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Mumbai, the financial capital of India is a very popular city. It is known for the Gateway of India, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Bollywood, Juhu beach, railway system and much more. To be very Frank, there are so many incredible things about Mumbai that are very tough to count!
Mumbai was first known as Bombay. Created at the time of Independence, the story behind the formation of this unique city is very interesting.
History of Bombay State
When India got independence from the British Raj in 1947 Bombay Presidency was included in India. Although the Sindh province was pushed to Pakistan. The Bombay Presidency that we got was restructured into Bombay State. The territories of the existing State of Bombay included the following states:
- Kolhapur
- Baroda
When the States Reorganization Act was enacted on 1 November 1956 the state of Bombay expanded and included the following states:
- Vidarbha region of southern Madhya Pradesh
- Marathwada region of Hyderabad State
- Saurashtra
- Kutch
It was a combination of a lot of states that were speaking different languages. For example, both Vidarbha and Marathwada had Marathi speaking people. On the other hand, Saurashtra and Kutch had Gujarati speaking people. This is the reason Bombay was also referred to as ‘Maha Dwibhashi Rajya’. This basically means ‘the great bilingual state’.
The economic growth in Bombay was extremely good from the start itself. The Bombay textile industry before the 1950s dominated the textile industry. Although from the 1950s numerous policies were introduced that stopped the growth of mills. Instead, handloom and power loom sectors were encouraged since they created a lot of job opportunities for the people. Many strong unions grew in Bombay.
As we all know Bollywood grew in Bombay at a rapid speed. Bombay laid the foundation for the film industry. It gained massive political attention. After 1947 the film industry also received government funding which helped the filmmakers to use advanced technology. Films grabbed a lot of eyeballs and thus, Bombay cinema became the dominant player in the Indian film industry.
Bandhup, Jogeshwari, Western Railway and Central Railway became part of Bombay. In February 1957 this limit was further extended to Dahisar and Mulund. Later on, in 1958 the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay was also established in Powai.
In 1955 Congress Party wanted Bombay to be an autonomous city-state. A year later in 1956, the States Reorganization Committee proposed a bilingual state for Maharashtra-Gujarat where they wanted Bombay to be the capital.
Partition Between Maharashtra and Gujarat
Unfortunately, on 1st May 1960 Maharashtra and Gujarat were separated from each other. Gujarati speaking areas became part of Gujarat. The state of Maharashtra was born with Mumbai as its capital. As we all know Marathi speaking areas became part of Maharashtra.
After India got independence it carried out operation polo and annexed Hyderabad. This resulted in Nanded becoming a part of Hyderabad. On 1st May 1960, both the bidar district and Nanded district became a part of Maharashtra.
Why Was Bombay Changed To Mumbai?
The city’s controversial name change from Bombay to Mumbai sparked numerous debates among the people. The name change has a lot of political sentiments attached to it. Even when the city’s name was Bombay many of the Marathi, Konkani and Kannada speakers were already using the word Mumbai.
The word Mumbai was originally derived from the name of the Koli goddess ‘Mumbadevi’.Since Bombay was used in the British Raj they wanted to give a name to the city that was associated with Indian roots.
How Was Navi Mumbai Created?
Since Independence, there was an idea to build a new city across the harbour to lower the population of Mumbai. Since the city has a lot of importance, many people were migrating to Mumbai in search of job opportunities or just to improve their standard of living. Mumbai is an island that cannot be expanded. Due to this not a lot of people could live in Mumbai. In 1947, N. V. Modak and Albert Mayer suggested an idea to build a city.
A development plan was made by the Municipal Corporation in 1964 for Greater Mumbai which was approved two years later in 1997. During the same year, Charles Correa and Pravin Mehta who were leading architects of Mumbai and Shirish Patel who was an engineer by profession submitted another plan.
They suggested that a twin city that is equal in size to Greater Mumbai would be a better idea to solve the increasing population problem. Thus, Navi Mumbai was born that covered an area of 344km2(almost half of the size of Mumbai).
Conclusion
As you can see Mumbai has a very rich history. A lot of emotions and stories are attached to this city. In the beginning, Mumbai was home to people from various castes. Although due to numerous protests, a partition between Gujarat and Maharashtra was made. Initially, it was part of the British Raj but now it is the pride of India.
