| Country | India |
| State | Maharashtra |
| District(s) | Mumbai City Mumbai Suburban |
| Municipal commissioner | Jairaj Phatak |
| Mayor | Shubha Raul |
| Population • Density • Metro | 13,922,125 (1st) (2008[update]) • 21,880 /km2 (56,669 /sq mi) • 21,347,412 (1st) (2009[update]) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Area • Elevation | 603.4 km² (233 sq mi) • 14 m (46 ft) |
| Website | www.mcgm.gov.in |
Mumbai (Marathi: मुंबई, Mumbaī, IPA: [ˈmʊm.bəi] (help·info)), formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city proper is the most populous city in India and the second most populous in the world, with approximately 14 million inhabitants.[1] Along with the neighbouring suburbs of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it forms the world's 4th largest urban agglomeration, with around 19 million people.[2] Mumbai lies on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. Mumbai's port handles about 60% of India's maritime cargo.[3] As of 2008, Mumbai has been ranked as an Alpha world city.
The seven islands that came to constitute Bombay were home to communities of fishing colonies. For centuries, the islands came under the control of successive kingdoms and indigenous empires before being ceded to Portuguese settlers and subsequently to the British East India Company. During the mid-18th century, Bombay emerged as a significant trading town. Economic and educational development characterised the city during the 19th century. It became a strong base for the Indian independence movement during the early 20th century and was the epicentre of the Rowlatt Satyagraha and the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny. When India became independent in 1947, the city was incorporated into Bombay State. In 1960, following the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, a new state of Maharashtra was created with Bombay as the capital. It was renamed Mumbai in 1996.[4]
Mumbai is the commercial and entertainment centre of India, generating 5% of India's GDP,[5] and accounting for 25% of industrial output, 40% of maritime trade, and 70% of capital transactions to India's economy.[6] Mumbai is home to important financial institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India, the Bombay Stock Exchange, the National Stock Exchange of India and the corporate headquarters of many Indian companies and numerous multinational corporations. The city also houses India's Hindi film and television industry, known as Bollywood. Mumbai's business opportunities, as well as its potential to offer a higher standard of living, attract migrants from all over India and, in turn, make the city a potpourri of many communities and cultures.
Toponymy
The name Mumbai is an eponym, etymologically derived from Mumba or Maha-Amba—the name of the Koli goddess Mumbadevi—and Aai, "mother" in Marathi.[7] The former name Bombay had its origins in the 16th century when the Portuguese arrived in the area and called it by various names such as Mombai, Mombay, Mombayn, Mombaym, and Bombai, which finally took the written form Bombaim, still common in current Portuguese use.[8] After the British gained possession in the 17th century, it was believed to be anglicised to Bombay from the Portuguese Bombaim.[9] The city was known as Mumbai or Mambai to Marathi and Gujarati-speakers, and as Bambai in Hindi, Persian, and Urdu. It is sometimes still referred to by its older names, such as Kakamuchee and Galajunkja.[10][11] The name was officially changed to its Marathi pronunciation of Mumbai in 1996.[12] This was in keeping with the policy of renaming colonial institutions after historical local names.[13]
A widespread explanation of the origin of the traditional English name Bombay holds that it was derived from a Portuguese name meaning "good bay". This is based on the fact that bom (masc.) is Portuguese for "good" whereas the English word "bay" is similar to the Portuguese baía (fem., bahia in old spelling). The normal Portuguese rendering of "good bay" would have been boa bahia rather than the grammatically incorrect bom bahia. However, it is possible to find the form baim (masc.) for "little bay" in 16th-century Portuguese.[9] José Pedro Machado seems to reject the "Bom Bahia" hypothesis, asserting that Portuguese records mentioning the presence of a bay at the place led the English to assume that the noun (bahia, "bay") was an integral part of the Portuguese toponym, hence the English version Bombay, adapted from Portuguese.[14]
Other sources have a different origin for the Portuguese toponym Bombaim. José Pedro Machado's Dicionário Onomástico Etimológico da Língua Portuguesa ("Portuguese Dictionary of Onomastics and Etymology") mentions what is probably the first Portuguese reference to the place, dated from 1516, as Benamajambu or Tena-Maiambu,[15] pointing out that "Maiambu" seems to refer to Mumba-Devi, the Hindu goddess after which the place is named in Marathi (Mumbai). In that same century, the spelling seems to have evolved to Mombayn (1525)[16] and then Mombaim (1563).[17] The final form Bombaim appears later in the 16th century, as recorded by Gaspar Correia in his Lendas da Índia ("Legends of India").[18]
Mumbai is built on what was once an archipelago of seven islands: Bombay Island, Parel, Mazagaon, Mahim, Colaba, Worli, and Old Woman's Island (also known as Little Colaba).[9] Pleistocene sediments found near Kandivali in northern Mumbai by British archaeologist Todd in 1939 suggest that these islands were inhabited since the Stone Age.[19] Their earliest known inhabitants were the Kolis, a fishing community. In the third century BCE, the islands formed part of the Maurya Empire, ruled by the Buddhist emperor, Ashoka of Magadha.[20]. Buddhist monks, scholars, and artists created the artwork, inscriptions, and sculpture of the Kanheri Caves in the mid third century BCE[21] and Mahakali Caves.[22]
The city then was known as Heptanesia (Ancient Greek: A Cluster of Seven Islands) to the Greek geographer Ptolemy in 150 CE.[9] Later, between second century BCE and ninth century CE, the islands came under the control of successive indigenous dynasties: Satavahanas, Abhiras, Vakatakas, Kalachuris, Konkan Mauryas, Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas, before being ruled by the Silhara dynasty from 810 to 1260.[23] Raja Bhimdev founded his kingdom in the region in the late 13th century and established his capital in Mahikawati (present day Mahim).[24][25] He brought settlers of various communities from Saurashtra and Deccan to Mahikawati.[26] The Muslim rulers of Gujarat annexed the islands in 1348.[23] They were later governed by the Gujarat Sultanate from 1391 to 1534.[27][28][29] From 1429 to 1431, the islands were a source of contention between the Gujarat Sultanate and the Bahamani Sultanate of Deccan.[27] From 1491 to 1494, the islands suffered several sea piracies from Bahadur Khan Gilani, a nobleman of the Bahamani Sultanate.[30]
Growing apprehensive of the power of the Mughal emperor Humayun, Sultan Bahadur Shah of the Gujarat Sultanate was obliged to sign the Treaty of Bassein with Portuguese settlers on 23 December 1534. According to the treaty, the seven islands of Bombay, 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 religious orders in Bombay. Some of the oldest Catholic churches in the city such as the St. Michael's Church at Mahim, St. John the Baptist Church at Andheri, and St. Andrew's Church at Bandra, date from the Portuguese era.[31] On 11 May 1661, the marriage treaty of Charles II of England and Catherine of Braganza, daughter of King John IV of Portugal, placed the islands in possession of the British Empire, as part of Catherine's dowry to Charles.[32][33] However, Salsette, Mazagaon, Parel, Worli, Sion, Dharavi, and Wadala still remained under Portuguese possession. From 1665 to 1666, the British managed to acquire Mahim, Sion, Dharavi, and Wadala.[34]
These islands were in turn leased to the British East India Company in 1668 for a sum of £10 per annum by the Royal Charter of 27 March 1668.[35] The population quickly rose from 10,000 in 1661, to 60,000 in 1675.[36] In 1687, the British East India Company transferred its headquarters from Surat to Bombay. The city eventually became the headquarters of the Bombay Presidency.[37] Following the transfer, Bombay was placed at the head of all the Company's establishments in India.[38] The islands suffered incursions from the Mughals in the late 17th century.[39] In 1737, the Portuguese province of Salsette was captured by the Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao I.[40] The British occupied the Maratha provinces of Salsette, Elephanta, Hog Island, and Karanja on 28 December 1774. Salsette, Elephanta, Hog Island, and Karanja were formally ceded to the British by the Treaty of Salbai signed between the Marathas and the British East India Company in 1782, to settle the outcome of the First Anglo-Maratha War.[41]
From 1782 onwards, the city was reshaped with large-scale civil engineering projects aimed at merging all the seven islands into a single amalgamated mass. This project, known as the Hornby Vellard, was completed by 1784.[42] On 16 April 1853, India's first passenger railway line was established, connecting Bombay to the neighbouring town of Thana.[43] During the American Civil War (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.[44] The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 transformed Bombay into one of the largest seaports on the Arabian Sea.[45] In September 1896, Bombay was hit by a bubonic plague epidemic where the death toll was estimated at 1,900 people per week.[46] About 850,000 people fled Bombay and the textile industry was adversely affected.[47] As the capital of the Bombay Presidency, it witnessed the Indian independence movement, with the Quit India Movement in 1942 and the The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny in 1946 being its most notable events.[48][49] After India's independence in 1947, the territory of the Bombay Presidency retained by India was restructured into Bombay State. The area of Bombay State increased, after several erstwhile princely states that joined the Indian union were integrated into Bombay State. Subsequently, the city became the capital of Bombay State.[50] In April 1950, Greater Bombay District came into existence with the merger of Bombay Suburbs and Bombay City.[51]
In the Lok Sabha discussions in 1955, the Congress party demanded that the city be constituted as an autonomous city-state.[52] In 1956, the States Reorganisation Committee recommended a bilingual state for Maharashtra-Gujarat with Bombay as its capital. Bombay Citizens' Committee, an advocacy group comprising of leading Gujarati industrialists lobbied for Bombay's independent status.[53] In the 1957 elections, the Samyukta Maharashtra movement opposed these proposals, and insisted that Bombay be declared the capital of Maharashtra.[54] Following protests by the movement in which 105 people were killed by police, Bombay State was reorganised on linguistic lines on 1 May 1960.[55] Gujarati-speaking areas of Bombay State were partitioned into the state of Gujarat.[56] Maharashtra State with Bombay as its capital was formed with the merger of Marathi-speaking areas of Bombay State, eight districts from Central Provinces and Berar, five districts from Hyderabad State, and numerous princely states enclosed between them.[57]
In the late 1960s, Nariman Point and Cuffe Parade were reclaimed and developed.[58] The following decades saw massive expansion of the city and its suburbs. The Bombay Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) was set up on 26 January 1975 by the Government of Maharashtra as an apex body for planning and co-ordination of development activities in the Bombay metropolitan region.[59] In August 1979, a sister township of New Bombay was founded by City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) across Thane and Raigad districts to help the dispersal and control of Bombay's population.[60] The Jawaharlal Nehru Port, which currently handles around 60% of India's maritime cargo, was commissioned on 26 May 1989 at Nhava Sheva with a view to de-congest Bombay Harbour and to serve as a hub port for the city.[61]
The past two decades have seen an increase in violence in the hitherto largely peaceful city. Following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, the city was rocked by the Hindu-Muslim riots of 1992–93 in which more than 1,000 people were killed.[62] On 12 March 1993, a series of 13 co-ordinated bombings at several city landmarks by Islamic extremists and the Bombay underworld resulted in 257 deaths and over 700 injuries.[63] In 2006, 209 people were killed and over 700 injured when seven bombs exploded on the city's commuter trains.[64] A series of ten coordinated terrorist attacks by armed gunmen from 26 November 2008 to 29 November 2008 resulted in 173 deaths, 308 injuries, and severe damage to several important buildings.[65]
Despite these incidents, Mumbai remains a major trading centre that has evolved to become a global financial hub.[66] For several decades it has been the site for the concentration of India's financial services,[67] and a focus for both infrastructure development and private investment.[68] From being an ancient fishing community and a colonial centre of trade, Mumbai has become the subcontinent's largest port and home of the world's most prolific film industry.[69]
[edit] Geography
Mumbai is located at 18°58′30″N 72°49′33″E / 18.9750°N 72.8258°E in the Indian state of Maharashtra.[70] Mumbai consists of two distinct regions: Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban District, which form two separate districts of Maharashtra.[71] The city region is also commonly referred to as the Island City.[72] Mumbai, as an urban entity, spans a total area of 603 km2 (233 sq mi),[73] while Greater Mumbai, the area under the administration of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), spans a total area of 437.71 km2 (169 sq mi), with the Island City spanning 67.79 km2 (26 sq mi) and the suburban district spanning 370 km2 (143 sq mi).[74]
Mumbai lies at the mouth of the Ulhas River on the western coast of India, in the coastal region known as the Konkan. It sits on Salsette Island, partially shared with the Thane district.[9] Mumbai is surrounded by the Arabian Sea to the west.[75] Many parts of the city lie just above sea level, with elevations ranging from 10 m (33 ft) to 15 m (49 ft);[76] the city has an average elevation of 14 m (46 ft).[77] Northern Mumbai is hilly, and the highest point in the city is 450 m (1,476 ft) at Salsette Island.[78] Sanjay Gandhi National Park (Borivili National Park) is located partly in the Mumbai suburban district, and partly in the Thane district, and it extends over an area of 103.09 km2 (39.80 sq mi).[79]
Apart from the Bhatsa Dam, there are six major lakes that supply water to the city, such as Vihar, Lower Vaitarna, Upper Vaitarna, Tulsi, Tansa and Powai.[80][81] Tulsi Lake and Vihar Lake are located in Borivili National Park, within the city's metropolitan limits.[82] The supply from Powai lake, also within the city limits, is used only for agricultural and industrial purposes.[83] Three small rivers, the Dahisar River, Poinsar (or Poisar) and Ohiwara (or Oshiwara) originate within the park, while the polluted Mithi River originates from Tulsi Lake and gathers water overflowing from Vihar and Powai Lakes.[84] The coastline of the city is indented with numerous creeks and bays, stretching from Thane creek on the eastern to Madh Marve on the western front.[85] The eastern coast of Salsette Island is covered with large mangrove swamps, rich in biodiversity, while the western coast is mostly sandy and rocky.[86]
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.[87] The underlying rock of the region is composed of black Deccan basalt flows, and their acidic and basic variants dating back to the late Cretaceous and early Eocene eras.[88] Mumbai sits on a seismically active zone owing to the presence of three fault lines in the vicinity.[89] The area is classified as a Seismic Zone III region, which means an earthquake of up to magnitude 6.5 on the Richter-scale may be expected.[90][91]
Climate
Lying in a tropical zone and near the Arabian Sea, Mumbai experiences two clear seasons, a humid season and a dry season. The humid season, between March and October, is characterised by high humidity and temperatures of over 30 °C (86 °F). Between June and September, the monsoon rains lash the city, supplying most of the city's annual rainfall of 1,800 millimetres (70.9 in), with an average of 600 millimetres (23.6 in) falling in July alone.[92] The maximum annual rainfall ever recorded was 3,452 millimetres (135.9 in) in 1954.[93] The highest rainfall recorded in a single day was 944 millimetres (37.17 in) on 26 July 2005.[94] The dry season, between November and February, is characterised by moderate levels of humidity and warm to cool weather. Cold northerly winds are responsible for a mild chill during January and February.[92] January is the coolest month of the year with mean daily minimum being 16.4 °C (61.5 °F).[95]
Annual temperatures range from a high of 38 °C (100 °F) to a low of 12 °C (54 °F).[92] The record high is 43.3 °C (109.9 °F) and the record low is 7.4 °C (45.3 °F).[96]
[edit] Economy
Mumbai is India's largest city, and is considered the financial capital of the country.[66] It serves as an important economic hub of India, contributing 10% of all factory employment, 40% of all income tax collections, 60% of all customs duty collections, 20% of all central excise tax collections, 40% of India's foreign trade and Rs. 40 billion (US$ 850 million) in corporate taxes.[98] Mumbai's per-capita income is Rs. 48,954 (US$ 1,040), which is almost three times the national average.[99] Many of India's numerous conglomerates (including,Larsen and Toubro, State Bank of India, LIC, Tata Group, Godrej and Reliance), and five of the Fortune Global 500 companies are based in Mumbai.[100] Many foreign banks and financial institutions also have branches in this area, the World Trade Centre (Mumbai) being the most prominent one.[101] Until the 1980s, Mumbai owed its prosperity largely to textile mills and the seaport, but the local economy has since been diversified to include engineering, diamond-polishing, healthcare and information technology.[102] It accounts for 25% of India's industrial output.
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 professions.[103] The port and shipping industry is well established with Mumbai Port being one of the oldest and most significant ports in India.[104] In Dharavi, in central Mumbai, there is an increasingly large recycling industry, processing recyclable waste from other parts of the city; the district has an estimated 15,000 single-room factories.[105]
Most of India's major television and satellite networks, as well as its major publishing houses, are headquartered here. The centre of the Hindi movie industry, Bollywood is the largest film producer in India and one of the largest in the world.[106][107][108] Along with the rest of India, Mumbai, its commercial capital, 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 2000s.[109] Mumbai has been ranked 48th on the Worldwide Centres of Commerce Index 2008.[110] In April 2008, Mumbai was ranked seventh in the list of "Top Ten Cities for Billionaires" by Forbes magazine,[111] and was ranked highest in terms of those billionaires' average wealth.[112]
Civic administration
Greater Mumbai, both island city and suburbs as a whole, is administered by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) (formerly the Bombay Municipal Corporation),[113] with executive power vested in the Municipal Commissioner, who is an IAS officer appointed by the state government.[114] Greater Mumbai includes most of Mumbai's territory, and extends from Colaba in the south to Mulund and Dahisar in the north. Some regions such as Defence lands, Mumbai Port Trust lands and the Borivali National Park area are out of the jurisdiction of the BMC. The Corporation comprises 227 directly elected Councillors representing the twenty four municipal wards, five nominated Councillors, and a Mayor whose role is mostly ceremonial.[115][116] Mumbai is headed by mayor Shubha Raul, Municipal Commissioner Jairaj Phatak, and Sheriff Indu Shahani. The BMC is in charge of the civic and infrastructure needs of the metropolis.[117] An Assistant Municipal Commissioner oversees each ward for administrative purposes.[114] Almost all the state political parties field candidates in the elections for Councillors. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region consists of 7 Municipal Corporations and 13 Municipal Councils. In addition to the BMC, it includes the Municipal Corporations of Navi Mumbai, Mira-Bhayandar, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivali, Bhiwandi-Nizampur and Ulhasnagar.[118] Greater Mumbai forms two districts of Maharashtra, each under the jurisdiction of a District Collector.[119] The Collectors are in charge of property records and revenue collection for the Central Government, and oversee the national elections held in the city.[120][121]
The Mumbai Police is headed by a Police Commissioner, who is an IPS officer. The Mumbai Police comes under the state Home Ministry.[122] The city is divided into seven police zones and seventeen traffic police zones,[123] each headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police.[124] The Traffic Police is a semi-autonomous body under the Mumbai Police. The Mumbai Fire Brigade department is headed by the Chief Fire Officer, who is assisted by four Deputy Chief Fire Officers and six Divisional Officers.[123]
Mumbai is the seat of the Bombay High Court, which exercises jurisdiction over the states of Maharashtra and Goa, and the Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.[125] Mumbai also has two lower courts, the Small Causes Court for civil matters, and the Sessions Court for criminal cases.[126] Mumbai also has a special TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities) court for people accused of conspiring and abetting acts of terrorism in the city.[127]
[edit] Politics
Bombay has been a traditional stronghold and birthplace of the Indian National Congress, also known as the Congress Party. The first session of the Indian National Congress was held in Bombay from 28-31 December 1885.[128] The 1960's saw the rise of regionalist politics in Bombay, with the formation of the Shiv Sena party on 19 June 1966, out of a feeling of resentment about the relative marginalisation of the native Marathi people in their native state Maharashtra.[129] The Shiv Sena had won the 1968, 1973, and 1985 Bombay municipal corporation elections.[130][131][132] In 1989, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a major national political party, forged an electoral alliance with the Shiv Sena to dislodge the Congress in the Assembly elections.[132] In 1999, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) separated from the Congress, but later allied with the Congress, to form a joint venture known as the Democratic Front.[133] The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance had won majority seats in the 1995 and 1999 municipal elections, while the Congress-NCP alliance had won majority seats in the 2004 and 2009 municipal elections.[134][135] Currently, besides the major Shiv Sena-BJP and Congress-NCP alliances, other parties such as Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and several independent candidates, also contest elections in the city.[136] In the 2009 national elections, out of the six constituencies of Mumbai, five were won by the Congress, and one by the NCP,[137] while the Shiv Sena -BJP holds the power in BMC.[138]
Transport
Public transport systems in Mumbai include the Mumbai Suburban Railway, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses, taxis, auto rickshaws, ferries, and aeroplanes.[139] Black and yellow metered taxis traverse most of the metropolis.[140] Auto rickshaws operate only in the suburban areas of Mumbai.[141] Taxis and rickshaws which run on Compressed Natural Gas are the most common forms of hired transport.[142] Mumbai has about 50,000 black and yellow taxis.[143]
Mumbai is served by National Highway 3, National Highway 4 and National Highway 8 of the Indian National Highways system.[144] The Mumbai-Pune Expressway was the first expressway ever built in India,[145] while the Mumbai-Vadodara Expressway is under construction.[146] Recently, the Bandra-Worli Sea Link was opened, which along with Mahim Causeway, links the island city to the western suburbs.[147]
Mumbai is the headquarters of two railway zones: the Central Railway (CR) headquartered at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus,[139] and the Western Railway (WR) headquartered near Churchgate.[148] The backbone of the city's transport, the Mumbai Suburban Railway, consists of three separate networks running the length of the city, in a north-south direction.[103]
The Mumbai Metro is an underground and elevated rapid transit system currently under construction.[149] The Mumbai Monorail will run from Jacob Circle to Wadala when it is completed.[150] Mumbai is well connected to most parts of India by the Indian Railways. Trains originate from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Dadar, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Mumbai Central, Bandra terminus and Andheri.[151] Mumbai's suburban rail systems carry a total of 6.3 million passengers every day.[152]
Public buses run by BEST cover almost all parts of the metropolis, as well as parts of Navi Mumbai, Mira-Bhayandar and Thane.[153] Buses are used for commuting short to medium distances,[154] while train fares are more economical for long distance commutes.[103] The BEST runs a total of 4,037 buses, ferrying 4.5 million passengers daily over 340 routes. Its fleet consists of single-decker, double-decker, vestibule, low-floor, disabled-friendly, air-conditioned and the Euro III compliant Compressed Natural Gas powered buses.[155] Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) buses provide intercity transport and connect Mumbai with other major cities of Maharashtra and India.[156][157] The Mumbai Darshan is a tourist bus service which explores numerous tourist attractions in Mumbai.[158] Mumbai BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System) lanes have been planned throughout Mumbai, with buses running on seven routes as of March 2009.[159]
Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport is the main aviation hub in the city and the busiest airport in India.[160] The Juhu aerodrome was India's first airport, and now hosts a flying club and a heliport.[161] The proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport which is to be built in the Kopra-Panvel area, has been sanctioned by the Government and would help relieve the increasing traffic burden on the existing airport.[162]
With its unique topography, Mumbai has one of the best natural harbours in the world,[163] handling around 60% of the country's passenger traffic, and much of India's cargo.[3] It is also an important base for the Indian Navy, and the headquarters of the Western Naval Command is located here.[164] Ferries from Ferry Wharf allow access to islands and beaches in the area.[165]
Utility services
The BMC supplies potable water to the city from six lakes,[166][167] most of which comes from the Tulsi and Vihar lakes.[82] The Tansa lake supplies water to the western suburbs and parts of the island city along the Western Railway.[168] The water is filtered at Bhandup,[168] which is Asia's largest water filtration plant.[169] India's first underground water tunnel is being built in Mumbai.[170] Almost all of Mumbai's daily refuse of 7,800 metric tonnes, of which 40 metric tonnes is plastic waste,[171] is transported to dumping grounds in Gorai in the northwest, Mulund in the northeast, and Deonar in the east.[172] Sewage treatment is carried out at Worli and Bandra, and disposed off by two independent marine outfalls of 3.4 km (2.1 mi) and 3.7 km (2.3 mi) at Bandra and Worli respectively.[173]
Electricity is distributed by Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) in the island city, a consumption of 3,216 GWh,[174] and by Reliance Energy, Tata Power, and Mahavitaran (Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd) in the suburbs. Consumption of electricity is growing faster than production capacity.[175] 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 WLL services.[176] Cell phone coverage is extensive, and the main service providers are Vodafone Essar, Airtel, MTNL, BPL group, Reliance Communications, Idea Cellular and Tata Indicom. Both GSM and CDMA services are available in the city.[177] MTNL and Airtel also provide broadband internet service.[178][179]
Demographics
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According to the 2001 census, the population of Mumbai was 11,914,398,[181] According to extrapolations carried out by the World Gazetteer in 2008, Mumbai has a population of 13,662,885[182] and the Mumbai Metropolitan Area has a population of 21,347,412.[183] The population density is estimated to be about 22,000 persons per square kilometre. Per 2001 census, Greater Mumbai, the area under the administration of BMC, has literacy rate of 77.45%,[184] higher than the national average of 64.8%.[185] The sex ratio was 774 (females per 1,000 males) in the island city, 826 in the suburbs, and 811 as a whole in the Greater Mumbai,[184] all numbers lower than the national average of 933 females per 1,000 males.[186] The low sex ratio is due to the huge number of male migrants who come to the city to work.[187]
The religions represented in Mumbai include Hindus (67.39%), Muslims (18.56%), Buddhists (5.22%), Jains (3.99%) and Christians (3.72%), with Sikhs and Parsis making up the rest of the population.[188] The linguistic/ethnic demographics are: Maharashtrians (53%), Gujaratis (22%), North Indians (17%), Tamils (3%), Sindhis (3%), Tuluvas/Kannadigas (2%) and others.[189] This unique mix of cultures is due to the migration of people from all over India since the 1600s.[190] Native Christians include Marathi-speaking East Indian Catholics who were converted by the Portuguese.[191]
Mumbai has a large polyglot population like any other metropolitan city of India. Marathi, the official language of Maharashtra state, is widely spoken. Other languages spoken are Hindi, Gujarati, and English.[192] A colloquial form of Hindi, known as Bambaiya—a blend of Marathi, Hindi, Indian English and some invented words—is spoken on the streets. English is extensively spoken and is the principal language of the city's white collar workforce.[193] Residents of Mumbai call themselves Mumbaikar, Mumbaiite or Bombayite. Many residents live in close proximity to either of the Mumbai's transport systems: train or bus, although Mumbai's suburban residents spend significant time travelling to the main commercial district located in the south.[102]
Mumbai suffers from the same major urbanisation problems seen in many fast growing cities in developing countries: widespread poverty and unemployment, poor public health and poor civic and educational standards for a large section of the population. With available space 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.[194] According to the 2001 census, 54.1% of Mumbai's population lives in slums.[195] Dharavi, Asia's second largest slum[196] is located in central Mumbai and houses 800,000 people.[197] Slums are also a growing tourist attraction in Mumbai.[198][199][200] The number of migrants to Mumbai from outside Maharashtra during the 1991–2001 decade was 1.12 million, which amounted to 54.8% of the net addition to the population of Mumbai.[201] In 2007, the crime rate (crimes booked under Indian Penal Code) in Mumbai was 186.2 per 1,00,000 population, which was slightly higher than the national average of 175.1, but much lower than the average crime rate of 312.3 in cities with more than one million population in the country.[202] The city's main jail is the Arthur Road Jail.
Culture
The Mumbai culture is a blend of traditional festivals, food, music, and theatres. The city offers a lifestyle that is rich, cosmopolitan and diverse, with a variety of food, entertainment and nightlife, available in a form and abundance comparable to that in other world capitals.[203] Mumbai's history as a major trading centre has led to a diverse range of cultures, religions and cuisines coexisting in the city. This unique mix of cultures is due to the migration of people from all over India since the 1600s.[204]
Mumbai is the birthplace of Indian cinema[205]—Dadasaheb Phalke laid the foundations with silent movies followed by Marathi talkies—and the oldest film broadcast took place in the early 20th century.[206] Mumbai also has a large number of cinema halls that feature Bollywood, Marathi and Hollywood movies. The world's largest IMAX dome theatre is in the Wadala neighbourhood.[207] The Mumbai International Film Festival[208] 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.[209] Despite most of the professional theatre groups that formed during the British Raj having disbanded by the 1950s, Mumbai has developed a thriving "theater movement" tradition in Marathi, Hindi, English and other regional languages.[210][211]
Contemporary art is well-represented 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.[212] Built in 1833, the Asiatic Society of Bombay is one of the oldest public libraries in the city.[213] The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (formerly The Prince of Wales Museum) is a renowned museum in South Mumbai which houses rare ancient exhibits of Indian history.[214] Mumbai has a zoo named Jijamata Udyaan (formerly Victoria Gardens), which also harbours a garden.[215] The rich literary traditions of the city have been set internationally by Booker Prize winners Salman Rushdie, Aravind Adiga,[216] and Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907.[217] 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 National Academy of Letters.[218]
The architecture of the city is a blend of Gothic Revival, Indo-Saracenic, Art Deco, and other contemporary styles.[219] Most of the buildings during the British period, such as the Victoria Terminus and Bombay University, were built in Gothic Revival style.[220] There are also a few Indo-Saracenic styled buildings such as the Gateway of India.[221] Art Deco styled landmarks can be found along the Marine Drive and west of the Oval Maidan.[222] 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.[219] Mumbai has two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and the Elephanta Caves.[223] Popular tourist attractions in the city are Nariman Point, Girgaum Chowpatti, Juhu Beach, and Marine Drive.[224][225] Essel World is a theme park and amusement centre situated close to Gorai Beach,[226] and includes Asia's largest theme water park, Water Kingdom.[227]
Mumbai residents celebrate both Western and Indian festivals. Diwali, Holi, Eid, Christmas, Navratri, Good Friday, Dussera, Moharram, Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja and Maha Shivratri are some of the popular festivals in the city.[228] The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival is an exhibition of a world of arts that encapsulates works of artists in the fields of music, dance, theater, and films.[229] A week long fair known as Bandra Fair is celebrated by people of all faiths.[230] 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 in Mumbai.[231] 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.[232] Public holidays specific to the city and the state include Maharashtra Day on May 1, to celebrate the formation of Maharashtra state on 1 May 1960.[233][234]
Mumbai has sister city agreements with the following cities:[117]
- Yokohama, Japan[235]
- Los Angeles, United States[236]
- London, United Kingdom
- Berlin, Germany
- Stuttgart, Germany[237]
- Saint Petersburg, Russia
Media
Mumbai has numerous newspaper publications, television and radio stations. Popular English language newspapers published and sold in Mumbai include the Times of India, Mid-day, Hindustan Times, DNA, and Indian Express. Marathi newspapers include Loksatta, Lokmat and Maharashtra Times. Newspapers are also printed in other Indian languages.[238] Mumbai is home to Asia's oldest newspaper, Bombay Samachar, which has been published in Gujarati since 1822.[239] Bombay Durpan—the first Marathi newspaper—was started by Balshastri Jambhekar in Mumbai in 1832.[240]
Numerous Indian and international television channels can be watched in Mumbai through one of the Pay TV companies or the local cable television provider. 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,[241] while three main cable networks serve most households.[242] The wide range of cable channels available includes ESPN, Star Sports, Zee Marathi, ETV Marathi, DD Sahyadri, Mee Marathi, Zee Talkies, Zee TV, STAR Plus and news channels such as Star Majha. News channels entirely dedicated to Mumbai include Sahara Samay Mumbai. Satellite television (DTH) has yet to gain mass acceptance, due to high installation costs.[243] Prominent DTH entertainment services in Mumbai include Dish TV and Tata Sky.[244] There are twelve radio stations in Mumbai, with nine broadcasting on the FM band, and three All India Radio stations broadcasting on the AM band.[245] Mumbai also has access to Commercial radio providers such as WorldSpace, Sirius and XM.[246] The Conditional Access System (CAS) started by the Union Government in 2006 met a poor response in Mumbai due to competition from its sister technology Direct-to-Home (DTH) transmission service.[247]
Bollywood, the Hindi film industry based in Mumbai, produces around 150–200 films every year.[248] The name Bollywood is a portmanteau of Bombay and Hollywood.[249] 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.[250] Studios in Goregaon, including Film City, are the location for most movie sets.[251] The Marathi film industry is also based in Mumbai.[252]
Education
Schools in Mumbai are either "municipal schools" (run by the BMC)[253] or private schools (run by trusts or individuals), which in some cases receive financial aid from the government.[254] The schools are affiliated either with the Maharashtra State Board (MSBSHSE), the all-India Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) or the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) boards.[255] Marathi or English is the usual language of instruction.[256] The government run public schools lack many facilities, but are the only option for poorer residents who cannot afford the more expensive private schools.[257]
Under the 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.[258] 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.[259] 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.[260] The Indian Institute of Technology (Bombay),[261] Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI),[262] and University Institute of Chemical Technology (UICT),[263] which are India's premier engineering and technology schools, and SNDT Women's University are the other autonomous universities in Mumbai.[264] Mumbai is also home to Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), K. J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research (SIMSR), S P Jain Institute of Management and Research and several other management schools.[265] Government Law College and Sydenham College, respectively the oldest law and commerce colleges in India, are based in Mumbai.[266][267] The Sir J. J. School of Art is Mumbai's oldest art institution.[268]
Mumbai is home to two prominent research institutions: the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).[269] The BARC operates CIRUS, a 40 MW nuclear research reactor at their facility in Trombay.[270]
Sports
Cricket is the most popular sport in the city (and the country).[271] Due to a shortage of grounds, various modified versions (generically referred to as galli cricket) are played everywhere. Mumbai is home to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).[272] The Mumbai cricket team represents the city in the Ranji Trophy and has won 38 titles, the most by any team.[273] The city is also represented by the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League and by the Mumbai Champs in the Indian Cricket League. The city has two international cricket grounds, the Wankhede Stadium and the Brabourne Stadium.[274] The biggest cricketing event to be staged in the city so far was the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy final which was played at the Brabourne Stadium. [275] Eminent cricketers from Mumbai include Sachin Tendulkar[276] and Sunil Gavaskar.[277]
Football (soccer) is one of the other popular sports in the city, with the FIFA World Cup and the English Premier League being followed widely.[278] In the I-League, Mumbai is represented by three teams, Mumbai FC,[279] Mahindra United[280] and Air-India.[281] Field hockey has declined in popularity, due to the rise of cricket.[282] Mumbai is home to the Maratha Warriors, the only team from Maharashtra competing in the Premier Hockey League (PHL).[283] Every February, Mumbai holds derby races at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse. Mcdowell's Derby is also held in February at the Turf club in Mumbai.[284] Interest in Formula One racing has been rising in recent years,[285] and in 2008, the Force India F1 team car was unveiled in Mumbai.[286] In March 2004, the Mumbai Grand Prix was part of the F1 powerboat world championship.[287] In 2004, the annual Mumbai Marathon was established in a bid to bring the sports discipline to the Indian public.[288] Since 2006, Mumbai has also played host to the Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open, an International Series tournament of the ATP World Tour.[289]
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