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Kamathipura (also spelled Kamthipura) is a neighbourhood in
Mumbai, India Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
known for
prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...
. It was first settled after 1795 with the construction of causeways that connected the erstwhile seven islands of Mumbai. Initially known as Lal Bazaar, it got its name from the '' Kamathis'' (workers) of other areas of the country, who were labourers on sexual sites. Due to tough police crackdowns, in the late 1990s with the rise of
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
and government's redevelopment policy that helped sex workers to move out of the profession and subsequently out of Kamathipura, the number of sex workers in the area has dwindled. Since then, Kamathipura has experience gentrification, and as of 2017, Kamathipura had less than 2000 sex workers. Real estate expansion has pushed the brothels into only two of the 14 lanes which they originally occupied. In 1992,
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) recorded there were 45,000 sex workers, which decreased to 1,600 in 2009 and 500 in 2018. Many sex workers have migrated to other areas in Maharashtra, in part due to real estate developers taking over increasingly valuable land. In 2018, the Maharashtra government sought tenders to demolish and redevelop the area.


History

The British fortified Mumbai as commerce of the Bombay port flourished. In 1782, the British began the project to unify the islands. Before the completion of the Hornby Vellard project in 1784, which built 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 ...
uniting all seven islands of Mumbai under William Hornby, governor of Bombay (1771–1784), plugged the Great Breach in
Mahalaxmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the Devi, goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with ...
, while the subsequent Bellasis Road causeway joined Mazagaon and
Malabar Hill Malabar Hill is amongst the most affluent residential areas in Mumbai. It is home to several business tycoons and film personalities. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, had built and lived in a bungalow, called South Court, in Malab ...
in 1793. This resulted in several low-lying marshy areas of Mumbai Flats like
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 ...
,
Tardeo Tardeo or Tardeo Road () is an elite residential and commercial locality of South Mumbai, from Nana Chowk to Haji Ali Dargah, Haji Ali Junction. Tardeo is one of Asia's most expensive residential and commercial localities and houses the residence ...
, Mahalaxmi and Kamathipura opening up for habitation. Kamathipura emerged in 1795 on the northern periphery of the Fort. Thereafter starting 1795, '' Kamathis'' (workers) of other areas of the country, working as labourers on construction sites began settling here in the flat areas which were rendered liveable due to the construction of the Hornby Vellard and the Bellasis Road, giving the area its present name. It was bounded by Bellasis Road on the north, by Gaodevi on the south and the main road across, Falkland Road. At one point during this period it was home to a Chinese community, which worked as dockhands and ran restaurants. By the late 19th century it all changed. Till then, as previous 1864 Census figures for Mumbai indicate, other areas had a larger population of prostitutes, like
Girgaon Girgaon, or Girgaum, is an area in southern Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. It is near the coast. A section of Marine Drive, Mumbai, Marine Drive is located here. History Girgaon has a deep-rooted connection with the celebration of Ganesh Cha ...
(1,044), Phanaswadi (1,323) and Oomburkharee (1,583) compared with Kamathipura (601), all which declined after 1864. Tambe, p. 62 In the nineteenth century the area developed in the main red light district of the city of Mumbai. In the words of a visiting missionary, "...the ground floor open to the road, like native shops. In these lower as well as in the upper rooms were native women calling to the male passers-by of various nationalities." Kamathipura became established as one of the "comfort zones" in Mumbai for British soldiers, and this is embedded within the local origin stories. The most well-known brothel in the area, Pila House, is the hybridisation of its original word: Playhouse. The first
venereal disease A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, or ...
clinic of Bombay was opened in 1916, being taken over by BMC in 1925. Nearby, Bachchuseth ki Wadi on Foras Road was famous for its ''kothewalis'' or
tawaif A ''tawaif'' () was a highly successful courtesan singer‚ dancer‚ and poet who catered to the nobility of the Indian subcontinent, particularly during the Mughal era. Many tawaifs (" nautch girls" to the British) were forced to go into pro ...
s and mujras. When India gained independence, a larger number of
sex worker A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" According to one view, sex work is ...
s moved into the area. In recent decades, large numbers of
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
ese women and girls have also been trafficked into the district. Over the years under Indian government rule, the sex industry in Kamathipura continued to flourish. Trafficking and economic circumstances also brought women from different parts of the country there. Eventually it became Asia's largest sex district. In the late 1980s, the rise of AIDS was partially responsible for the decline of Kamathipura's sex industry. Police started cracking down on the brothels and customers declined as the disease spread. Many sex workers left for the suburbs or other cities. From around 50,000 sex workers in 1992, the number of sex workers has been reduced to below 2000. The
brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...
s in the area are crowded. Sex workers wait outside to pick up customers and then rent an available bed. The estimated 3,000 buildings in the area are largely dilapidated; safe drinking water and sanitation is scarce as well. Some historical sources point out that the origin of slums, subsequently the red-light areas of
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
including Kamathipura is related to land acquisition, from the indigenous population who were evicted from their farmlands and cattle-fields and forced to live in congested conditions, to facilitate the development of the industrial harbor city. In the early stages, people accumulated in the new slums partly depended on constructions contracts. Later, as men became unemployed due to lack of jobs, more women began to engage in sex work in order to survive. Gang activity also increased in the area; in the 1970s and early '80s, Bachchu Wadi at Kamathipura was frequented by gangleaders from the Mumbai underworld, such as
Haji Mastan Haji Mastan, popularly known as Sultan Mirza, was an organised crime gang leader, originally from Tamil Nadu and based in Bombay. He was one of the infamous trio of mafia gang leaders in Bombay for over two decades from the 1960s to the early 1 ...
,
Karim Lala Karim Lala (1911 – 19 February 2002), born Abdul Karim Sher Khan in the Samalam Village of the Shegal District of Kunar Province, Afghanistan, was infamous as one of the three "mafia dons of Mumbai" in India for more than two decades fr ...
, and Dawood Ibrahim. The 2005 statewide ban on dance bars resulted in many former female dancers resorting to prostitution in Mumbai's red-light districts in order to survive. According to police, in 2005, there were 100,000 prostitutes working out of five-star hotels and brothels across Mumbai. The area is also home to a small cottage industry of about 200 women who make a living rolling
beedi A beedi (also spelled bidi or biri) is a thin cigarette or cigar, mini-cigar filled with tobacco flake and commonly wrapped in a tendu (''Diospyros melanoxylon'') or ''Piliostigma racemosum'' leaf tied with a string or adhesive at one end. It ...
s (hand-rolled Indian cigarette).


Demographics

Kamathipura is divided into roughly 14 lanes and divided according to regional backgrounds of the workers. Most of the workers come from other Indian states. There is little interaction between areas, which makes it harder for social organizations to organize them into a movement or union. Further, lack of public opinion, political leadership or social activism which is empathetic towards them means a tough time forming unions. Karandikar, p. 17 The area had 55,936 voters in 2007.


Image gallery

File:Kamathipura lane.jpg, File:'JOINT N0 25' at Kamatipura in Mumbai.JPG, File:'JOINT NOS 25',the oldest brothel building in Kamathipura of Mumbai..JPG, File:Internally renovated but externally unchanged,Heritage Brothel N0 25 in Kamatipura..JPG, File:Kamatipura.JPG


See also

* Prostitution in India *
Prostitution in Asia The legality of prostitution in Asia varies by country. There is often a significant difference in Asia between prostitution laws and the practice of prostitution. In 2011, the Asian Commission on AIDS estimated there were 10 million sex workers ...
* Prostitution in Kolkata * Prostitution in Mumbai *
Sonagachi Sonagachi is a neighbourhood in Kolkata, India, located in North Kolkata near the intersection of Jatindra Mohan Avenue (north of C.R. Avenue) with Beadon Street and Sovabazar, about one kilometer north of the Marble Palace area. Sonagachi i ...
* All Bengal Women's Union * Dedh galli, street market * Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee *
Male prostitution Male prostitution is a form of sex work consisting of the act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. Although clients can be of any gender, the vast majority are older males looking to fulfill their sexual needs. M ...


Notes


References

* * * * Björkman, Lisa, and Ratoola Kundu. “NIRMALA: KAMATHIPURA’S GATEKEEPER.” Bombay Brokers, edited by LISA BJÖRKMAN,
Duke University Press Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 ...
, 2021, pp. 145–53, .


External links


The day my God died -
Documentary by
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

Frontline interview with Raney AronsonWatch
YouTube documentary on a school in Kamathipura {{Prostitution in India Prostitution in India Neighbourhoods in Mumbai Red-light districts in India