭiː is a locality in central Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. It is one of the four peninsulas of Mumbai with the others being Colaba, Bandra and Malabar Hill. The sea connect ...
. Erected in 1431, this magnificent structure pays homage to the revered Muslim saint, Haji Ali. From 1429 to 1431, the islands were a source of contention between the Gujarat Sultanate and the
Bahmani Sultanate The Bahmani Kingdom or the Bahmani Sultanate was a late medieval Persianate kingdom that ruled the Deccan plateau in India. The first independent Muslim sultanate of the Deccan, the Bahmani Kingdom came to power in 1347 during the rebellio ...
of Deccan. In 1493, Bahadur Khan Gilani of the Bahmani Sultanate attempted to conquer the islands but was defeated.


Portuguese and British rule

The
Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...
, founded in 1526, was the dominant power in the
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...
during the mid-16th century. Growing apprehensive of the power of the
Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...
emperor
Humayun Nasir al-Din Muhammad (6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), commonly known by his regnal name Humayun (), was the second Mughal emperor, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Northern India, and Pakistan from ...
, Sultan
Bahadur Shah of Gujarat Qutb-ud-Din Bahadur Shah, born Bahadur Khan was a sultan of the Muzaffarid dynasty who reigned over the Gujarat Sultanate, a late medieval kingdom in India from 1526 to 1535 and again from 1536 to 1537. He ascended to the throne after competin ...
was obliged to sign the Treaty of Bassein with the
Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...
on 23 December 1534. According to the treaty, the
Seven Islands of Bombay The Seven Islands of Bombay ( Portuguese: ''Ilhas de Bom Baim'') were 16th-century Portuguese colonial possessions lying off the Konkan region by the mid-west coast of India. History They were partly handed over to England under this tit ...
, the nearby strategic town of Bassein and its dependencies were offered to the Portuguese. The territories were later surrendered on 25 October 1535. The Portuguese were actively involved in the foundation and growth of their
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
religious orders in Bombay. They called the islands by various names, which finally took the written form ''Bombaim''. The islands were leased to several Portuguese officers during their regime. The Portuguese
Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...
and
Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
built several churches in the city, prominent being the St. Michael's Church at
Mahim Mahim (, ) is a neighbourhood in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The Mahim Junction railway station on the Western Railway zone, Western Railway and Harbour line (Mumbai Suburban Railway), Harbour Railway of the Mumbai Suburban Railway, Mumbai Suburb ...
(1534), St. John the Baptist Church at
Andheri Andheri (Help:IPA/Marathi, n̪d̪ʱeɾiː is a suburb situated in Western Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Government and politics For administrative purposes, Andheri is bifurcated into Andheri (west) and Andheri (east). Andheri (west) comes ...
(1579), St. Andrew's Church at
Bandra Bandra ( æːɳɖɾa is a coastal suburb located in Mumbai, the largest city of the Konkan division in Maharashtra, India. The area is located to the immediate north of the River Mithi, which separates Bandra from the Mumbai City district. It ...
(1580), and
Gloria Church Gloria Church or Our Lady of Glory Church ( Portuguese: ''Nossa Senhora de Gloria'') was built in 1911-13 on one of the oldest Roman Catholic church sites in Mumbai; its predecessor was built by the Portuguese Franciscans in 1632. The church is ...
at
Byculla Byculla (ISO: Bhāykhaḷā; pronunciation: ʱaːjkʰəɭaː is an area of South Mumbai. Location Byculla is neighboured by Nagpada and Mumbai Central and Mahalaxmi on the west; Agripada, Jacob Circle on the north-west: Chinchpokli to t ...
(1632). The Portuguese also built several fortifications around the city like the
Bombay Castle Bombay Castle (also Casa da Orta) is one of the oldest defensive structures built in the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay). The current castle is a structure built by the British on the site of the ''Manor House'' built by a Portuguese nobl ...
, ''
Castella de Aguada Castella de Aguada (corruption of ''Castelo da Aguada'', Portuguese for "Fort of the Waterpoint"), also known as the Bandra Fort, is a fort located in Bandra, Mumbai. "Castella" is a misspelling for Portuguese "Castelo" (castle), although it ...
'' (Castelo da Aguada or Bandra Fort), and
Madh Fort Madh Island (Marathi pronunciation: əɖʱ is a group of several quaint fishing villages and farmlands in northern Mumbai. Geography The area is bounded by the Arabian Sea to the west, and Malad Creek on the east. There are s few beaches, suc ...
. The English were in constant struggle with the Portuguese vying for hegemony over Mumbai, as they recognised its strategic natural harbour and its natural isolation from land attacks. By the middle of the 17th century the growing power of the
Dutch Empire The Dutch colonial empire () comprised overseas territories and trading posts under some form of Dutch control from the early 17th to late 20th centuries, including those initially administered by Dutch chartered companies—primarily the Du ...
forced the English to acquire a station in western India. On 11 May 1661, the marriage treaty of
Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...
and
Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza (; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, King Charles II, which la ...
, daughter of
King John IV of Portugal '' Dom'' John IV (; 19 March 1604 – 6 November 1656), also known by the Portuguese as John the Restorer (), was the King of Portugal from 1640 until his death in 1656. He restored the independence of Portugal from Habsburg Spanish rule by ter ...
, placed the islands in possession of the
English Empire The English overseas possessions comprised a variety of overseas territories that were colonised, conquered, or otherwise acquired by the Kingdom of England before 1707. (In 1707 the Acts of Union made England part of the Kingdom of Great Br ...
, as part of Catherine's
dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...
to Charles. However,
Salsette Salsette Island (, , Sashti) is an island in Konkan division of the state of Maharashtra, along India's west coast. Administratively known as the Mumbai Suburban district, Mira Bhayander and a portion of Thana (Thane) lie on it; making it ...
, Bassein,
Mazagaon Mazagaon, also spelled Mazgaon and Mazagon (Portuguese era Mazagão), and pronounced by the Christian Bombay East Indians as 'Mazgon' or 'Maz-a-gon' and Marathi-speakers as Mazhgav. It was one of the seven islands of Bombay. It is now a part ...
,
Parel Parel (ISO 15919, ISO: Paraḷ, pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, əɾəɭ is a neighbourhood in the south of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Originally one of the Seven Islands of Bombay, Parel became an industrial center after the unificatio ...
,
Worli Worli (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Varaḷī'', Help:IPA/Marathi, əɾ(ə)ɭiː is a locality in central Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. It is one of the four peninsulas of Mumbai with the others being Colaba, Bandra and Malabar Hill. The sea connect ...
, Sion,
Dharavi Dharavi is a residential area in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It has often been considered one of the world's largest slums. Dharavi has an area of just over and a population of about 1,000,000. With a population density of over , Dharavi is o ...
, and
Wadala Wadala (also spelled Vadala, formerly spelt Wuddala, əɖaːɭa is a neighborhood in Mumbai. Wadala Road is a station on the Harbour Line of Mumbai's railway network. Overview Wadala has several schools and some renowned institutions ...
still remained under Portuguese possession. From 1665 to 1666, the English managed to acquire Mahim, Sion, Dharavi, and Wadala. In accordance with the
Royal Charter of 27 March 1668 The ''Royal Charter'' of 27 March 1668 was an agreement between the Kingdom of England and the English East India Company. It led to the transfer of Bombay from Charles II of England to the English East India Company The East India Company ...
, England leased these islands to the
English East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South Asia and Southeast A ...
in 1668 for a sum of £10 per annum. The population quickly rose from 10,000 in 1661, to 60,000 in 1675. The islands were subsequently attacked by
Yakut Khan Qasim Yakut Khan also known as Yakut Shaikhji, Yakub Khan and Sidi Yaqub was a naval Admiral and administrator of Janjira Fort who first served under Bijapur Sultanate and later under the Mughal Empire.The African dispersal in the Deccan: from ...
, the
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
Koli Koli may refer to: People * Koli people, Indian caste group * Koli Christians, a Christian subgroup * Muslim Kolis, Muslim community * Koli (surname), Indian surname * Koli Sewabu (born 1975), Fijian rugby union footballer Places * Koli, Fin ...
admiral of the
Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...
, in October 1672, Rickloffe van Goen, the Governor-General of
Dutch India Dutch India () consisted of the settlements and trading posts of the Dutch East India Company on the Indian subcontinent. It is only used as a geographical definition, as there was never a political authority ruling all Dutch India. Instead, D ...
on 20 February 1673, and
Siddi The Siddi (), also known as the Sheedi, Sidi, or Siddhi, are an ethno-religious group living mostly in Pakistan. Some Siddis also live in India. They are primarily descended from the Bantu peoples of the Zanj coast in Southeast Africa, most ...
admiral
Sambal Sambal is an Indonesian chili sauce or paste, typically made from a mixture of chillis with secondary ingredients such as shrimp paste (terasi), garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, and lime juice. ''Sambal'' is an Indonesia ...
on 10 October 1673. In 1687, the English East India Company transferred its headquarters from
Surat Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of t ...
to Mumbai. The city eventually became the headquarters of the Bombay Presidency. Following the transfer, Mumbai was placed at the head of all the company's establishments in India. Towards the end of the 17th century, the islands again suffered incursions from
Yakut Khan Qasim Yakut Khan also known as Yakut Shaikhji, Yakub Khan and Sidi Yaqub was a naval Admiral and administrator of Janjira Fort who first served under Bijapur Sultanate and later under the Mughal Empire.The African dispersal in the Deccan: from ...
in 1689–90. The Portuguese presence ended in Mumbai when the
Marathas The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...
under ''
Peshwa The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave t ...
''
Baji Rao I Bajirao I (né Visaji, ; 18 August 1700 – 28 April 1740) was the 7th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. He was appointed Peshwa at the age of nineteen by Shahu I, following the death of his father, Balaji Vishwanath. He is credited with establi ...
captured
Salsette Salsette Island (, , Sashti) is an island in Konkan division of the state of Maharashtra, along India's west coast. Administratively known as the Mumbai Suburban district, Mira Bhayander and a portion of Thana (Thane) lie on it; making it ...
in 1737, and Bassein in 1739. By the middle of the 18th century, Mumbai began to grow into a major trading town, and received a huge influx of migrants from across India. Later, the British occupied Salsette on 28 December 1774. With the
Treaty of Surat The Treaty of Surat (6 March 1775) was a treaty by which Raghunathrao, one of the claimants to the throne of the Peshwa, agreed to cede Salsette and Bassein Fort to the British in consideration of being himself restored to Poona. The military oper ...
(1775), the British formally gained control of
Salsette Salsette Island (, , Sashti) is an island in Konkan division of the state of Maharashtra, along India's west coast. Administratively known as the Mumbai Suburban district, Mira Bhayander and a portion of Thana (Thane) lie on it; making it ...
and Bassein, resulting in the
First Anglo-Maratha War The First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–1782) was the first conflict fought between the British East India Company and Maratha Empire in India. The war began with the Treaty of Surat and ended with the Treaty of Salbai. As per the treaty, th ...
. The British were able to secure Salsette from the Marathas without violence through the Treaty of Purandar (1776), and later through the
Treaty of Salbai The Treaty of Salbai was signed on 17 May 1782, by representatives of the Maratha Confederacy and the British East India Company after long negotiations to settle the outcome of the First Anglo-Maratha War it was signed between Warren Hastings ...
(1782), signed to settle the outcome of the First Anglo-Maratha War. From 1782 onwards, the city was reshaped with large-scale civil engineering projects aimed at merging all the
seven islands of Bombay The Seven Islands of Bombay ( Portuguese: ''Ilhas de Bom Baim'') were 16th-century Portuguese colonial possessions lying off the Konkan region by the mid-west coast of India. History They were partly handed over to England under this tit ...
into a single amalgamated mass by way of a
causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...
called the
Hornby Vellard The Hornby Vellard was a project to build a causeway uniting all seven islands of Bombay into a single island with a deep natural harbour. The project was started by the governor William Hornby in 1782 and all islands were linked by 1838. The wo ...
, which was completed by 1784. In 1817, the British East India Company under
Mountstuart Elphinstone Mountstuart Elphinstone (6 October 1779 – 20 November 1859) was a Scottish statesman and historian, associated with the government of British India. He later became the Governor of Bombay (now Mumbai) where he is credited with the open ...
defeated
Baji Rao II Baji Rao II (10 January 1775 – 28 January 1851) was the 13th and the last Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy . He governed from 1795 to 1818. He was installed as a puppet ruler by the Maratha nobles, whose growing power prompted him to flee h ...
, the last of the Maratha ''Peshwa'' in the
Battle of Khadki The Battle of Khadki, also known as or the Battle of Ganeshkhind and Battle of Kirkee, took place at modern day Khadki, India, on 5 November 1817 between the forces of the British East India Company and the Maratha Confederacy under the leader ...
. Following his defeat, almost the whole of the
Deccan Plateau The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura Range, Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound ...
came under British suzerainty, and was incorporated into the Bombay Presidency. The success of the British campaign in the Deccan marked the end of all attacks by native powers. By 1845, the seven islands coalesced into a single landmass by the Hornby Vellard project via large scale
land reclamation Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...
. On 16 April 1853, India's first passenger railway line was established, connecting Mumbai to the neighbouring town of
Thana Thana means " station" or "place" in South Asian countries. The word ''thana'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''sthana'' or "sthanak", meaning "place" or "stand", which was anglicized as ''thana'' by the British. * Thanas of Bangladesh, forme ...
(now Thane). During the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
(1861–1865), the city became the world's chief cotton-trading market, resulting in a boom in the economy that subsequently enhanced the city's stature. The opening of the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
in 1869 transformed Mumbai into one of the largest seaports on the
Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...
. In September 1896, Mumbai was hit by a bubonic plague epidemic where the death toll was estimated at 1,900 people per week. About 850,000 people fled Mumbai and the textile industry was adversely affected. While the city was the capital of the Bombay Presidency, the
Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...
fostered the Quit India Movement in 1942 and the
Royal Indian Navy mutiny The Royal Indian Navy mutiny was a failed insurrection of Indian naval ratings, soldiers, police personnel and civilians against the British government in India in February 1946. From the initial flashpoint in Bombay (now Mumbai), the revolt s ...
in 1946.


Independent India

After India's independence in 1947, the territory of the Bombay Presidency retained by India was restructured into
Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created in 1950 from the erstwhile Bombay Province, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Province (in British India roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Mah ...
. The area of
Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created in 1950 from the erstwhile Bombay Province, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Province (in British India roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Mah ...
increased, after several erstwhile princely states that joined the Indian union were integrated into the state. Subsequently, the city became the capital of Bombay State. In April 1950, Municipal limits of Mumbai were expanded by merging the
Mumbai Suburban District Mumbai Suburban district (Marathi language, Marathi: ''Mumbai Upanagar Jilhā'') is the second most populous Districts of Maharashtra, district of Maharashtra in the Konkan Division. With its administrative headquarters in Bandra, the district co ...
and Mumbai City to form the Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation. The
Samyukta Maharashtra movement Samyukta Maharashtra Movement, () commonly known as the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti, was an organisation in India that advocated for a separate Marathi-speaking state in Western India and Central India from 1956 to 1960. The Samiti demanded t ...
to create a separate Maharashtra state including Mumbai was at its height in the 1950s. In the ''
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...
'' discussions in 1955, the Congress party demanded that the city be constituted as an autonomous city-state. The States Reorganisation Committee recommended a bilingual state for Maharashtra–
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
with Mumbai as its capital in its 1955 report. Bombay Citizens' Committee, an advocacy group of leading Gujarati industrialists lobbied for Mumbai's independent status. Following protests during the movement in which 105 people died in clashes with the police,
Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created in 1950 from the erstwhile Bombay Province, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Province (in British India roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Mah ...
was reorganised on linguistic lines on 1 May 1960. Gujarati-speaking areas of
Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created in 1950 from the erstwhile Bombay Province, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Province (in British India roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Mah ...
were partitioned into the state of Gujarat. Maharashtra State with Mumbai as its capital was formed with the merger of
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...
-speaking areas of
Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created in 1950 from the erstwhile Bombay Province, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Province (in British India roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Mah ...
, eight districts from
Central Provinces and Berar The Central Provinces and Berar was a province of British India and later the Dominion of India which existed from 1903 to 1950. It was formed by the merger of the Central Provinces with the province of Berar, which was territory leased by the ...
, five districts from
Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state in the Deccan region of south-central India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and the ...
, and numerous princely states enclosed between them. As a memorial to the martyrs of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, Flora Fountain was renamed as '' Hutatma Chowk'' (Martyr's Square) and a memorial was erected. The following decades saw massive expansion of the city and its suburbs. In the late 1960s,
Nariman Point Nariman Point is a prominent downtown area of Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. Located on the southern tip of the Mumbai peninsula, at the end of the Mumbai's Marine Drive, Nariman Point houses some of India's prestigious business headquarters. B ...
and
Cuffe Parade Cuffe Parade is a historic and significant business district of the city of Mumbai, India. It is home to a collection of commercial and office high-rises. It is bordered to the north by Nariman Point which, along with Cuffe Parade, forms the gr ...
were reclaimed and developed. The
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is a body of the Government of Maharashtra that is responsible for preparation oRegional Plan for MMRand the infrastructure development of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The MMRDA w ...
(BMRDA) was established on 26 January 1975 by the
Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the executive branch of the Indian states of india, state of Maharashtra. The government is led by the List of chief ministers of Maharashtra, chief minister (currently Devendra Fadnavis since 5 December 2024) ...
as an apex body for planning and co-ordination of development activities in the
Mumbai metropolitan region Mumbai Metropolitan Region (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Muṁbaī Mahānagara Pradēśa''; abbreviated to MMR and previously also known as Greater Bombay Metropolitan Area), is a metropolitan area consisting of Mumbai and its Satellite city, satellite tow ...
. In August 1979, a sister township of
New Mumbai Navi Mumbai (; also known as New Bombay, its official name until 1995) is a large city next to Mumbai, located in the Konkan division of the western Indian state of Maharashtra, on the mainland of India. Navi Mumbai is situated in Thane distri ...
was founded by the
City and Industrial Development Corporation The City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) is an Indian city planning agency and richest government authority in India which is formed and controlled by the Government of Maharashtra. CIDCO was formed on 17 March 197 ...
(CIDCO) across the
Thane Thane (; previously known as Thana, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city located on the northwestern side of the list of Indian states, state of Maharashtra in India and on ...
and
Raigad district Raigad district (), previously Colaba fort, Colaba district, is a district in the Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The headquarters of the district is Alibag. Other major cities in the district are Panvel, Karjat, Navi Mumbai, Khopoli, Sh ...
s to help the dispersal and control of Mumbai's population. The textile industry in Mumbai largely disappeared after the widespread 1982 Great Bombay Textile Strike, in which nearly 250,000 workers in more than 50 textile mills went on strike. Mumbai's defunct cotton mills have since become the focus of intense redevelopment. Industrial development began in Mumbai when its economy started focusing on the petrochemical, electronic, and automotive sectors. In 1954
Hindustan Petroleum Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) is an Indian public sector undertaking in Petroleum industry, petroleum and natural gas industry, headquartered in Mumbai. It is a subsidiary of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), which ...
commissioned Mumbai Refinery at
Trombay Trombay is an eastern suburb of Mumbai (Bombay), India. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is located there. History In 1548, Trombay and Chembur Chembur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ͡ʃembuːɾ is an upmarket large subur ...
and BPCL Refinery. The
Jawaharlal Nehru Port Jawaharlal Nehru Port, also known as JNPT and Nhava Sheva Port, is the second largest container port in India after Mundra Port. Operated by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust Authority (JNPTA), it is located on the eastern shores of Arabian Sea ...
, which handles 55–60% of India's containerised cargo, was commissioned on 26 May 1989 across the creek at
Nhava Sheva Jawaharlal Nehru Port, also known as JNPT and Nhava Sheva Port, is the second largest container port in India after Mundra Port. Operated by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust Authority (JNPTA), it is located on the eastern shores of Arabian Sea ...
with a view to de-congest
Mumbai Harbour Mumbai Harbour (also English; Bombay Harbour or Front Bay, Marathi ''Mumba'ī bandar''), is a natural deep-water harbour in the southern portion of the Ulhas River estuary. The narrower, northern part of the estuary is called Thana Creek. Th ...
and to serve as a hub port for the city. The geographical limits of Greater Mumbai were coextensive with municipal limits of Greater Mumbai. On 1 October 1990, the Greater Mumbai district was bifurcated to form two revenue districts namely, Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban, though they continued to be administered by same Municipal Administration. The years from 1990 to 2010 saw an increase in violence and terrorism activities. Following the
demolition of the Babri Masjid The Babri Masjid, a 16th-century mosque in the Indian city of Ayodhya, was destroyed on 6 December 1992 by a large group of activists of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and allied organisations. The mosque had been the subject of a lengthy socio ...
in
Ayodhya Ayodhya () is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became th ...
, the city was rocked by the Hindu-Muslim riots of 1992–93 in which more than 1,000 people were killed. In March 1993, a series of 13 coordinated bombings at several city landmarks by
Islamic extremists Islamic extremism refers to extremist beliefs, behaviors and ideologies adhered to by some Muslims within Islam. The term 'Islamic extremism' is contentious, encompassing a spectrum of definitions, ranging from academic interpretations of Is ...
and the
Mumbai underworld Organised crime in India refers to organised crime elements originating in India and active in many parts of the world. The purpose of organised crime in India, as elsewhere in the world, is monetary gain. Its virulent form in modern times is du ...
resulted in 257 deaths and over 700 injuries. In 2006, 209 people were killed and over 700 injured when seven bombs exploded on the city's commuter trains. In 2008, a series of ten coordinated attacks by armed terrorists for three days resulted in 173 deaths, 308 injuries, and severe damage to several heritage landmarks and prestigious hotels. The three coordinated bomb explosions in July 2011 that occurred at the
Opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...
,
Zaveri Bazaar Zaveri Bazaar is a jewellery market and a major hub for Business-to-business, B2B and B2C jewellery industry in Mumbai, India. Located at Bhuleshwar in South Mumbai, just north of Crawford Market, Zaveri Bazaar is a muddle of narrow lanes, dott ...
and
Dadar Dadar (Help:IPA/Marathi, ̪aːd̪əɾ is a densely populated residential and shopping neighbourhood in Mumbai. It is also a prominent railway and bus service hub with local and national connectivity. It is Mumbai's first planned area and i ...
were the latest in the series of terrorist attacks in Mumbai which resulted in 26 deaths and 130 injuries. Mumbai is the commercial capital of India and has evolved into a global financial hub. For several decades it has been the home of India's main financial services companies, and a focus for both infrastructure development and private investment. From being an ancient fishing community and a colonial centre of trade, Mumbai has become South Asia's largest city and home of the world's most prolific film industry.


Geography

Mumbai is on a narrow peninsula on the southwest of
Salsette Island Salsette Island (, , Sashti) is an island in Konkan division of the state of Maharashtra, along India's west coast. Administratively known as the Mumbai Suburban district, Mira Bhayander and a portion of Thana (Thane) lie on it; making it ...
, which lies between the
Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...
to the west,
Thane Creek Thane Creek, previously Thana Creek, is an estuary of the Arabian Sea and one of the two main distributaries of the Ulhas River, in Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The Ulhas splits at the northeast corner of Salsette island into its ...
to the east and
Vasai Creek Vasai Creek, previously Bassein Creek, is an estuary and one of the two main distributaries of the Ulhas River, in Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The Ulhas splits at the northeast corner of Salsette island into its two main distributari ...
to the north. Mumbai's suburban district occupies most of the island.
Navi Mumbai Navi Mumbai (; also known as New Bombay, its official name until 1995) is a large city next to Mumbai, located in the Konkan division of the western Indian state of Maharashtra, on the mainland of India. Navi Mumbai is situated in Thane distr ...
is east of Thane Creek and
Thane Thane (; previously known as Thana, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city located on the northwestern side of the list of Indian states, state of Maharashtra in India and on ...
is north of
Vasai Creek Vasai Creek, previously Bassein Creek, is an estuary and one of the two main distributaries of the Ulhas River, in Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The Ulhas splits at the northeast corner of Salsette island into its two main distributari ...
. Mumbai consists of two distinct regions:
Mumbai City district Mumbai City district is a Districts of Maharashtra, district of Maharashtra in Konkan Division, India. As a city district, it has no headquarters or subdivisions. It, along with the Mumbai Suburban District, makes up the metropolis of Mumbai. Thi ...
and
Mumbai Suburban district Mumbai Suburban district (Marathi language, Marathi: ''Mumbai Upanagar Jilhā'') is the second most populous Districts of Maharashtra, district of Maharashtra in the Konkan Division. With its administrative headquarters in Bandra, the district co ...
, which form two separate revenue districts of Maharashtra. The city district region is also commonly referred to as the ''Island City'' or
South Mumbai South Mumbai, colloquially SoBo from South Bombay in Indian English, administratively the Mumbai City District, is the city centre and the southernmost precinct of Greater Bombay. It extends from Colaba to Mahalaxmi (Western side), Byculla ...
. The total area of Mumbai is . Of this, the island city spans , while the suburban district spans , together accounting for under the administration of
Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), or the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) is the governing civic body of Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra. Salman Khan Is Now Brand Ambassador of BMC from 2016. The BMC is India ...
(MCGM). The remaining areas belong to various Defence establishments, the
Mumbai Port Trust Mumbai Port (also known as the Bombay Port) is a port which lies midway on the west coast of India, on the natural deep-water Mumbai harbour in Maharashtra. The harbour spread over is protected by the mainland of Konkan to its east and north an ...
, the Atomic Energy Commission and the Borivali National Park, which are out of the jurisdiction of the MCGM. The
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Mumbai Metropolitan Region (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Muṁbaī Mahānagara Pradēśa''; abbreviated to MMR and previously also known as Greater Bombay Metropolitan Area), is a metropolitan area consisting of Mumbai and its Satellite city, satellite tow ...
which includes portions of
Thane Thane (; previously known as Thana, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city located on the northwestern side of the list of Indian states, state of Maharashtra in India and on ...
,
Palghar Palghar () is a prominent town in the Konkan division of Maharashtra state, India, and a municipal council. It is strategically located within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, and since 2014, it has been the administrative capital of the Palgh ...
and Raigad districts in addition to Greater Mumbai, covers an area of . Mumbai lies at the mouth of the
Ulhas River The Ulhas River is a river in Maharashtra, India. It is in the Thane, Raigad, and Pune districts of that state. It flows north and west from it source to where it splits into Vasai Creek and Thane Creek, near Thane. The Ulhas divides Sals ...
on the western coast of India, in the coastal region known as the
Konkan The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the eas ...
. It sits on
Salsette Island Salsette Island (, , Sashti) is an island in Konkan division of the state of Maharashtra, along India's west coast. Administratively known as the Mumbai Suburban district, Mira Bhayander and a portion of Thana (Thane) lie on it; making it ...
(Sashti Island), which it partially shares with the
Thane district Thane district (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ʰaːɳe previously named Taana or Thana) is a districts of Maharashtra, district in the Konkan Division of Maharashtra, India. At the 2011 Census it was the most populated district in the c ...
. Mumbai is bounded by the
Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...
to the west. Many parts of the city lie just above sea level, with elevations ranging from ; the city has an average elevation of . Northern Mumbai (Salsette) is hilly, and the highest point in the city is at Salsette in the
Powai Powai (Pronunciation: əʋəiː is a residential suburb located in central Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is situated on the banks of Powai Lake, and is bound by the hills of Vikhroli Parksite to the south-east, Chandivali to the south-west ...
Kanheri The Kanheri Caves (''Kānherī-guhā'' aːnʱeɾiː ɡuɦaː are a group of caves and rock-cut monuments cut into a massive basalt outcrop in the forests of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, on the island of Salsette in the western outskirts ...
ranges. The
Sanjay Gandhi National Park Sanjay Gandhi National Park is a national park in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It was established in 1969 with its headquarters situated at Borivali. The 2400-year-old Kanheri caves, sculpted by monks out of the rocky basaltic cliffs, lie within the ...
(Borivali National Park) is located partly in the
Mumbai suburban district Mumbai Suburban district (Marathi language, Marathi: ''Mumbai Upanagar Jilhā'') is the second most populous Districts of Maharashtra, district of Maharashtra in the Konkan Division. With its administrative headquarters in Bandra, the district co ...
, and partly in the Thane district, and it extends over an area of . Apart from the Bhatsa Dam, there are six major lakes that supply water to the city: Vihar, Lower Vaitarna, Upper Vaitarna,
Tulsi ''Ocimum tenuiflorum'', commonly known as holy basil, ''tulasi'' or ''tulsi'' (), is an aromatic perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is widely cultivated throughout the Southeast Asian tropics. It is native to tropical and subtropical r ...
, Tansa and
Powai Powai (Pronunciation: əʋəiː is a residential suburb located in central Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is situated on the banks of Powai Lake, and is bound by the hills of Vikhroli Parksite to the south-east, Chandivali to the south-west ...
. Tulsi Lake and Vihar Lake are located in Borivili National Park, within the city's limits. The supply from Powai lake, also within the city limits, is used only for agricultural and industrial purposes. Three small rivers, the
Dahisar River Dahisar River is a river on Salsette island that runs through Dahisar, a suburb of Mumbai, India. It originates in the Tulsi Lake in Sanjay Gandhi National Park in the northern reaches of the city. The River flows roughly North-West for a tot ...
, Poinsar (or Poisar) and Ohiwara (or Oshiwara) originate within the park, while the
Mithi River The Mithi River (Pronunciation: iʈʰiː is a river on Salsette Island, the island of the city of Mumbai, India. It is a confluence of tail-water discharges of the Powai and Vihar lakes. The river is seasonal and rises during the monsoons ...
originates from Tulsi Lake and gathers water overflowing from Vihar and Powai Lakes. The coastline of the city is indented with numerous creeks and bays, stretching from the
Thane creek Thane Creek, previously Thana Creek, is an estuary of the Arabian Sea and one of the two main distributaries of the Ulhas River, in Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The Ulhas splits at the northeast corner of Salsette island into its ...
on the eastern to Madh Marve on the western front. The eastern coast of Salsette Island is covered with large
mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...
swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
s, rich in biodiversity, while the western coast is mostly sandy and rocky. Soil cover in the city region is predominantly sandy due to its proximity to the sea. In the suburbs, the soil cover is largely alluvial and loamy. The underlying rock of the region is composed of black
Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...
basalt flows, and their acidic and
basic Basic or BASIC may refer to: Science and technology * BASIC, a computer programming language * Basic (chemistry), having the properties of a base * Basic access authentication, in HTTP Entertainment * Basic (film), ''Basic'' (film), a 2003 film ...
variants dating back to the late
Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...
and early
Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...
eras. Mumbai sits on a
seismically active An active fault is a fault that is likely to become the source of another earthquake sometime in the future. Geologists commonly consider faults to be active if there has been movement observed or evidence of seismic activity during the last 10,0 ...
zone owing to the presence of 23
fault line In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
s in the vicinity. The area is classified as a Seismic Zone III region, which means an earthquake of up to magnitude 6.5 on the Richter magnitude scale may be expected. File:Mumbai_432_pan_crop_375_(27105063465).jpg,
Satellite image Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell i ...
of Mumbai File:Mumbaicitydistricts.png, Mumbai consists of two revenue districts.


Climate

Mumbai has an extreme
tropical wet and dry climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...
(''Aw'') under the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
, although the central and northern suburbs have a
tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...
(''Am'') with even heavier wet season rainfall. Mumbai has a virtually rainless period extending from October to May and an extremely wet period peaking in July. A cooler season from December to February is followed by a hotter season from March to May. The period from June to about the end of September constitutes the
south west monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...
season, and October and November form the post-monsoon season. Between June and September, the
South-west monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...
rains occur in Mumbai. Pre-monsoon showers are received in May. Occasionally, north-east monsoon showers occur in October and November. The maximum annual rainfall ever recorded was for 1954. The highest rainfall recorded in a single day was on 26 July 2005. The average total annual rainfall is for the Island City, and for the suburbs. The average annual temperature is , and the average annual
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...
is . In the Island City, the average maximum temperature is , while the average minimum temperature is . In the suburbs, the daily mean maximum temperature range from to , while the daily mean minimum temperature ranges from to . The record high is set on 14 April 1952, and the record low is set on 27 January 1962. Tropical cyclones are rare in the city. The worst cyclone to ever impact Mumbai was the one in 1948 where gusts reached in Juhu. The storm left 38 people dead and 47 missing. The storm reportedly impacted Mumbai for 20 hours and left the city devastated. Mumbai is prone to
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...
floods, exacerbated by
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
which affects heavy rains and
high tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...
in the sea. According to the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
, unplanned drainage system and
informal settlement Informal housing or informal settlement can include any form of housing, shelter, or settlement (or lack thereof) which is illegal, falls outside of government control or regulation, or is not afforded protection by the state. As such, the info ...
is a key factor of frequent floods in Mumbai. Among other causes of flooding in Mumbai is its
geographic location In geography, location or place is used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ambiguous bou ...
, Mumbai urban is peninsular in form, (a land-filled area that connects seven islands) a low laying area, compared to its suburbs that sit on an elevated location. Over the past few decades, new informal settlements were formed in the suburbs, causing a rapid increase in population, improper waste management, and drainage congestion. The rainwater from these areas heavily flows towards low-lying urban areas consisting of some slums and high-rise buildings. As a result, slums are either
swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
ed, washed away, or collapse causing heavy casualties, and post-flood water logging lasts for a long time that causing blockage of railway lines-(most frequently used public transport in Mumbai), traffic snarl, inundated roads, and sub-merged bylanes. Over the past few decades, the frequency of floods in Mumbai is enormous, the 2005 Mumbai floods are characterised by 500-1000 deaths, household displacements, damaged infrastructure-(including heritage sites), and a financial loss of 1.2 billion. In the process of reducing floods in Mumbai, the
Maharashtra government The Government of Maharashtra is the executive branch of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The government is led by the chief minister (currently Devendra Fadnavis since 5 December 2024) who selects the council of ministers and is appointed by ...
adopted a flood mitigation plan; according to which the drainage system will be restructured, restoration of
Mithi River The Mithi River (Pronunciation: iʈʰiː is a river on Salsette Island, the island of the city of Mumbai, India. It is a confluence of tail-water discharges of the Powai and Vihar lakes. The river is seasonal and rises during the monsoons ...
, and re-establishment of informal settlements. Local civic body
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), or the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) is the governing civic body of Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra. Salman Khan Is Now Brand Ambassador of BMC from 2016. The BMC is India ...
(BMC) authorities are assigned to forecast and issue eviction notices while BMC along with NGO's prepare for the evacuation of the residents of those areas to temporary safe camps.


Air pollution

Air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...
is a major issue in Mumbai. According to the 2016
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database, the annual average
PM2.5 Particulate matter (PM) or particulates are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. An ''aerosol'' is a mixture of particulates and air, as opposed to the particulate matter alone, though it is sometimes defined ...
concentration in 2013 was 63 μg/m3, which is 6.3 times higher than that recommended by the WHO Air Quality GuidelinesWHO Air Quality Guidelines.
''World Health Organization''. September 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
for the annual mean PM2.5. The
Central Pollution Control Board The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India is a statutory organization under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Mo.E.F.C.C.). It was established in 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of pollution) Act, 1 ...
for the
Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
and the
Consulate General of the United States, Mumbai The Consulate General of the United States of America in Mumbai represents the interests of the U.S. government in Mumbai, India and nearby surrounding areas. The Consulate General serves the Indian states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pra ...
monitor and publicly share real-time air quality data. In December 2019,
IIT Bombay The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT- Bombay or IIT-B) is a Public university, public research university and Institute of technology, technical institute in Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. IIT Bombay is mainly known for the hig ...
, in partnership with the
McKelvey School of Engineering The James McKelvey School of Engineering is a part of Washington University in St. Louis. Founded in 1854, the engineering school is a research institution occupying seven buildings on Washington University's Danforth Campus. Research emphasi ...
of
Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...
launched the Aerosol and Air Quality Research Facility to study air pollution in Mumbai, among other Indian cities. Mumbai has been ranked 24th best “National Clean Air City” (under Category 1 >10L Population cities) in India according to 'Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2024 Results'


Economy

Mumbai, sometimes described as the ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
of India'', is India's most populous city and is the financial and commercial capital of the country as it generates 6.16% of the total GDP. It serves as an economic hub of India; as of 2006, Mumbai contributed 10% of the nation's factory employment, 25% of industrial output, 33% of
income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
collections, 60% of
customs duty A tariff or import tax is a duty imposed by a national government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods or raw materials and i ...
collections, 20% of central
excise tax file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...
collections, 40% of
foreign trade International trade is the exchange of Capital (economics), capital, goods, and Service (economics), services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (See: World economy.) In most countr ...
, and in
corporate tax A corporate tax, also called corporation tax or company tax or corporate income tax, is a type of direct tax levied on the income or capital of corporations and other similar legal entities. The tax is usually imposed at the national level, but ...
es. Along with the rest of India, Mumbai has witnessed an economic boom since the liberalisation of 1991, the finance boom in the mid-nineties and the IT, export, services and outsourcing boom in the 2000s. Estimates of the 2016 economy of the
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Mumbai Metropolitan Region (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Muṁbaī Mahānagara Pradēśa''; abbreviated to MMR and previously also known as Greater Bombay Metropolitan Area), is a metropolitan area consisting of Mumbai and its Satellite city, satellite tow ...
have ranged from $368 billion to $400 billion ( PPP metro GDP) ranking it either the most or second-most productive metro area of India. Many of India's numerous conglomerates (including
Larsen & Toubro Larsen & Toubro Limited, abbreviated as L&T, is an Indian multinational conglomerate, with interests in industrial technology, heavy industry, engineering, construction, manufacturing, power, information technology, defence and financial se ...
,
State Bank of India State Bank of India (SBI) is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational Public sector undertakings in India, public sector bank and financial service body headquartered in Mumbai. It is the largest bank in India with a 23% market shar ...
(SBI),
Life Insurance Corporation of India The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is an Indian Public Sector Undertakings in India, public sector life insurance company headquartered in Mumbai. It is India's largest insurance company as well as the largest institutional investor ...
(LIC),
Tata Group The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate group of companies headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest business conglomerate, with products and services in over 160 countries, and operations in 100 c ...
,
Godrej Godrej may refer to: * Godrej family, a wealthy business family in India **Ardeshir Godrej (1868–1936) **Pirojsha Burjorji Godrej (1882–1972) **Adi Godrej (born 1942) **Nadir Godrej **Jamshyd Godrej **Tanya Dubash **Pirojsha Adi Godrej **Nisa Go ...
and Reliance), and five of the
Fortune Global 500 The ''Fortune'' Global 500, also known as Global 500, is an annual ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue. The list is compiled and published annually by '' Fortune'' magazine. Methodology Until 1989, it listed o ...
companies are based in Mumbai. This is facilitated by the presence of the
Reserve Bank of India Reserve Bank of India, abbreviated as RBI, is the central bank of the Republic of India, and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system and Indian rupee, Indian currency. Owned by the Ministry of Finance (India), Min ...
(RBI), the
Bombay Stock Exchange BSE Limited, also known as the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), is an Indian stock exchange based in Mumbai. It is the 6th largest stock exchange in the world by total market capitalization, exceeding $5 trillion in May 2024. Established with t ...
(BSE), the
National Stock Exchange of India National Stock Exchange of India Limited, also known as the National Stock Exchange (NSE), is an Indian stock exchange based in Mumbai. It is the List of stock exchanges, 5th largest stock exchange in the world by total market capitalization, ...
(NSE), and financial sector regulators such as the
Securities and Exchange Board of India The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is the Regulatory agency, regulatory body for securities and commodity market in India under the administrative domain of Ministry of Finance (India), Ministry of Finance within the Government ...
(SEBI). Until the 1970s, Mumbai owed its prosperity largely to textile mills and the
seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...
, but the local economy has since then diversified to include
finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...
,
engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
, diamond-polishing,
healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...
, and information technology. The key sectors contributing to the city's economy are: finance, gems & jewellery, leather processing, IT and ITES, textiles, petrochemical, electronics manufacturing, automobiles, and entertainment.
Nariman Point Nariman Point is a prominent downtown area of Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. Located on the southern tip of the Mumbai peninsula, at the end of the Mumbai's Marine Drive, Nariman Point houses some of India's prestigious business headquarters. B ...
and
Bandra Kurla Complex The Bandra Kurla Complex is the central business district of the city of Mumbai, the financial capital of India. It is a prominent upscale hub and is considered to be one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in the world. According t ...
(BKC) are Mumbai's major financial centres. Despite competition from
Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
,
Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
and
Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
, Mumbai has carved a niche for itself in the information technology industry. The Santacruz Electronic Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ) and the International Infotech Park (
Navi Mumbai Navi Mumbai (; also known as New Bombay, its official name until 1995) is a large city next to Mumbai, located in the Konkan division of the western Indian state of Maharashtra, on the mainland of India. Navi Mumbai is situated in Thane distr ...
) offer excellent facilities to IT companies. State and central government employees make up a large percentage of the city's workforce. Mumbai also has a large unskilled and semi-skilled self-employed population, who primarily earn their livelihood as hawkers, taxi drivers, mechanics, and other such
blue collar A blue-collar worker is a person who performs manual labor or skilled trades. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involve manufacturing, retail, warehousing, mining, carpentry, electrical work, custodia ...
professions. The port and shipping industry is well established, with
Mumbai Port Mumbai Port (also known as the Bombay Port) is a port which lies midway on the west coast of India, on the natural deep-water Mumbai harbour in Maharashtra. The harbour spread over is protected by the mainland of Konkan to its east and north an ...
being one of the oldest and most significant ports in India.
Dharavi Dharavi is a residential area in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It has often been considered one of the world's largest slums. Dharavi has an area of just over and a population of about 1,000,000. With a population density of over , Dharavi is o ...
, in central Mumbai, has an increasingly large recycling industry, processing recyclable waste from other parts of the city; the district has an estimated 15,000 single-room factories. As of 2024, Mumbai is home to the third-highest number of billionaires of any city in the world.* * * * * * With a total wealth of around $960 billion, it is the richest Indian city and one of the richest cities in the world.* * * , the
Globalization and World Cities Research Network The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a British think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leic ...
has ranked Mumbai as an "
alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter ''aleph'' , whose name comes from the West Semitic word for ' ...
world city", third in its categories of
Global cities A global city (also known as a power city, world city, alpha city, or world center) is a city that serves as a primary node in the global economic network. The concept originates from geography and urban studies, based on the thesis that glo ...
. Mumbai is the third most expensive office market in the world, and was ranked among the fastest cities in the country for business startup in 2009.


Income inequality

However, Mumbai faces challenges regarding income inequality. Despite having the largest concentration of billionaires out of any city in Asia, Mumbai is one of the most unequal cities in the world. Like other Indian metropolitan cities, Mumbai is in desperate need of affordable housing infrastructure for its lower and lower-middle class citizens. The median rental cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Mumbai proper is around ₹30,000, while according to ResearchGate, 25% of Mumbai households have a monthly income of less than ₹12,500. The overall average salary in Mumbai is ₹45,000. This means that the vast majority of conventional housing is out of bounds for many Mumbai residents, leading many to rely on informal housing.


Government and politics


Civic administration

Greater Mumbai (or Brihanmumbai), an area of , consisting of the Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban districts, extends from
Colaba Colaba (; or ISO 15919, ISO: Kolābā) is a part of the city of Mumbai, India. It is one of the four peninsulas of Mumbai while the other three are Worli, Bandra and Malabar Hill. During the Portuguese rule in the 16th century, the island was ...
in the south, to Mulund and
Dahisar Dahisar (Marathi pronunciation: ̪əɦisəɾ is the northernmost suburb (and railway station) of Mumbai. (Not to be confused with Dahisar Mori in Navi Mumbai). It is the last local railway station in Mumbai while travelling towards Dahanu Roa ...
in the north, and
Mankhurd Mankhurd (Pronunciation: aːnkʰuɾd̪(ə) is a suburb in eastern Mumbai, Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Ara ...
in the east. Its population as per the 2011 census was 12,442,373. It is administered by the
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), or the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) is the governing civic body of Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra. Salman Khan Is Now Brand Ambassador of BMC from 2016. The BMC is India ...
(BMC) (sometimes referred to as the
Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), or the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) is the governing civic body of Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra. Salman Khan Is Now Brand Ambassador of BMC from 2016. The BMC is India ...
), formerly known as the ''Bombay Municipal Corporation'' (BMC). The BMC is in charge of the civic and infrastructure needs of the metropolis. The mayor, who serves for a term of years, is chosen through an
indirect election An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...
by the councillors from among themselves. The municipal commissioner is the chief executive officer and head of the executive arm of the municipal corporation. All executive powers are vested in the municipal commissioner who is an
Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the Public administration, administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. The IAS is one of the three All India Services along with the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Indian ...
(IAS) officer appointed by the
state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...
. Although the municipal corporation is the legislative body that lays down policies for the governance of the city, it is the commissioner who is responsible for the execution of the policies. The commissioner is appointed for a fixed term as defined by state statute. The powers of the commissioner are those provided by statute and those delegated by the corporation or the standing committee. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation was ranked 9th out of 21 cities for best governance & administrative practices in India in 2014. It scored 3.5 on 10 compared to the national average of 3.3. The two revenue districts of Mumbai come under the jurisdiction of a
District Collector The district magistrate, also known as the district collector or deputy commissioner, is a career civil servant who serves as the executive head of a district's administration in India. The specific name depends on the state or union territo ...
. The collectors are in charge of property records and revenue collection for the
central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or deleg ...
, and oversee the national elections held in the city. The
Mumbai Police The Greater Mumbai Police (Marathi language, Marathi: बृहन्मुंबई पोलीस, IAST: ''Brihanmumbaī Pulīs'', formerly ''Bombay City Police'') is the Police, police department of the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a cit ...
is headed by a
police commissioner A police commissioner is the head of a police department, responsible for overseeing its operations and ensuring the effective enforcement of laws and maintenance of public order. They develop and implement policies, manage budgets, and coordinate ...
, who is an
Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service (IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became Partition of India, independent from the British Empire. Along with the Indian Admini ...
(IPS) officer. The Mumbai Police is a division of the
Maharashtra Police Maharashtra Police (IAST: ''Mahārāṣṭra Polīs Sēvā'', formerly '' Bombay State Police'') is the law enforcement agency responsible for the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is headed by Director General of Police, Rashmi Shukla (IPS), an ...
, under the state Home Ministry. The city is divided into seven police zones and seventeen
traffic police Traffic police (also known as traffic officers, traffic enforcement units, traffic cops, traffic monitors, or traffic enforcers) are units and Law enforcement agency, agencies who enforce Traffic#Rules of the road, traffic laws and Road traffic ...
zones, each headed by a deputy commissioner of police. The Mumbai Traffic Police is a semi-autonomous body under the Mumbai Police. The
Mumbai Fire Brigade The Mumbai Fire Brigade is the fire department, fire brigade serving the city of Mumbai, India. It is responsible for the provision of fire protection as well as responding to building collapses, drownings, gas leakage, oil spillage, road and ...
, which is under the jurisdiction of the municipal corporation, is headed by the chief fire officer, who is assisted by four deputy chief fire officers and six divisional officers. The
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is a body of the Government of Maharashtra that is responsible for preparation oRegional Plan for MMRand the infrastructure development of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The MMRDA w ...
(MMRDA) is responsible for infrastructure development and planning of
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Mumbai Metropolitan Region (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Muṁbaī Mahānagara Pradēśa''; abbreviated to MMR and previously also known as Greater Bombay Metropolitan Area), is a metropolitan area consisting of Mumbai and its Satellite city, satellite tow ...
. Mumbai is the seat of the
Bombay High Court The High Court of Bombay is the High courts of India, high court of the States and union territories of India, states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily ...
, which exercises jurisdiction over the states of Maharashtra and
Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
, and the
Union Territory Among the states and union territories of India, a Union Territory (UT) is a region that is directly governed by the Government of India, central government of India, as opposed to the states, which have their own State governments of India, s ...
of
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu is a union territory in India. The territory was constituted through the merger of the former territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Plans for the proposed merger were announced by th ...
. Mumbai also has two lower courts, the
Small Causes Court In Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi cities, the Small Causes Court is responsible for adjudicating matters related to civil cases. The court is responsible for cases relating to tax, (family matters are not dealt by small causes court), property ...
for civil matters, and the
Sessions Court A Sessions Court or even known as the Court of Sessions Judge is a court of law which exists in several Commonwealth countries. A Court of Session is the highest criminal court in a district and the court of first instance for trying serious of ...
for criminal cases. Mumbai also has a special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (TADA) court for people accused of conspiring and abetting acts of terrorism in the city.


National politics

Mumbai had been a traditional stronghold and birthplace of the
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
, also known as the Congress Party. The first session of the Indian National Congress was held in Mumbai from 28 to 31 December 1885. The city played host to the Indian National Congress six times during its first 50 years, and became a strong base for the
Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...
during the 20th century. The 1960s saw the rise of regionalist politics in Mumbai, with the formation of the
Shiv Sena Shiv Sena (1966–2022) (; ; SS) was a right-wing Marathi regionalist Hindutva-based political party in India founded in 1966 by Bal Thackeray, who was later succeeded by Uddhav Thackeray. The party is split into two parties: the Uddha ...
on 19 June 1966, under the leadership of
Balasaheb Thackeray Bal Thackeray (; 23 January 1926 – 17 November 2012), also known as Balasaheb Thackeray, was an Indian cartoonist and politician who founded the original Shiv Sena, a far-right, a pro-Marathi and a Hindu nationalist party active mainly in th ...
out of a feeling of resentment about the relative marginalisation of the native
Marathi people The Marathi people (; Marathi language, Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They ...
in Mumbai. Shiv Sena switched from 'Marathi Cause' to larger 'Hindutva Cause' in 1985 and joined hands with
Bhartiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Since 2014, ...
(BJP) in the same year. The Congress had dominated the politics of Mumbai from independence until the early 1980s, when the Shiv Sena won the 1985 Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections. In 1989, the
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
(BJP), a major national political party, forged an electoral alliance with the Shiv Sena to dislodge the Congress in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections. In 1999, several members left the Congress to form the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) but later allied with the Congress as part of an alliance known as the Democratic Front (India), Democratic Front. Other parties such as Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and several independent candidates also contest elections in the city. In the Elections in India, Indian national elections held every five years, Mumbai is represented by six parliamentary constituencies: Mumbai North (Lok Sabha constituency), North, Mumbai North West (Lok Sabha constituency), North West, Mumbai North East (Lok Sabha constituency), North East, Mumbai North Central (Lok Sabha constituency), North Central, Mumbai South Central (Lok Sabha constituency), South Central, and Mumbai South (Lok Sabha constituency), South. A Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, member of parliament (MP) to the ''
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...
'', the lower house of the Indian Parliament, is elected from each of the parliamentary constituencies. In the 2019 Indian general election, 2019 national election, all six parliamentary constituencies were won by the BJP and Shiv Sena in alliance, with both parties winning three seats each. In the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Maharashtra state assembly elections held every five years, Mumbai is represented by 36 assembly constituencies. A Member of the Legislative Assembly (India), member of the legislative assembly (MLA) to the Maharashtra ''Vidhan Sabha'' (legislative assembly) is elected from each of the assembly constituencies. In the 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election, 2019 state assembly election, out of the 36 assembly constituencies, 16 were won by the BJP, 11 by the Shiv Sena, 6 by the Congress, 2 by the NCP and one by independent candidate. Elections are also held every five years to elect corporators to power in the MCGM. The Corporation comprises 227 directly elected Councillors representing the Administrative divisions of Mumbai, 24 municipal wards, five nominated Councillors having special knowledge or experience in municipal administration, and a Mayor of Mumbai, mayor whose role is mostly ceremonial. In the 2012 Brihanmumbai Mahanagar Palika election, 2012 municipal corporation elections, out of the 227 seats, the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance secured 107 seats, holding power with the support of independent candidates in the MCGM, while the Congress-NCP alliance bagged 64 seats. The tenure of the Mayor of Mumbai, mayor, deputy mayor, and municipal commissioner is years.


Transport


Public transport

Public transport systems in Mumbai include the Mumbai Suburban Railway, Mumbai Monorail, Monorail, Mumbai Metro, Metro, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses, black-and-yellow meter taxicabs, taxis, auto rickshaws and ferries. Suburban railway and BEST bus services together accounted for about 88% of the passenger traffic in 2008. Auto rickshaws are allowed to operate only in the suburban areas of Mumbai, while taxis are allowed to operate throughout Mumbai, but generally operate in
South Mumbai South Mumbai, colloquially SoBo from South Bombay in Indian English, administratively the Mumbai City District, is the city centre and the southernmost precinct of Greater Bombay. It extends from Colaba to Mahalaxmi (Western side), Byculla ...
. Taxis and Auto rickshaws in Mumbai are required by law to run on compressed natural gas (CNG), and are a convenient, economical, and easily available means of transport.


Railway

The Mumbai Suburban Railway, colloquially referred to as "Locals", forms the backbone of the city's transport system. It is operated by the Central Railway and Western Railway zones of the Indian Railways. Mumbai's suburban rail systems carried a total of 63 lakh (6.3 million) passengers every day in 2007. Trains are overcrowded during peak hours, with twelve-car trains of rated capacity 1,700 passengers, actually carrying around 4,500 passengers at peak hours. The Mumbai rail network is spread at an expanse of . 191 rakes (train-sets) of 12 car and 15 car composition are utilised to run a total of 2,226 train services in the city. The Mumbai Monorail and Mumbai Metro have been built and are being extended in phases to relieve the overcrowding on the existing network. The Monorail opened in early February 2014. The Line 1 (Mumbai Metro), first line of the Mumbai Metro opened in early June 2014. Mumbai is the headquarters of two zones of the Indian Railways: the Central Railway (India), Central Railway (CR) headquartered at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus), and the Western Railway (India), Western Railway (WR) headquartered at Churchgate. Mumbai is also well connected to most parts of India by the Indian Railways. Long-distance trains originate from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Dadar railway station, Dadar, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Mumbai Central, Bandra Terminus, Andheri railway station, Andheri and Borivali railway station, Borivali. File:AC-EMU-Mumbai.jpg, The Mumbai Suburban Railway system carries more than 69.9 lakh (6.99 million) commuters on a daily basis. It has the highest passenger density of any urban railway system in the world. File:Mumbaimetro.jpg, Mumbai Metro provides connectivity with eastern and western part of the city. File:Mumbai Monorail train.jpg, The Mumbai Monorail, opened in February 2014, is the Urban rail transit in India, only operational monorail system in India and also is the List of monorail systems, seventh largest Monorail system in the world.


Bus

Mumbai's bus services carried over 5.5 million passengers per day in 2008, which dropped to 2.8 million in 2015. Public buses run by BEST cover almost all parts of the metropolis, as well as parts of
Navi Mumbai Navi Mumbai (; also known as New Bombay, its official name until 1995) is a large city next to Mumbai, located in the Konkan division of the western Indian state of Maharashtra, on the mainland of India. Navi Mumbai is situated in Thane distr ...
, Mira-Bhayandar and Thane. The BEST operates a total of 4,608 buses with CCTV cameras installed, ferrying 4.5 million passengers daily over 390 routes. Its fleet consists of single-decker, double-decker, vestibule, low-floor, disabled-friendly, air-conditioned and Euro III compliant diesel, compressed natural gas, and Electric bus, electric buses. BEST introduced air-conditioned buses in 1998. BEST buses are red in colour, based originally on the AEC Routemaster, Routemaster buses of London. Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC, also known as ST) buses provide intercity transport connecting Mumbai with other towns and cities of Maharashtra and nearby states. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) and Thane Municipal Transport (TMT) also operate their buses in Mumbai, connecting various nodes of Navi Mumbai and Thane to parts of Mumbai. Buses are generally favoured for commuting short to medium distances, while train fares are more economical for longer distance commutes. The ''Mumbai Darshan'' is a tourist bus service which explores numerous List of tourist attractions in Mumbai, tourist attractions in Mumbai. Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) lanes have been planned throughout Mumbai. Though 88% of the city's commuters travel by public transport, Mumbai still continues to struggle with traffic congestion. Mumbai's transport system has been categorised as one of the most congested in the world.


Water

Water transport in Mumbai consists of ferries, hovercraft and catamarans. Services are provided by both government agencies as well as private partners. Hovercraft services plied briefly in the late 1990s between the Gateway of India and CBD Belapur in Navi Mumbai. They were subsequently scrapped due to lack of adequate water transport infrastructure, infrastructure.


Roads

Mumbai is served by National Highway 48, National Highway 66, National Highway 160 and National Highway 61. The Mumbai–Chennai and Mumbai–Delhi prongs of the Golden Quadrilateral system of National Highways start from the city. The Mumbai–Pune Expressway was the first Expressways of India, expressway built in India. The Eastern Freeway (Mumbai), Eastern Freeway was opened in 2013. The Bandra-Worli Sea Link bridge, along with Mahim Causeway, links the island city to the western suburbs. The three major road arteries of the city are the Eastern Express Highway from Sion to Thane, the Sion Panvel Expressway from Sion to Panvel and the Western Express Highway from
Bandra Bandra ( æːɳɖɾa is a coastal suburb located in Mumbai, the largest city of the Konkan division in Maharashtra, India. The area is located to the immediate north of the River Mithi, which separates Bandra from the Mumbai City district. It ...
to Bhayander. The long Mumbai Trans Harbour Link was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 12 January 2024, connects Mumbai with
Navi Mumbai Navi Mumbai (; also known as New Bombay, its official name until 1995) is a large city next to Mumbai, located in the Konkan division of the western Indian state of Maharashtra, on the mainland of India. Navi Mumbai is situated in Thane distr ...
. Mumbai has approximately of roads. There are five toll plaza, tolled entry points to the city by road. Mumbai had about 721,000 private vehicles as of March 2014, 56,459 black and yellow taxis , and 106,000 auto rickshaws, as of May 2013. Mumbai currently has one operational expresswaythe Mumbai–Pune Expresswaywhich directly connects Mumbai with
Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
. In the coming years, the great metropolis will be connected with more expressways. They are as follows: * Delhi–Mumbai Expressway: Under construction since March 2019, to be completed by 2027. * Mumbai–Nagpur Expressway: Under construction since January 2019, to be completed by May 2025. * Konkan Expressway: Proposed.


Air

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (formerly Sahar International Airport) is the main aviation hub in the city and the second busiest airport in India in terms of passenger traffic. It handled 52.8 million passengers in the Financial Year 2024, an increase of 16 per cent in passenger traffic over the previous Financial Year. An upgrade plan was initiated in 2006, targeted at increasing the capacity of the airport to handle up to 40 million passengers annually and the new terminal T2 was opened in February 2014. The Navi Mumbai International airport, being built in the Kopra-Panvel area, will help relieve the increasing traffic burden on the existing airport. It is expected to be completed and become operational by May 2025. The Juhu Aerodrome was India's first airport, and now hosts the Bombay Flying Club and a heliport operated by state-owned Pawan Hans.


Sea

Mumbai is served by two major ports,
Mumbai Port Trust Mumbai Port (also known as the Bombay Port) is a port which lies midway on the west coast of India, on the natural deep-water Mumbai harbour in Maharashtra. The harbour spread over is protected by the mainland of Konkan to its east and north an ...
and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, which lies just across the creek in
Navi Mumbai Navi Mumbai (; also known as New Bombay, its official name until 1995) is a large city next to Mumbai, located in the Konkan division of the western Indian state of Maharashtra, on the mainland of India. Navi Mumbai is situated in Thane distr ...
. Mumbai Port has one of the best natural harbours in the world, and has extensive wet and dry dock accommodation facilities. Jawaharlal Nehru Port, commissioned on 26 May 1989, is the busiest and most modern major port in India. It handles 55–60% of the country's total containerised cargo. Ferries from Ferry Wharf in
Mazagaon Mazagaon, also spelled Mazgaon and Mazagon (Portuguese era Mazagão), and pronounced by the Christian Bombay East Indians as 'Mazgon' or 'Maz-a-gon' and Marathi-speakers as Mazhgav. It was one of the seven islands of Bombay. It is now a part ...
allow access to islands near the city. The city is also the headquarters of the Western Naval Command, and also an important base for the Indian Navy.


Utility services

Under colonial rule, tanks were the only source of water in Mumbai, with many localities having been named after them. The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, MCGM supplies potable water to the city from six lakes, most of which comes from the Tulsi and Vihar lakes. The Tansa lake supplies water to the western suburbs and parts of the island city along the Western Railway. The water is filtered at Bhandup, which is Asia's largest water filtration plant. India's first underground water tunnel was completed in Mumbai to supply water to the Bhandup filtration plant. About 700 million (70 crore) litres of water, out of a daily supply of 3.5 billion (350 crore) litres, is lost by way of water thefts, illegal connections and leakages, per day in Mumbai. Almost all of Mumbai's daily refuse of , of which is plastic pollution, plastic waste, is transported to dumping grounds in Gorai in the northwest, Mulund in the northeast, and to the Deonar dumping ground in the east. Sewage treatment is carried out at
Worli Worli (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Varaḷī'', Help:IPA/Marathi, əɾ(ə)ɭiː is a locality in central Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. It is one of the four peninsulas of Mumbai with the others being Colaba, Bandra and Malabar Hill. The sea connect ...
and
Bandra Bandra ( æːɳɖɾa is a coastal suburb located in Mumbai, the largest city of the Konkan division in Maharashtra, India. The area is located to the immediate north of the River Mithi, which separates Bandra from the Mumbai City district. It ...
, and disposed of by two independent marine outfalls of and at Bandra and Worli respectively. Electricity is distributed by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking in the island city, and by Adani Transmission, Tata Power and the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd (Mahavitaran) in the suburbs. Power supply cables are Undergrounding, underground, which reduces pilferage, thefts and other losses. Cooking gas is supplied in the form of Liquefied petroleum gas, liquefied petroleum gas cylinders sold by state-owned oil companies, as well as through Liquefied natural gas, piped natural gas supplied by Mahanagar Gas Limited. The largest telephone service provider is the state-owned MTNL, which held a monopoly over fixed line and cellular services up until 2000, and provides fixed line as well as mobile Wireless local loop, WLL services. Mobile phone coverage is extensive, and the main service providers are Vodafone India, Bharti Airtel, MTNL, and Jio, Reliance Jio. Both GSM and CDMA services are available in the city. Mumbai, along with the area served by telephone exchanges in
Navi Mumbai Navi Mumbai (; also known as New Bombay, its official name until 1995) is a large city next to Mumbai, located in the Konkan division of the western Indian state of Maharashtra, on the mainland of India. Navi Mumbai is situated in Thane distr ...
and Kalyan is classified as a ''Metro'' telecom circle. Many of the above service providers also provide broadband internet and wireless internet access in Mumbai. , Mumbai had the highest number of internet users in India with 16.4 million (1.64 crore) users.


Demographics

According to the 2011 census of India, 2011 census, the population of Mumbai city was 12,479,608. The population density is estimated to be about . The living space is per person.
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Mumbai Metropolitan Region (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Muṁbaī Mahānagara Pradēśa''; abbreviated to MMR and previously also known as Greater Bombay Metropolitan Area), is a metropolitan area consisting of Mumbai and its Satellite city, satellite tow ...
was home to 20,748,395 people by 2011. Greater Mumbai, the area under the administration of the MCGM, has a literacy rate of 94.7%, higher than the national average of 86.7%. The number of slum-dwellers in the
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Mumbai Metropolitan Region (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Muṁbaī Mahānagara Pradēśa''; abbreviated to MMR and previously also known as Greater Bombay Metropolitan Area), is a metropolitan area consisting of Mumbai and its Satellite city, satellite tow ...
is estimated to be 90 lakh (9 million), up from 60 lakh (6 million) in 2001 which constitutes approximately 38.5% of the region. The sex ratio in 2011 was 838 females per 1,000 males in the island city, 857 in the suburbs, and 848 as a whole in Greater Mumbai, all numbers lower than the national average of 914 females per 1,000 males. The low sex ratio is partly because of the large number of male migrants who come to the city to work. Mumbai suffers from the same major urbanisation problems seen in many fast growing cities in developing countries: poverty and unemployment. With available land at a premium, Mumbai residents often reside in cramped, relatively expensive housing, usually far from workplaces, and therefore requiring long commutes on crowded mass transit, or clogged roadways. Many of them live close to bus or train stations, although suburban residents spend significant time travelling southward to the main commercial district.
Dharavi Dharavi is a residential area in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It has often been considered one of the world's largest slums. Dharavi has an area of just over and a population of about 1,000,000. With a population density of over , Dharavi is o ...
, Asia's second largest slum (if Karachi's Orangi, Orangi Town is counted as a single slum) is located in central Mumbai and houses between 800,000 and 10 lakh (one million) people in , making it one of the most densely populated areas on Earth with a population density of at least . The number of migrants to Mumbai from outside Maharashtra during the 1991–2001 decade was 11.2 lakh (1.12 million), which amounted to 54.8% of the net addition to the population of Mumbai. The number of households in Mumbai is forecast to rise from 42 lakh (4.2 million) in 2008 to 66 lakh (6.6 million) in 2020. The number of households with annual incomes of 20 lakh (2 million) rupees will increase from 4% to 10% by 2020, amounting to 660,000 families. The number of households with incomes from 10 to 20 lakh (1–2 million) rupees is also estimated to increase from 4% to 15% by 2020. According to the 2016 report of the
Central Pollution Control Board The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India is a statutory organization under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Mo.E.F.C.C.). It was established in 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of pollution) Act, 1 ...
, Mumbai is the noisiest city in India, ahead of Lucknow,
Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
and Delhi.


Ethnic groups and religions

The religious groups represented in Greater Mumbai as of 2011 include Hindus (65.99%), Muslims (20.65%), Buddhists (4.85%), Jains (4.10%), Christians (3.27%) and Sikhs (0.49%). On this page, select "Maharashtra" from the download menu. ''"Greater Mumbai (M.Corp.)" is at line 11 of the excel file, "Mumbai Suburban District" at line 1065 and "Mumbai District" at line 1072.'' The linguistic/ethnic demographics in the Greater Mumbai Area are: Maharashtrians (32%), Gujaratis (20%), with the rest hailing from other parts of India. Native Christians include Bombay East Indians, East Indian Catholics, who were converted by the Portuguese during the 16th century, while Goan Catholics, Goan and Mangalorean Catholics also constitute a significant portion of the Christian community of the city. History of the Jews in Mumbai, Jews settled in Mumbai during the 18th century. The Bene Israeli Jewish community of Mumbai, who migrated from the
Konkan The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the eas ...
villages, south of Mumbai, are believed to be the descendants of the Jews of Israel who were shipwrecked off the Konkan coast, probably in the year 175 BCE, during the reign of the Ancient Greece, Greek ruler, Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Mumbai is also home to the largest population of Parsi Zoroastrians in the world, numbering about 60,000, however their population is declining rapidly. Parsis migrated to India from Greater Iran following the Muslim conquest of Persia in the seventh century. The oldest Muslim communities in Mumbai include the Dawoodi Bohras, Ismaili Khojas, and Konkani Muslims.


Language

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...
is the official and working language of the bureaucracy along with English language, English. Mumbai has a large polyglot population like all other Status of Indian cities, metropolitan cities of India. Sixteen major languages of India are spoken in Mumbai, with the most common being
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...
and its dialect East Indian language, East Indian. Marathi, and its dialect, as a single language is spoken by 35.30% of the population around 4,396,870 people. Hindi is spoken by 25.90% of the population around 3,582,719 people, making it the second largest dominant language in Mumbai. Many Hindi speakers are workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who migrate seasonally to Mumbai to work as labourers. Urdu and Gujarati are spoken by 11.73% and 11.45% respectively. Tamil language, Tamil, Marwari language, Marwari, Bhojpuri language, Bhojpuri, Telugu language, Telugu,
Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...
, Bengali language, Bengali and Malayalam are other minority languages spoken by a significant number of people in Mumbai. English is extensively spoken and is the principal language of the city's White-collar worker, white collar workforce. A colloquial form of Hindi, known as ''Bombay Hindi, Bambaiya'' – a blend of Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati,
Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...
, Urdu, Indian English and some invented words – is spoken on the streets. In the Suburbs, Marathi is spoken by 36.78% of the population and Gujarati by 31.21%.


Education


Schools

Schools in Mumbai are either "municipal schools" (run by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, MCGM) or private schools (run by trusts or individuals), which in some cases receive financial aid from the government. The schools are affiliated with either of the following boards: * Maharashtra State Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board, Maharashtra State Board (MSBSHSE) * The All-India Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) * The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) * The Central Board of Secondary Education, Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) * The International Baccalaureate (IB) * The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE). Marathi or English is the usual language of instruction. The primary education system of the MCGM is the largest urban primary education system in Asia. The MCGM operates 1,188 primary schools imparting primary education to 485,531 students in eight languages (
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...
,
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
, Gujarati, Urdu, English language, English, Tamil language, Tamil, Telugu language, Telugu and
Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...
). The MCGM also imparts secondary education to 55,576 students through its 49 secondary schools.


Higher education

Under the 10+2+3 plan, 10+2+3/4 plan, students complete ten years of schooling and then enroll for two years in junior college, where they select one of three streams: arts, commerce, or science. This is followed by either a general degree course in a chosen field of study, or a professional degree course, such as law, engineering and medicine. Most colleges in the city are affiliated with the University of Mumbai, one of the largest universities in the world in terms of the number of graduates. The University of Mumbai is one of the premier"Best Universities 2013: University of Mumbai"
''India Today''. (15 March 1978). Retrieved 16 July 2013.
universities in India. It was ranked 41 among the Top 50 Engineering Schools of the world by America's news broadcasting firm ''Business Insider'' in 2012 and was the only university in the list from the five emerging BRICS nations viz Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Moreover, the University of Mumbai was ranked 5th in the list of best universities in India by ''India Today'' in 2013 and ranked at 62 in the QS BRICS University rankings for 2013, a ranking of leading universities in the five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Its strongest scores in the QS World University Rankings, QS University Rankings: BRICS are for papers per faculty (8th), employer reputation (20th) and citations per paper (28th). It was ranked 10th among the top Universities of India by QS in 2013. With 7 of the top ten Indian Universities being purely science and technology universities, it was India's 3rd best Interdisciplinarity, Multi Disciplinary University in the QS University ranking. The IIT Bombay, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay), Mumbai, Institute of Chemical Technology (formerly UDCT / UICT), VJTI, Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), which are India's premier engineering and technology schools, along with SNDT Women's University are the autonomous universities located in Mumbai. In April 2015,
IIT Bombay The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT- Bombay or IIT-B) is a Public university, public research university and Institute of technology, technical institute in Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. IIT Bombay is mainly known for the hig ...
launched the first U.S.-India joint EMBA program alongside
Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...
. Thadomal Shahani Engineering College is the first and the oldest private engineering college affiliated to the federal University of Mumbai and is also pioneered to be the first institute in the city's university to offer undergraduate level courses in Computer Engineering, Information Technology, Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology. Grant Medical College established in 1845 and Seth G.S. Medical College are the leading medical institutes affiliated with Grant Medical College and Sir Jamshedjee Jeejeebhoy Group of Hospitals, Sir Jamshedjee Jeejeebhoy Group of Hospitals and KEM Hospital respectively. Mumbai is also home to the Indian Institute of Management Mumbai, IIM Mumbai, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), S P Jain Institute of Management and Research, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and several other management schools. Government Law College, Mumbai, Government Law College and Sydenham College, respectively the oldest law and commerce colleges in India, are based in Mumbai. The Sir J. J. School of Art is Mumbai's oldest art institution. It also has one of the best law schools or universities of the country which is Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai, National Law Universities (NLU). Mumbai is home to two prominent research institutions: the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). The BARC operates CIRUS, a 40 MW nuclear research reactor at their facility in
Trombay Trombay is an eastern suburb of Mumbai (Bombay), India. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is located there. History In 1548, Trombay and Chembur Chembur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ͡ʃembuːɾ is an upmarket large subur ...
. Mumbai Veterinary College is the oldest and premier Veterinary College of India and Asia, established in 1886. File:University Mumbai convoc hall.jpg, University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. File:Mumbai 03-2016 39 University.jpg, Rajabai Clock Tower at the University of Mumbai is part of The Victorian and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai, The Victorian and Art Deco Ensemble, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. File:IITBMainBuildingCROP.jpg, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay is a premier engineering institute in the country.


Culture

Mumbai's culture offers a blend of traditional and cosmopolitan festivals, food, entertainment, and night life. The city's cosmopolitan and urban-centric modern cultural offerings are comparable to other world capitals. Mumbai bears the distinction of being the most cosmopolitan city of India. Its history as a major trading centre and the expansion of an educated middle class has led to a diverse range of cultures, religions, and cuisines coexisting in the city. The variety and abundance of restaurants, cinemas, theatres, sports events and museums are a product of Mumbai's unique cosmopolitan culture. Mumbai is the birthplace of Indian cinema—Dadasaheb Phalke laid the foundations with silent movies followed by Marathi cinema, Marathi talkies—and the oldest film broadcast took place in the early 20th century. Mumbai also has a large number of cinema halls that feature Bollywood, Marathi and Hollywood movies. The Mumbai International Film Festival and the award ceremony of the Filmfare Awards, the oldest and prominent film awards given for Hindi film industry in India, are held in Mumbai. Despite most of the professional theatre groups that formed during the British Raj having disbanded by the 1950s, Mumbai has developed a thriving "theatre movement" tradition in Marathi, Hindi, English, and other regional languages. Contemporary art is featured in both government-funded art spaces and private commercial galleries. The government-funded institutions include the Jehangir Art Gallery and the National Gallery of Modern Art. Built in 1833, the Asiatic Society of Bombay, Asiatic Society of Mumbai is one of the oldest public library, public libraries in the city. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (formerly The Prince of Wales Museum) is a renowned museum in
South Mumbai South Mumbai, colloquially SoBo from South Bombay in Indian English, administratively the Mumbai City District, is the city centre and the southernmost precinct of Greater Bombay. It extends from Colaba to Mahalaxmi (Western side), Byculla ...
which houses rare ancient exhibits of Indian history. Mumbai has a zoo named Jijamata Udyaan (formerly Victoria Gardens), which also harbour's a garden. The rich literary traditions of the city have been highlighted internationally by Booker Prize winners Salman Rushdie, Aravind Adiga. Marathi literature has been modernised in the works of Mumbai-based authors such as Mohan Apte, Anant Kanekar, and Gangadhar Gadgil, and is promoted through an annual Sahitya Akademi Award, a literary honour bestowed by India's Sahitya Akademi, National Academy of Letters. Mumbai residents celebrate both Western and Indian festivals, Ganesh Chaturthi is the biggest and most important festival of Mumbai, There are almost 5000 Ganpati Pandals set up in the city for the celebrations. Other festivals like Diwali, Holi, Navratri, Christmas, Rakshabandhan, Makar Sankranti, Navrati, Dussera, Muslim holidays, Eid, Durga Puja, Ram Navami, Shiv Jayanti and Maha Shivratri are some of the popular festivals in the city. The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival is an exhibition of a world of arts that encapsulates works of artists in the fields of music, dance, theatre and films. The Banganga Festival is a two-day music festival, held annually in the month of January, which is organised by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) at the historic
Banganga Tank The Banganga Tank is a temple tank which is part of the Hindu Walkeshwar Temple complex in the Malabar Hill area of the city of Mumbai, India. History The tank was built in AD 1127 by Lakshman Prabhu, a minister in the court of Silhara kin ...
in Mumbai. The Elephanta Festival—celebrated every February on the Elephanta Islands—is dedicated to classical Indian dance and music and attracts performers from across the country. Public holidays specific to the city and the state include Maharashtra Day on 1 May, to celebrate the formation of Maharashtra state on 1 May 1960, and Gudi Padwa which is the New Year's Day for
Marathi people The Marathi people (; Marathi language, Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They ...
. List of Mumbai beaches, Beaches are a major tourist attraction in the city. The major beaches in Mumbai are Girgaum Chowpatty, Juhu Beach, Dadar Chowpatty, Gorai Beach, Marve Beach, Versova Beach, Madh Beach, Aksa Beach and Manori Beach. Most of the beaches are unfit for swimming, except Girgaum Chowpatty and Juhu Beach. Essel World is a theme park and amusement centre situated close to Gorai Beach, and includes Asia's largest theme water park, Water Kingdom. Adlabs Imagica opened in April 2013 is located near the city of Khopoli off the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.


Architecture

The architecture of the city is a blend of Gothic Revival, Indo-Saracenic, Art Deco, and other contemporary styles. Most of the buildings during the British period, such as the Victoria Terminus and University of Mumbai, were built in Gothic Revival style. Their architectural features include a variety of European influences such as German gables, Dutch roofs, Swiss timbering, Romance arches, Tudor casements, and traditional Indian features. There are also a few Indo-Saracenic styled buildings such as the Gateway of India. Art Deco styled landmarks can be found along Marine Drive, Mumbai, Marine Drive and west of the Oval Maidan. Mumbai has the second highest number of Art Deco buildings in the world after Miami. In the newer suburbs, modern buildings dominate the landscape. Mumbai has by far the highest number of skyscrapers in India, with 956 existing skyscrapers and 272 under construction . The Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC), established in 1995, formulates special regulations and by-laws to assist in the conservation of the city's heritage structures. Mumbai has three World Heritage Sites, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the
Elephanta Caves The Elephanta Caves are a collection of cave temples predominantly dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, which have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They are on Elephanta Island, or ''Gharapuri'' (literally meaning "the city of caves") ...
and the The Victorian and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai, Victorian and Art Deco Ensemble. In the south of Mumbai, there are colonial-era buildings and Soviet-style offices. In the east are factories and some slums. On the West coast are former-textile mills being demolished and skyscrapers built on top. There are 237 buildings taller than , compared with 327 in Shanghai and 855 in New York.


Cityscape

Mumbai's cityscape consists of a variety of tall buildings and structures, most of which have been built in the last two decades. There was a significant lull in construction projects since the mid-1990s after which construction projects began taking the skyline upwards, with a major acceleration in the pace of development since 2000, when the Parel, Lower Parel area began developing. Mumbai with a commanding 77% share of tall buildings in India, is poised to maintain its position as the frontrunner in tall building construction due to its ability to command premium prices compared to other cities, thereby ensuring the economic viability of such developments within the city. Mumbai has more residential tall buildings rather than commercial, unlike the trend globally. Limited land resources and an exponential increase in urban population were the primary reasons for Mumbai's vertical growth compared to other Tier 1 Indian cities. As of June 2023, Mumbai has a total of around 250 tall buildings out of which more than 100 are completed with more than 90 under construction.


Food


Media

Bollywood, the Hindi film industry based in Mumbai, produces around 150–200 films every year. The name Bollywood is a blend of Bombay and Cinema of the United States, Hollywood. The 2000s saw a growth in Bollywood's popularity overseas. This led filmmaking to new heights in terms of quality, cinematography and innovative story lines as well as technical advances such as special effects and animation. Studios in Goregaon, including Film City, Mumbai, Film City, are the location for most movie sets. The city also hosts the Marathi cinema, Marathi film industry which has seen increased popularity in recent years, and TV production companies. Mumbai is a hub of Indian film making. Several other Indian language films such as Bengali language, Bengali, Bhojpuri language, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Malayalam, Tamil language, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu language, Telugu and Urdu are also occasionally shot in Mumbai. Slumdog Millionaire, an English language British film, was shot entirely in Mumbai and has garnered 8 Oscar awards. Mumbai has numerous Indian newspapers, newspaper publications, television and radio stations. Marathi dailies enjoy the maximum readership share in the city and the top Marathi-language newspapers, Marathi language newspapers are ''Maharashtra Times'', ''Nava Kaal, Navakaal'', ''Lokmat'', ''Loksatta (newspaper), Loksatta'', ''Mumbai Chaufer'', ''Saamana'' and ''Sakaal''. Popular Marathi language magazines are ''Saptahik Sakaal'', ''Grihashobhika'', ''Lokrajya'', ''Lokprabha'' and ''Chitralekha''. Popular English language newspapers published and sold in Mumbai include ''The Times of India'', ''MiD DAY, Mid-day'', ''Hindustan Times'', ''DNA India'' and ''The Indian Express''. Newspapers are also printed in other Indian languages. Mumbai is home to Asia's oldest newspaper, ''Bombay Samachar'', which has been published in Gujarati since 1822. ''Bombay Durpan'', the first Marathi newspaper, was started by Balshastri Jambhekar in 1832. Numerous Television in India, Indian and international television channels can be watched in Mumbai through one of the pay-tv, Pay TV companies or the local cable television providers. The metropolis is also the hub of many international media corporations, with many news channels and print publications having a major presence. The national television broadcaster, Doordarshan, provides two free terrestrial channels, while three main cable networks serve most households. The wide range of cable channels available includes Zee Marathi, Zee Talkies, ETV Marathi, Colors Marathi, Star Pravah, Mi Marathi, DD Sahyadri (Marathi language television, All Marathi channels), news channels such as ABP Majha, IBN-Lokmat, News 18 Lokmat, Zee 24 Taas, sports channels like ESPN, Star Sports (Indian TV network), Star Sports, National entertainment channels like Colors TV, Sony Entertainment Television (India), Sony, Zee TV and Star Plus, business news channels like CNBC Awaaz, Zee Business, and ET Now News channels entirely dedicated to Mumbai include Sahara Samay Mumbai. Zing (TV channel), Zing a popular Bollywood gossip channel is also based out of Mumbai. Direct broadcast satellite, Satellite television (DTH) has yet to gain mass acceptance, due to high installation costs. Prominent DTH entertainment services in Mumbai include Dish TV and Tata Sky. There are twelve radio stations in Mumbai, with nine broadcasting on the Frequency modulation, FM band, and three All India Radio stations broadcasting on the Amplitude modulation, AM band. Mumbai also has access to Commercial broadcasting, Commercial radio providers such as Sirius Satellite Radio, Sirius. The Conditional Access System (CAS) started by the Government of India, Union Government in 2006 met a poor response in Mumbai due to competition from its sister technology Direct broadcast satellite, Direct-to-Home (DTH) transmission service.


Sports

File:Wankhede Stadium (86312941).jpeg, Wankhede Stadium File:Wug0reym7cv91.jpg, Mumbai Football Arena File:Dr. D.Y. Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai, Maharashta.png, DY Patil Stadium Cricket is more popular than any other sport in Mumbai. It is home to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Indian Premier League (IPL). Mumbai's first-class cricket, first-class team Mumbai cricket team has won 41 Ranji Trophy titles, the most by any team. The city based Mumbai Indians compete in the Indian Premier League. Mumbai has two international cricket stadiums, the Wankhede Stadium and the Brabourne Stadium. The first cricket test match in India was played in Mumbai at the Bombay Gymkhana. The biggest cricketing event to be staged in the city so far is the 2011 Cricket World Cup Final, final of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup which was played at the Wankhede Stadium. Mumbai and London are the only two cities to have hosted both a World Cup final and the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy Final, final of an ICC Champions Trophy which was played at the Brabourne Stadium in 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, 2006. Association football, Football is another popular sport in the city, with the FIFA World Cup and the English Premier League being followed widely. The Mumbai City FC of Indian Super League (ISL) play their home matches at the Mumbai Football Arena. While the I-League 2 club Mumbai Kenkre FC uses the Cooperage Ground as home ground. When the Elite Football League of India was introduced in August 2011, Mumbai was noted as one of eight cities to be awarded a team for the inaugural season. Mumbai's first professional American football Franchise (sports), franchise, the Mumbai Gladiators, played its first season, in
Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
, in late 2012. In field hockey, Mumbai is home to the Mumbai Marines and Mumbai Magicians in the World Series Hockey and Hockey India League respectively. Matches in the city are played at the Mahindra Hockey Stadium. The Indian Badminton League (IBL), now known as the Premier Badminton League is also visiting Mumbai since its inaugural edition in 2013 when the final was held in Mumbai's National Sports Club of India. In the second season, the final of the 2016 Premier Badminton League was held between home-squad Mumbai Rockets and the Delhi Dashers (formerly Delhi Acers), the visitors eventually claiming the title. The opening ceremony was also held in Mumbai while the finals in Delhi. In the 2017 Premier Badminton League (also known as Vodafone PBL 2017 for sponsorship reasons) the Mumbai Rockets beat the Hyderabad Hunters (Badminton team), Hyderabad Hunters 3–1 to proceed to the final. In the final they lost 3–4 to the Chennai Smashers. U Mumba is the team representing Mumbai in the country's professional Kabaddi league, Pro Kabaddi. The Mumbai Leg of Pro Kabaddi League, Pro Kabaddi is held at the NSCI, Worli. Rugby union, Rugby is another growing sport in Mumbai with league matches being held at the Bombay Gymkhana from June to November. Every February, Mumbai holds derby (horse race), derby races at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse. United Breweries Group, Mcdowell's Derby is also held in February at the Royal Western India Turf Club, Turf Club in Mumbai. In March 2004, the Mumbai Grand Prix was part of the F1 Powerboat Racing, F1 powerboat world championship, and the Force India F1 team car was unveiled in the city, in 2008. In 2004, the annual Mumbai Marathon was established as a part of "The Greatest Race on Earth". Mumbai had also played host to the Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open, an International Series Tournaments, International Series tournament of the Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP World Tour, in 2006 and 2007. Mumbai hosted the 141st IOC Session from 15 to 17 October 2023. Regional and professional sports teams from Mumbai Former regional and professional sports teams from Mumbai


International relations


Twin towns and sister cities

Source: ''Hindustan Times''


See also

* Geology of Mumbai * List of tallest buildings in Mumbai * List of people from Mumbai * List of twin towns and sister cities in India * INS Mumbai


References


Notes


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* * * * *
Mumbai City, Government of Maharashtra
{{Authority control Mumbai, Cities and towns in Mumbai City district Cities in Maharashtra Indian capital cities Metropolitan cities in India Populated coastal places in India Port cities in India Port cities and towns of the Arabian Sea Populated places established in 1507 Former Portuguese colonies 1507 establishments in India