Nandan Nilekani takes over as chairman of UIADI

Govt Set To Create Massive Domestic IT Opportunities Through UID

Government announcement in 2008 about establishment of a Unique Identity Authority to simplify things for all citizens hardly aroused any public interest but the recent announcement of Nandan Nilekani joining as chairperson of the Unique Identification Authority of India seems to have lifted the expectations from this project.

What really is UID?
UID (Unique Identification) is a project [...]

Nandan Nilekani takes over as chairman of UIADI

Nandan Nilekani took over as chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIADI) here today.

Interacting with the media on the occasion, Nilekani said Unique Identification Numbers would ensure multifarious benefits by enabling different applications.

“Unique number will include personal and demographic detail of the residents. Common man will be empowered by establishing his identity across the country through a unique number,” he said.

Replying to queries, he said that data base of residents from various sources will be used for biometric identification.

“Authority will include best available technical experts from private and Government sector both,” he added.

He expressed the hope that first set of Unique Identification Numbers will be issued within the next 12-18 months.

In January, the Government of India had notified the creation of the National Authority of Unique Identity.

The ambitious plan of unique identification has been allocated Rs 100 crore in the interim budget of 2009-10.

The Unique Identification Numbers aims at eliminating the need for multiple identification mechanism prevalent across various government departments, and it will ensure that each Indian citizen will carry a permanent identifier from birth to death.

The permanent identifier which will also cover children, will help in at establishing citizenship, reducing identity related frauds, addresses security issues and prevent leakages in different government schemes.

In the beginning, the Unique Identity Number will be given to all voters who are on current electoral rolls, and gradually, the other persons including those below 18 years of age will be added to the database. Photographs and biometric data will be added to make the identification perfect. (ANI)

Kasab's statement not confession but admission of guilt: Judge

The special court trying the lone surviving terrorist in 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes, MohammedAjmal Kasab, on Tuesday said the Pakistani gunman's statement pleading guilty before it was not a confession but an admission of guilt.

Judge M L Tahaliyani said Kasab's statement before the court was "broadly speaking not a confession but an admission of guilt."

Tahaliyani's observation came after Kasab concluded his version of events related to November 26 terror strikes.

In a dramatic turn of events, Kasab on Monday confessed to his involvement in the terror strikes at CST and other locations, apart from giving a detailed description of his training by Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan.

Kasab was free to plead guilty at any point of time during the course of the trial, the court observed.

The court would need to verify whether Kasab was genuinely pleading his guilt as there were many charges against him, Judge Tahaliyani said.

The court could then accept or reject Kasab's statement or accept his plea and continue with the trial, the judge said.

Kasab, who was caught alive during the Mumbai attacks, had already recorded a confession before a magistrate but later withdrew it alleging it was obtained through coercion by police.

Hang Kasab publicly, says Bal Thackeray

Mumbai: Reiterating his demand that Ajmal Kasab be hanged publicly, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Thursday said the Pakistani gunman's admission of guilt in 26/11 attack case won't deter the neighbouring country from sending more terrorists into India. Those who think that

Kasab's confession is a victory are living in a fool's paradise. Kasab's confession won't stop Pakistan from sending more terrorists, Thackeray said in an editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

Like Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, we see the likelihood of Kasab spending the rest of his life in a jail, even if the court sentences him to death, he said.

It is our national policy to keep Kasab alive to protect Muslim sentiments, the Sena leader added.

"There is public demand that he should be hanged near the Gateway of India as that would be a befitting tribute to 26/11 Mumbai attack victims," Thackeray said

Hang me if you want, Kasab tells court

MUMBAI: Ajmal Kasab on Wednesday said he was ready to be hanged and wants no mercy from the court after the prosecution said the lone surviving gunman in the Mumbai attack
was trying to minimize his role to avoid death penalty and protect his handlers in Pakistan.

"Agar kisiko aitraaz hai...agar kisi ke dil mein shak hai ki main phansi se baachne ke liye yeh kar raha hoon toh beshak phansi ki saaza dijiye. (If anyone feels that I am confessing to escape the death penalty then the court may without doubt hang me)," Kasab(22) told special judge M L Tahilyani who adjourned the trial till Thursday.

As the judge weighed the pros and cons of the unexpected confession made by the Pakistani national on Monday admitting to his involvement in the attack, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam picked holes in his statement refusing to accept it and said he was not telling the whole truth.

"Kasab is not telling the whole truth. He has cleverly minimised his role and has done it to get lesser punishment or save his handlers in Pakistan," Nikam argued.

Defence lawyer Abbas Kazmi alleged Kasab was mentally tortured in jail due to which he confessed. The Pakistani gunman, however, disagreed with his counsel and said, "Aisa koi masla nahi hai. (There is no such issue)."

Kazmi also said the court was open to ignoring Kasab's confession and that it must not delay its verdict if it accepts the statement.

Judge Tahilyani said the court had taken all precautions to ensure that the confession made was voluntary and without external influence.

The special court will give its ruling whether it would accept lone surviving gunman Mohammad Ajmal Kasab's statement admitting his guilt on Thursday.

Special Judge M L Tahilyani said that the court will give its ruling on the statement tomorrow. Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam argued that the court may accept Kasab's confession but should allow the prosecution to submit further evidence in the case, as Kasab has not made a full disclosure about his role in the terror attacks.

"The prosecution has to establish before the court why Mumbai was targeted why foreigners were attacked and has to also expose the infrastructure and operations of LeT."

He said if granted permission by the court, the prosecution would complete the trial by August-end.

Nikam also told the court that a team of experts from abroad is yet to be examined in the case.

"If the Pakistan government is serious about combating terrorism then it can use this evidence in a court there as there is a provision for the same in Pakistan's Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)," Nikam told reporters outside court.

Defence lawyer Abbas Kazmi said it is up to the court to decide whether to accept the Pakistani gunman's statement.

Ajmal Kasab

Ajmal Kasab

Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab(Urdu: محمد اجمل امیر قصاب) (born July 13, 1987) is a Pakistani terrorist [3] who was involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.[4][5] Ajmal Amir is the only attacker captured alive by police and is currently in Indian custody. The Government of Pakistan initially denied that Ajmal was from Pakistan, but in January 2009, it officially [6] accepted that Ajmal Amir Kasab was a Pakistani citizen.

Ajmal's name has been reported differently by various sources due to an initial naming confusion immediately after his arrest:
Ajmal Kasab [7]
Azam Amir Kasav[8]
Ajmal Qasab[9]
Ajmal Amir Kamal[10]
Ajmal Amir Kasab[11]
Azam Ameer Qasab[12]
Mohammad Ajmal Qasam[13]
Ajmal Mohammed Amir Kasab[14]
Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasar[15]
Amjad Amir Kamaal[16]
Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab

Background

Kasab comes from Faridkot village in the Okara District of Punjab, Pakistan. His father makes a living selling dahi puri [19][20] while his elder brother Afzal, 25, works as a laborer in Lahore.[20] His elder sister, Rukaiyya Husain, 22, is married in the village.[20] A younger sister Suraiyya, 14, and brother Munir, 11, live in Faridkot with the parents.[20][21]

According to reports, the village of Faridkot is quite poor with a remote feel, despite being close to a town. Most people have little education and live in poverty. On the side of a building, just outside Faridkot, graffiti in large lettering says, in Urdu, "Go for jihad. Go for jihad. Markaz Dawat ul-Irshad". 'Markaz Dawat ul-Irshad' is a parent organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba.[22]

Early life

He briefly joined his brother in Lahore, who worked as a labourer, and then returned to Faridkot.[23][24]

He left home after a fight with his father in 2005.[20] He had asked for new clothes on Eid, but his father could not provide them, which made him angry.[25]

He then became involved in petty crime with his friend Muzaffar Lal Khan, soon moving on to armed robbery.[23] On Dec 21, 2007, Bakr-Eid day, they were in Rawalpindi trying to buy weapons when they encountered members of Jama'at-ud-Da'wah, the political wing of Lashkar-e-Taiba, distributing pamphlets. After a brief chat, they decide to sign up for training with the Lashkar-e-Taiba, ending up at their base camp, Markaz Taiba.

Initial reports offered a conflicting view of Ajmal Amir as fluent in English, and from a middle class background.[26] However, an interrogator and Mumbai deputy police commissioner stated that he spoke rough Hindi and barely any English.[27]

Some sources said his father asked him to join the militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba so that he could use the money they gave him to run the family.[28][29]. When asked about this, Ajmal Amir's father told reporters, "I don't sell my sons."[30]

Caught on camera, villagers of Okara, Ajmal Amir's native village, say that he was at their village six months before the Mumbai attack. They say that Ajmal Amir asked his mother to bless him as he was going for Jihad. They also claim that he demonstrated his wrestling skills to a few village boys that day.[31]

Training

Ajmal Amir is alleged to be among a group of 24 men[32] who received training in marine warfare at a remote camp in mountainous Muzaffarabad in Pakistani-controlled Azad Kashmir. Part of the training is reported to have taken place on the Mangla Dam reservoir.[33]

Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, a senior commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, reportedly offered to pay his family Rs.150,000 for his participation in the attacks.[34] Another report said the 21-year old man was recruited from his Punjab, Pakistan home in part based on a pledge by recruiters to pay USD $1,250 US (Rs. 62,412.50) to his family when he became a martyr.[35] Other sources put the reward to USD $4,000.[36]


Stages of training

This batch of 25 went through the following stages of training:[citation needed]
Psychological: Indoctrination and brainwashing via continuous exposure to Islamist propaganda, including compiled footage of alleged Indian atrocities in Jammu & Kashmir, and imagery of the alleged sufferings of Muslims in India, Chechnya, Palestine and across the globe.
Basic Combat: Lashkar’s basic combat and terror methodology course, the Daura Aam.
Advanced Training: Selected to undergo advanced specialised training at a camp near Mansehra, a course the organisation calls the Daura Khaas.[37] This includes advanced weapons and explosives training supervised by retired personnel of the Pakistan Army,[38] along with survival training and further indoctrination.
Finally, an even smaller group selected for specialised marine commando and navigation training given to the fidayeen unit selected to target Mumbai.

From the batch of about 25, 10 were handpicked for the Mumbai mission.[39] They also received training in swimming and sailing, besides the use of high-end weapons and explosives under the supervision of LeT commanders. According to a media report citing an unnamed former Defence Department Official of the US, the intelligence agencies of the US had determined that the former officers from Pakistan's Army and Inter-Services Intelligence agency assisted actively and continuously in training.[40] They were given blueprints of all the four targets - Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Oberoi Trident hotel and Nariman House.


Involvement in 2008 Mumbai attacks

He was captured on CCTV during his attacks at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus along with another terrorist, Ismail Khan. Ajmal Amir reportedly told the police that they wanted to replicate the Islamabad Marriott hotel attack, and reduce the Taj Hotel to rubble, replicating the 9/11 attacks in India.[4]

Ajmal Amir and his accomplice Abu Dera Ismail Khan, age 25, attacked the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) railway station. They then moved on to attack a police vehicle (a white Toyota Qualis) at Cama Hospital, in which senior Mumbai police officers (Maharashtra ATS Chief Hemant Karkare, Encounter Specialist Vijay Salaskar and Additional Commissioner of Mumbai Police Ashok Kamte) were traveling. After killing them in a gun battle and taking two constables hostage in the Qualis, Ajmal Amir and Ismail Khan drove towards Metro cinema. Ajmal Amir joked about the bullet proof vests worn by the police and killed one constable when his mobile phone rang. They fired some shots into a crowd gathered at Metro Cinema. They then drove towards Vidhan Bhavan where they fired a few more shots. Their vehicle had a tire puncture, so they stole a silver Škoda Laura and drove towards Girgaum Chowpatty.[citation needed]

Earlier, the D B Marg police had got a message from police control at about 10pm, saying that two heavily armed terrorists were at large after gunning down commuters at CST. 15 policemen from D B Marg were sent to Chowpatty where they set up a double barricade on Marine Drive. They were armed with 2 self-loading rifles (SLRs), two revolvers and lathis (or batons).[41]

The Skoda reached Chowpatty and halted 40 to 50 feet from the barricade. It then reversed and tried to make a U-turn. A shootout ensued and Abu Ismail was killed. Ajmal lay motionless playing dead. Assistant sub-inspector Tukaram Ombale, who was armed only with a lathi, was killed when the police charged the car.[41] Umbale took five bullets, but held on to Ajmal's weapon, enabling his colleagues to capture him alive.[42] A mob gathered and attacked the two terrorists. This incident was captured on video.[43]

Some reports said that Ajmal Amir was shot and had bullet wounds in his hand or both hands.[44] There are other reports by doctors who treated him that he had no bullet wounds.[45]

While it is reported that he told the police that he was trained to "kill to the last breath",[46] when he was arrested, he pleaded with the medical staff: "I do not want to die. Put me on saline".[47] Later, after interrogation in the hospital by the police, he said: "Now, I do not want to live", requesting the interrogators to kill him for the safety of his family in Pakistan who could be killed or tortured for his surrender to Indian police. Fidayeen terrorists are strictly instructed by Lashkar commanders not to be captured and interrogated, use aliases instead of their real names and hide their nationality.[48] He is also quoted as saying "I have done right, I have no regrets".[49] Reports also surfaced that the group planned to escape safely after the attack, ruling out this being a suicide mission.[50] It is also reported that he expressed to Indian police his willingness to switch loyalties, saying: "If you give me regular meals and money I will do the same that I did for them".[51]

Ajmal Amir has told interrogators that right through the fighting, the Lashkar headquarters from Karachi, Pakistan remained in touch with the group, calling their phones through a voice-over-internet service. Investigators have succeeded in reconstructing the group’s journey through the Garmin GPS set that has been seized from him. The mail sent from a bogus group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen claiming responsibility has been traced to a Russian proxy which was then traced back to Lahore, Pakistan with the help of the FBI. It was in fact the Lashkar-e-Toiba operating under an alternate name after being banned by U.S.[52][53]


Nationality

After the attacks, India asserted that Ajmal was a Pakistani national based on his confession and evidence gathered due to the information provided by him. [54]

Several reporters visited the village in Pakistan where Ajmal Amir said his family lived, and verified the facts provided by him.[55][56][57] Former Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif confirmed that Ajmal Amir was from Faridkot village in Pakistan, and criticized President Zardari for cordoning off the village and not allowing his parents to meet anyone.[58]

Investigative journalist Saeed Shah travelled to Ajmal Amir's village and produced national identity card numbers of his parents, Mohammed Amir and Noor Elahi soon after they themselves disappeared on the night of December 3, 2008.[59]

Also, the Mumbai Police said that much of the information that Ajmal Amir provided had proved to be accurate. He disclosed the location of a fishing trawler, MV Kuber, that the terrorists used to enter Mumbai's coastal waters. He also told investigators where they would find the ship captain's body, a satellite phone and a global-positioning device, which they did.[60]

Despite mounting evidence, Pakistani officials, including President Asif Ali Zardari, initially denied the assertion that Ajmal Amir was Pakistani. [61][62] Pakistani government officials attempted to erase evidence that there was a Lashkar-e-Taiba office in Deepalpur, near Kasab's village. The office was hurriedly closed in the week of December 7. Moreover, at Faridkot many residents and local plainclothes police appeared to be trying to hurriedly cover up Ajmal Amir's connection with the village. The atmosphere turned hostile, and several reporters who went to Faridkot were roughed up.[63] In early December, dealing a major blow to Pakistan's claims, Ajmal Amir's father admitted in an interview that the captured terrorist was his son.[64]

In January 2009, a month after the attacks, Pakistan's national security advisor Mahmud Ali Durrani admitted to Ajmal Amir being a Pakistani citizen while speaking to the CNN-IBN news channel. The Pakistan Government then hastily acknowledged that Ajmal was a Pakistani, but also announced that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had fired Durrani for "failing to take Gilani and other stakeholders into confidence" before making this information public, and for "a lack of coordination on matters of national security." [65]


Police interrogation

Naming confusion

Ajmal Amir was arrested in Mumbai, which is located in the state of Maharashtra, where the main language is Marathi. On 6 December 2008, the newspaper The Hindu reported that the police officers who interrogated him did not speak his language, Punjabi, and misinterpreted his caste origin "kasai", meaning butcher, to be a surname, writing it as "Kasav".[66]

The Times of India reported a different version of the error. The Times said that the police officers correctly understood that Ajmal Amir does not have a surname. In order to satisfy an administrative requirement that people have surnames, the officers 'used the "Indian way"' by asking Ajmal Amir for his father's profession, and decided to use this word, "butcher", or "Kasab" in Urdu, as his surname.[67][68]

Various officials made minor corrections they thought were needed to the Latin alphabet spelling. Eventually, native Hindi and Punjabi speaking police officers talked to Ajmal Amir and discovered the error.[66] The Hindu refers to Ajmal Amir as either "Mohammad Ajmal Amir, son of Mohammad Amir Iman" or "Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman".

Confessions

Ajmal Amir was caught[4][69] at Girgaum Chowpatty Naka in Mumbai trying to escape in a car[70] and taken to the Nair hospital. According to preliminary investigations by intelligence agencies, Ajmal is from Faridkot in Pakistan[71][72] (near Multan, not to be confused with a town of the same name found in India[73][74])[4] and had received arms training in Pakistan.[75] Ammunition, a satellite phone and a layout plan of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus was recovered from him. He has provided many clues to the investigation agencies and has reportedly described how they arrived at Mumbai from Karachi via Porbandar. He has reportedly said that he and other terrorists had received revolvers, AK-47s, ammunition and dried fruit, from their coordinator.[75] Ajmal reportedly told the police that they wanted to replicate the Marriott hotel attack in Islamabad, and reduce the Taj Hotel to rubble, replicating the September 11 attacks in India.[75] Kasab also told Indian police that the terrorists targeted Nariman House, where the Chabad center was located, because it was frequented by Israelis, who were targeted to "avenge atrocities on Palestinians."[76][77][78]

Mumbai Joint Police Commissioner of Crime Rakesh Maria said, information came out from his interview with Kasab that he is from the Faridkot village in the Okara district of Pakistan's Punjab province. He is the son of Mohammed Amir Kasab.[79] Pakistani authorities repeatedly said there was no evidence of such a person in Pakistan. But reporters have visited the village near Depalpur, in Okara district, and identified the parents as named by Mumbai police. Villagers have confirmed that he indeed lived there. On the night of Dec 3rd 2008, the parents were whisked away by a bearded Mullah, and since then, there was evidence of a cover-up by plainclothes police. Villagers changed their stories, and reporters who visit there are now being roughed up.[22]

It is reported that Ajmal Amir told the police that he and his associate, Ismail Khan, were the ones who shot Anti-Terror Squad chief Hemant Karkare, encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar and Additional Commissioner Ashok Kamte. According to the police, Ajmal Amir entered the Taj posing as a student from Mauritius and had stored explosives in one of the hotel's rooms.[80]

Confessions on video

He repeatedly asks the interrogators to turn the camera or he will not speak. But statements caught on video were:

His definition of Jihad "Come, kill and die after a killing spree. By this one will become famous and will also make Allah proud,"[81]

According to the officer, Ajmal Amir spoke Pathani Hindi and told the police that he threw up the moment he saw all the blood and gore. "Qasab said that he could not bear the sight of dead bodies and after creating enough havoc wanted to go back to Pakistan," the officer said.[citation needed]

Ajmal Amir had but a limited understanding of jihad, based on the statements he made to authorities. He told interrogators "it is about killing and getting killed and becoming famous." "Come, kill and die after a killing spree. By this one will become famous and will also make Allah proud," is what the suspect said when police asked him what he understood about jihad.[81]

"We were told that our big brother India is so rich and we are dying of poverty and hunger. My father sells dahi wada on a stall in Lahore and we did not even get enough food to eat from his earnings. I was promised that once they knew that I was successful in my operation, they would give Rs 150,000, to my family)," said Qasab.[81]

He shocked police through his readiness to switch loyalties now that he was apprehended.[81]

"If you give me regular meals and money I will do the same for you that I did for them," he said.[81]

"When we asked whether he knew any verses from the Quran that described jihad, Ajmal Amir said he did not," police said. "In fact he did not know much about Islam or its tenets," according to a police source.[81]

Other reports

In a press conference, the Mumbai city police commissioner said "The person we have caught alive is certainly a Pakistani. They were all trained by ex-army officers, some for a year, some for more than a year".[82] On November 23 they set sail from Karachi unarmed to be picked up by a larger vessel. They hijacked the Indian fishing trawler Kuber and set sail for Mumbai.[83]

The Times reported on December 3 that Indian police were going to submit Ajmal Amir to a Narco Analysis test to definitively determine his nationality.[27]

According to the English-language Indian newspaper Daily News and Analysis, Ajmal Amir began reading the autobiography of India's non-violent activist leader M.K. Gandhi in early March, 2009, in response to gradual coaxing by prison guards.[84]

Legal issues

Several Indian lawyers refused to represent Ajmal Amir citing ethical concerns. A resolution was passed unanimously by the Bombay Metropolitan Magistrate Court's Bar Association, which has more than 1,000 members, saying that none of its members will defend any of the accused of the terror attacks.[85] In December 2008, the Chief Justice of India K. G. Balakrishnan said that for a fair trial, Ajmal Amir needs to get a lawyer.[86]

Ajmal Amir has written to the Pakistani High Commission in India requesting help and legal aid. In the letter, he confirmed the nationality of himself and the nine slain terrorists as Pakistani.[87] He also asked the Pakistani High Commission to take custody of the body of fellow terrorist Ismail Khan, who was killed in an encounter in south Mumbai on the night of November 26.[88] Pakistani officials confirmed the receipt of the letter and were reported to be studying its details. However, no further updates were given on the matter by Pakistan.

Trial

Indian investigators filed a formal 11,000 page Chargesheet against Kasab on 25 February 2009.[89] Due to the fact that the chargesheet was written in Marathi and English, Kasab had requested that an Urdu translation of the charge sheet be given to him [90]. Kasab has been charged with murder, conspiracy and waging war against India along with other crimes. His trial was to have started on April 15 but was put off as his lawyer, Anjali Waghmare, had been dismissed for a conflict of interest.[91] He has gotten a new lawyer named Abbas Kazmi[92] On 28 April, he wrote a letter through his lawyer to the magistrate requesting a perfume bottle, a toothpaste, Urdu Times newspaper and permission to walk in the adjacent varandah alongside his barack. He also requested the court to deposit the amount (given to him by the terrorists) seized from him by police into his jail account. His request has come under severe criticism from all over India.

On 26 Nov 2008, Ujjwal Nikam was appointed as Public Prosecutor.[93]

On 6 May 2009 Kasab pleaded not guilty to 86 charges.[94]

In Jan 2009, M L Tahiliyani was appointed as judge to conduct the trial.[93]

In Feb 2009, an 11,000-page charge sheet was served on Kasab.[93]

In Mar 2009, advocate Anjali Waghmare was appointed as Kasab's lawyer. Kasab appeared through video-conferencing.[93]

In Apr 2009, Waghmare was removed as Kasab's lawyer. Abbas Kazmi was appointed as defence lawyer in mid-April. Trial began on April 17, 2009.[93]

On 20 Apr 2009, the prosecution submitted a list of charges, including the murder of 166 people.[93]

In May 2009, an eye witness identified Kasab in court. Another said he saw Kasab and nine others arrive by boat. Two doctors who treated him, identified him.[93]

On 2 June 2009, Kasab told the judge he now also understood Marathi.[93]

In June 2009, the special court issued non-bailable warrants against 22 absconding accused including Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafeez Saeed and chief of operations of Lashkar-e-Toiba, Zaki-ur-Rehman Laqvi.[93]

On July 20, 2009 Kasab retracted his non-guilty plea and pleaded guilty to all charges

Historical Places & Famous People - Mumbai

Famous people:

The 13th Century
Raja Bhimdev: the earliest known ruler of Bombay. 
The 16th Century
Francis Almeida: the first Portuguese to enter Bombay harbour. 
The 17th Century
Gerald Aungier: the creator of the British town. 
The 18th Century
Rama Kamath: Philanthropist and businessman, perhaps a spy? 
William Hornby: initiated reclamation of central Bombay. 
The 19th Century
Arthur Crawford: the first municipal commissioner. 
John, Lord Elphinstone: the Governor who demolished the fort walls. 
Montstuart Elphinstone: a diplomat and a spy, Governor and a scholar. 
Sir Bartle Frere: Governor and architect of the renewal of Bombay. 
Dr. W. M. Haffkine: discoverer of the plague vaccine. 
Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy: businessman and philanthropist. 
Rudyard Kipling: writer. 
James McKintosh: chief justice and founder of the Asiatic Society. 
Sir Pherozeshah Mehta: lawyer, congressman and politician. 
Dadabhai Naoroji: the "Grand Old Man of India". 
Mahadev Govind Ranade: judge and reformer. 
Sir Cowasji Jehangir Readymoney: businessman. 
Premchand Roychand: the "cotton king". 
Sir David Sassoon: trader and philanthropist. 
Sir Gilbert Scott: architect. 
Jagannath Shankar Shett: businessman and entrepreneur. 
Frederick William Stevens: the architect of the Victoria Terminus. 
Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata: businessman and entrepreneur. 
The 20th Century
Claude Batley: architect of the Bombay Central station. 
John Begg: developed the Indo-Saracenic style in architecture. 
Homi J. Bhabha: scientist. 
Madame R. K. Cama: freedom fighter. 
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi 
Sir Cowasji Jehangir: businessman and conservative Parsi. 
Maharishi D. K. Karve: reformer. 
Sir George Lloyd: Governor implicated in a scam. 
K. F. Nariman: lawyer and politician. 
Mary Evans Wadia (Fearless Nadia): film star of the '40s. 
George Wittet: architect of the Gateway of India.

MARATHI Language
64,783,000 (1994 IMA). Maharashtra and adjacent states. The dialect situation throughout the greater Marathi speaking area is complex. Dialects bordering other major language areas share many features with those languages. See separate entries for dialects or closely related languages: Konkani, Goanese, Deccan, Varhadi, Nagpuri, Ikrani, Gowlan. State language of Maharashtra. Devanagari script.

History

Fisherwomen and Stone goddesses

Although the archipelago which developed into the modern city of Mumbai was inhabited whenever history chanced on it, we are forced to imagine the lives of these early Mumbaikars, because the islands lay outside of the sweep of history and beyond the marches of armies for millennia. Stone age implements have been found at several sites in these islands. Later, around the third century BC, the coastal regions, and presumably the islands, were part of the Magadhan empire ruled by the emperor Ashok. The empire ebbed, leaving behind some Buddhist monks and the deep-sea fishermen called Kolis, whose stone goddess, Mumbadevi, gave her name to the modern metropolis. 

Between the 9th and 13th centuries, the Indian ocean, and especially the Arabian Sea, was the world's center of commerce. Deep sea crafts made of wood tied together with ropes transported merchandise between Aden, Calicut, Cambay and cities on the West coast of Africa. Marco Polo, Ibn Batuta and other travelers passed by without ever making a landfall in these islands. 

Bombay changed hands many times. The islands belonged to the Silhara dynasty till the middle of the 13th century. The oldest structures in the archipelago--- the caves at Elephanta, and part of the Walkeshwar temple complex probably date from this time. Modern sources identify a 13th century Raja Bhimdev who had his capital in Mahikawati-- present-day Mahim, and Prabhadevi. Presumably the first merchants and agriculturists settled in Mumbai at this time. In 1343 the island of Salsette, and eventually the whole archipelago, passed to the Sultan of Gujarat. The mosque in Mahim dates from this period. 
The Slow Turn West

In 1508 Francis Almeida sailed into the deep natural harbour of the island his countrymen came to call Bom Bahia (the Good Bay). Bahadur Shah of Gujarat was forced to cede the main islands to the Portuguese in 1534, before he was murdered by the proselytizing invaders. The Portuguese built a fort in Bassein. They were not interested in the islands, although some fortifications and a few chapels were built for the converted fishermen. The St. Andrew's church in Bandra dates from this period. 

For years, the Dutch and the British tried to get information on the sea route to India--- often by spying. Even the reports of such spies never bother to mention Bombay. Eventually, in 1661, Catherine of Braganza brought these islands to Charles II of England as part of her marriage dowry. The British East India Company received it from the crown in 1668, founded the modern city, and shortly thereafter moved their main holdings from Surat to Bombay. George Oxenden was the first governor of a Bombay whose place in history was finally secure. 

The web of commerce which had supported the civilisation of the Indian Ocean littoral had died with the coming of the Europeans. The Mughal empire in Delhi was not interested in navies-- despising the Portuguese and the British as ``merchant princes''. The second governor of Bombay, Gerald Aungier, saw the opportunity to develop the islands into a centre of commerce to rival other ports still in the hands of local kingdoms. He offered various inducement to skilled workers and traders to move to this British holding. The opportunities for business attracted many Gujarati communities--- the Parsis, the Bohras, Jews and banias from Surat and Diu. The population of Bombay was estimated to have risen from 10,000 in 1661 to 60,000 in 1675. 

Through the 18th century British power and influence grew slowly but at the expense of the local kingdoms. The migration of skilled workers and traders to the safe-haven of Bombay continued. The shipbuilding industry moved to Bombay from Surat with the coming of the Wadias. Artisans from Gujarat, such as goldsmiths, ironsmiths and weavers moved to the islands and coexisted with the slave trade from Madagascar. During this period the first land-use laws were set up in Bombay, segregating the British part of the islands from the black town. 

With increasing prosperity and growing political power following the 1817 victory over the Marathas, the British embarked upon reclamations and large scale engineering works in Bombay. The sixty years between the completion of the vellard at Breach Candy (1784) and the construction of the Mahim Causeway (1845) are the heroic period in which the seven islands were merged into one landmass. These immense works, in turn, attracted construction workers, like the Kamathis from Andhra, who began to come to Bombay from 1757 on. A regular civil administration was put in place during this period. In 1853 a 35-km long railway line between Thana and Bombay was inaugurated-- the first in India. Four years later, in 1854, the first cotton mill was founded in Bombay. With the cotton mills came large scale migrations of Marathi workers, and the chawls which accommodated them. The city had found its shape. 

Dreams of Power

Following the first war of Independence in 1857, the Company was accused of mismanagement, and Bombay reverted to the British crown. With the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, and the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, exports, specially cotton, from Bombay became a major part of the colonial economy. The Great Indian Peninsular Railway facilitated travel within India. This network of commerce and communication led to an accumulation of wealth. This was channelled into building an Imperial Bombay by a succession of Governors. Many of Bombay's famous landmarks, the Flora Fountain and the Victoria Terminus, date from this time. The water works, including the Hanging Gardens and the lakes were also built at this time. The Bombay Municipal Corporation was founded in 1872. However, this facade of a progressive and well-governed city was belied by the plague epidemics of the 1890s. This dichotomy between the city's symbols of power and prosperity and the living conditions of the people who make it so continues even today. 

The construction of Imperial Bombay continued well into the 20th century. Landmarks from this period are the Gateway of India, the General Post Office, the Town Hall (now the Asiatic Library) and the Prince of Wales Museum. Bombay expanded northwards into the first suburbs, before spreading its nightmare tentacles into the the northern suburbs. The nearly 2000 acres reclaimed by the Port Trust depressed the property market for a while, but the Backbay reclamation scandal of the '20s was a testament to the greed for land. 

The freedom movement reached a high pitch of activity against this background of developing Indian wealth. Gandhi returned from South Africa and reached Bombay on January 12, 1915. Following many campaigns in the succeeding years, the end of the British imperial rule in India was clearly presaged by the Quit India declaration by the Indian National Congress on August 8, 1942, in Gowalia Tank Maidan, near Kemp's Corner. India became a free country on August 15, 1947. In the meanwhile, Greater Bombay had come into existence through an Act of the British parliament in 1945. 

Millennial Mumbai

Already India's main port and commercial centre, the City of Gold lured the poverty stricken rural population and the expanding middle class equally. The population boom of the '50s and '60s was fuelled by the absence of opportunities in the rest of the country. The language riots, the reorganisation of Indian states and the see-saw politics of the country did not seem to affect the city. The glamour industry's flattering portrayal of Bombay seemed to be the reality. However, by the late '80s the other big Indian cities had choked in their own refuse and Bombay's road ahead seemed to be blighted. How this city, renamed Mumbai in the mid 90's copes with the challenge of controlling its political fragmentation, disastrous health problems and load of pollution by utilising its wealth of talent and manpower is a story to be told by future historians.

Assorted Statistics

Bombay's population growth

Tracking the city's population from an estimate made in 1661 to the census of 1991. Includes a table and a graph [4.4 kbytes]. 

Bombay's population density

A sequence of maps showing changes in population density in different parts of the city over the 100 years from 1881 to 1981. 

The 1991 Census

Some points of comparison between the major Indian cities. You have a choice of two formats: graphics or text. 

Mortality rates

Changes in raw mortality rates in Mumbai from 1900 to 1970. Over this period large strides were made in health care. 

HIV/AIDS incidence rates

The incidence of HIV/AIDS in Mumbai is over 1% in the whole population and more than 50% in high risk categories. 

Bombay's employment pattern

Changes in the type and geographical distribution of jobs in the city over a 10 year period from 1980 to 1990. 

Collapsing buildings

Many buildings in south Bombay are old and in need of repairs. The numbers of such structures which collapse during the monsoon is an indicator of the need for urban renewal. 

Bombay's climate

The city's climate is dominated by two factors: the monsoon rainfall and the levelling of temperatures by the sea. 

Traffic accident rates

Traffic accident rates are rather high in Mumbai, according to statistics released by the police department. 

Crime rates

According to statistics from the Mumbai police department, crime rates in the city refuse to come down.

Marathi Cuisine

Like most of the coastal states of India, Marathi food uses lots of fish and coconuts. As in all other parts of India, there is an enormous variety of vegetables in the regular diet. Grated coconuts spice many kinds of dishes, but coconut oil is not very widely used as a cooking medium. Peanuts and cashewnuts are widely used in vegetables. Peanut oil is the main cooking medium.

Recipes

Bombil Batata bhaji (Bombay Duck). 
Khamag Kakri 
Kolhapuri Mutton 
Vada Pav 
Pitlai: The same recipe is stored at several locations-- [Cananda] [Netherlands] [Arizona] 
Sabudanyachi Khichadi 
Sheera 
Shrikhand 
Solachi Kadhi 
Varan 
Vatanyachi Usal 
Zunka

The Geography of Mumbai

Position

The island city of Bombay lies off the west coast of India just south of the tropic of Cancer. Because of its harbour, a wide bay between the city and the mainland, facing Africa and East Asia, Bombay has been a natural shipping and trading center through all of its short history. It has grown in spite of lying in a seismically active zone. 

Climate and Weather

The position of the city ensures a uniform warm temperature throughout the year. The main climatic variation is provided by rainfall. Lying windward of the Western Ghats, Bombay receives most of its rain from the South Asian Monsoon, between June and September every year. Weather forecasts are available. 

The City

The seven islands of Bombay were joined together into one landmass through three centuries of reclamation. This one island is now 436 square kilometres in area (approximately 170 square miles), and is connected to the mainland by several bridges. As a new millennium begins, the city is spreading over these bridges into the mainland.

Tide table: Bombay, India
18.9167° N, 72.8333° E

Flora Fountain - Mumbai

Flora Fountain

Flora Fountain, at the Hutatma Chowk (Martyr's Square), is an ornamentally and exquisitely sculpted architectural heritage monument located at the southern end of the historic Dadabhai Naoroji Road, called the Mile Long Road , at the Fort business district in the heart of South Mumbai, Mumbai, India. Flora Fountain, built in 1864, is a fusion of water, architecture and sculpture, and depicts the Roman goddess Flora. It was built at a total cost of Rs. 47,000, or 9000 pounds sterling, a princely sum in those days. 

History

History of the Flora Fountain is traced to the time when the Old Bombay Fort was demolished in 1860 as part of the then Governor, Sir Bartle Frère’s efforts to improve civic sanitation (municipal improvements) and the urban space requirements of the growing city. Prior to this demolition, the Fort had been built between 1686 and 1743 by the British East India Company with three gates (the Apollo Gate, the Church Gate and the Bazaar Gate), a moat, esplanade, level open spaces on its western fringe (to control fires) and residences. A small road called the Hornby Road, named after the then Governor of Bombay (Mumbai) between 1771 AD and 1784 AD, also existed at the old Fort area. [2][3] Consequent to the demolitions, the Hornby road was widened into a broad avenue and on its western side commercial plots were developed to build new commercial buildings in Neo Classical and Gothic Revival designs. The Hornby road, now named as Dadbhai Naorji Road (D.N.Road), developed into a veritable sight of colonial splendor with Crawford Market linked to the Victoria Terminus anchoring the northern end and the Flora Fountain, forming the southern end of the Mile Long Road.[4] The Flora Fountain was erected at the exact place where the Church gate (named after St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai ) stood before its demolition along with the Bombay Fort. It was constructed by the Agri–Horticultural Society of Western India, out of a donation of Rs 20,000 by Cursetjee Fardoonjee Parekh. Designed by R. Norman Shaw, it was sculpted in imported Portland stone by James Forsythe. A white coat of oil paint has to some extent marred the antiquity of the structure.[1] The fountain was originally to be named after Sir Bartle Frère, the Governor of Bombay at the time, whose progressive policy had resulted in many of the great public buildings of Bombay. [5] However, the name was changed before the fountain was unveiled as Flora Fountain, named after Flora (mythology), a Roman Goddess of flowers and the season of spring; her majestic and pretty Portland stone statue adorns the top of the fountain. The four corners of the fountain are decorated with mythological figures.[6][7][8][9] The fountain was originally intended to be built at the Victoria Gardens at Byculla but, in 1908, the grass plot and the palm trees that had camouflaged the fountain were cleared for creating space for pedestrians and horse–traffic between the tram lines and the kerb of the fountain

The Chowk

From the time the Flora Fountain was built in 1864 and until 1960, the Chowk (square) where five streets meet (hence, also known as the Picadilly Circus of Mumbai[9]) and the fountain stands now, was named as the Flora Fountain area. But in 1960, to commemorate the martyrdom of the brave people who laid their lives in the turbulent birth of Maharashtra State at the square, it was christened as Hutatma Chowk with an impressive stone statue bearing a pair of torch holding patriots. The Flora Fountain, surrounded by the British Victorian era heritage buildings, is very much part of the Chowk and has been declared a heritage structure and it continues to charm visitors with its beauty and with its spray of water. It sits admirably well alongside with the Hutatma statue which adorns the Chowk. (Picture depicts the two structures). [6] It was the decision of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly that recommended to the[10]

Government to take necessary steps to erect as early as possible a memorial at Flora Fountain in Bombay in commemoration of the sacrifices of the persons who died on the police firing at Flora Fountain in Bombay in the month of November 1955.

Signage project

The large sized signboards and hoardings erected around the Flora Fountain precincts marred the beautiful view of the fountain and also of the other heritage buildings surrounding it, in spite of the Heritage Regulations of Greater Bombay, Act 1995 in force to stop such activities. The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) and public spirited people of the area conscious of the developing chaotic conditions in the area took action to redress the situation. With the help of a group of architects appointed by MMRDA, a report titled “Dadabhai Naoroji Road Heritage Streetscape Project”, which addressed the problems and provided designs and plans, was prepared by the MMRDA. But action on ground was initiated by the architects who prepared the report in association with the local shopkeepers, occupants and commercial establishments in the street and the local municipal officer who implemented, voluntarily, the regulation of the shop fronts and signage; the expenses for relocation and redesign of the shop signs were borne by each individual establishment. The L.G and Cine Blitz hoardings, which used to display latest film gossip, at the fountain were targeted for relocation, apart from other hoardings along the Dadhabhai Naoroji Road.[2][4] The pilot project’s plans fructified and resulted in the setting up of a citizen's association (of the various occupants, owners, corporate establishments and shopkeepers on the Dadabhai Naoroji Road) called “The Heritage Mile Association” , as a non–profit group, with the objective to restore the heritage character of the Dadabhai Naoroji Road through public participation and private sponsorship. These efforts have also resulted in the UNESCO’s “Asia-Pacific Heritage Award of Merit in the year 2004” bestowed on the MMRDA.[4] A public spirited doctor by profession filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in 2002, in the Bombay High Court, against the proliferation of hoardings in the city. The court directed the Heritage Committee to look at the feasibility of hoardings in heritage areas. The Heritage Committee passed a resolution that said “that all hoardings on individual heritage buildings or in heritage precincts must be removed.” The Bombay High Court in its judgment of May 5, 2004, upheld the Heritage Committee’s resolution and ordered that the billboard agencies should remove all hoardings from heritage precincts in the city within four weeks.

Nostalgia

Nostalgic writing by a cricketer, a Bombayite(Mumbaikar) (resident of Bombay) who played street cricket in front of the fountain in his young age, reads that the fountain at the centre of the Mumbai city evokes feelings:[11]

The Centres of the world are well etched in the mind: the New York’s Time Square and the Paris’s Champs Elysee, London’s Piccadilly circus. Even now I feel a curious magic about Mumbai’s Flora Fountain. We called it the heart of the city and so it was.

Poetic expression

A poem in Gujarati language by Niranajan Bhagat translated to English extols the beauty of the Flora Fountain thus: [12]

A Glass and concrete jungle;
In its midst always
Quiet, comely,
With hope filled face,
she stands
Flora
A dream of spring in her matchless eyes,
holding in both hands stone flowers.
About her, in all corners,
Iron butterfly fly round and round
And life less insects plays

Visitor information

The Fountain is in the heart of South Mumbai within walking distance from Victoria Terminus and the Church Gate Railway Stations. [8] The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) operates open–air tourist buses to give an aerial view of the iconic fountain and the city's unique distinctive historical, aesthetic and architectural identity depicted in the largest representations of the grand neo–Gothic style of architecture and also numerous ones of Indo-Saracenic architecture. Local cab system, auto rickshaws or local trains run frequently in Mumbai providing the other means of transport to the location. [8][13] The area surrounding the fountain gives excellent shopping opportunities in departmental and other stores for ethnic artifacts and glamorous products. [8] Within a radius of 2 mi (3.2 km) of the fountain, visitors can also see the most impressive institutions and buildings namely, the Univertsity of Mumbai, the old Secretariat, and the famous Gateway of India, the Bombay High Court (built in 1879 in the Venetian Gothic style characteristic of all of Bombay's public buildings put up in the Nineteenth century), the Central Telegraph Office, the old Secretariat (built in 1874) and many other heritage buildings.
Distraction

Flora, sitting at the top of the fountain, is a moot witness to the noise pollution created by the huge traffic which passes through and the Vendors who sit all around the square selling just about everything in the sweltering heat.

Heritage walk

The Bombay Heritage Walks (BHW) Group, founded in April 1999 as a marking of the World Heritage Day, by the city architects, arrange guided walks of different sites in Mumbai to provide an insight into Mumbai's architectural heritage, and announce a schedule every year for the walk. [15]The charges for participation are nominal. In the year 2004, the Group had arranged a walk along Flora Fountain – D.N.Road – V.T. – B.M.C. HQ and again in February 2009 they organized a 'Heritage Mile' running along ‘the one of its kind’ streetscape, which is an impressive example of formal urban design and planning in erstwhile colonial India. The walk was on February 10, 2009, as part of Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2009, starting from the Flora Fountain to Crawford Market to Victoria Terminus and surrounding Fort precinct covering en–route the landmark monuments such the Vatcha Agiary, J. N. Petit Library, Bombay Mutual Building and several others

Gateway of India - Mumbai

Gateway of India

The Gateway of India (Marathi: भारताचे प्रवेशद्वार) is a monument in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India. Located on the waterfront in Apollo Bunder area in South Mumbai, the Gateway is a basalt arch 26 metres (85 ft) high. In earlier times, the Gateway was the monument that visitors arriving by boat would have first seen in the city of Bombay.[1]

The Gateway is built from yellow basalt and reinforced concrete. While its design is a combination of both Hindu and Muslim architectural styles, the Gateway of India is a symbol of Hinduism & Islam. Many of its elements are derived from the Muslim architectural styles of 16th century Gujarat. The pillars are derived from the design of Hindu temples and the design of the Gateway's windows comes from Muslim architecture.

The central dome is 15 metres (49 ft) in diameter and is 26 metres (85 ft) above ground at its highest point. The whole harbour front was realigned in order to come in line with a planned esplanade which would sweep down to the centre of the town. The cost of the construction was Rs. 21 lakhs (2,100,000), borne mainly by the Government of India. For lack of funds, the approach road was never built, and so the Gateway stands at an angle to the road leading up to it.

Contents
1 History
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

Gateway of India was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bombay, prior to the Delhi Durbar, in December 1911. The foundation stone was laid on 31 March 1911, by the Governor of Bombay Sir George Sydenham Clarke, with the final design of George Wittet sanctioned in August 1914. Between 1915 and 1919 work proceeded on reclamations at Apollo Bundar for the land on which the gateway and the new sea wall would be built. The foundations were completed in 1920, and construction was finished in 1924. The Gateway was opened on 4 December 1924, by the Viceroy, the Earl of Reading.[1]

The last British troops to leave India, the First Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, passed through the Gateway in a ceremony on 28 February 1948.