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Presidency cities

The pace of urbanization in India was slow during the Colonial period.
The capitals of Bombay, Bengal and madras presidencies in British India was known as Presidency Cities.
These were multi functioned cities- major ports, ware houses, homes and offices, army camps as well as educational institutions, museums and libraries.

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Formation of Bombay city

Bombay was the premier city of India.
It expanded very rapidly.
In 17^th century Bombay was a group of seven Island under the Portuguese control
In 1661, the control of the islands passed into British hands after the marriage of British King Charles II to Portuguese princess
The East India company shifted its base from Surat to Bombay

Initially Bombay was the major outlet of cotton textile from Gujarat.
In 19^th century- as a port through which large quantities of raw materials such as cotton and opium would pass.
Gradually it also become the important administrative centre in Western India
End of 19^th – major Industrial centre

Population structure of Bombay City in 19^th century

Bombay became the capital of the Bombay presidency in 1819 after the Maratha defeat in the Anglo Maratha war.
The city quickly expanded
Large communities of traders, bankers, artisans and shopkeepers settled in Bombay
The establishment of the textile mill increased the number of the migrants.
The first textile mill- 1854
1921- 85 cotton mill and 146,000 workers
Large numbers flowed in from the nearby district of Ratnagiri

In 1919- 1926: 23 per cent of mill workforce were the women community
Bombay dominated in maritime trade of India
Junction of two major railways, it also encouraged the higher scale migration
Famine in the dry regions of Kutch drove large number of people in to Bombay in 1888-89
Worried about the influx of population during the plague epidemic of 1898, district authorities sent about 30000 people back to their homes

Accommodation facility in London City

Bombay was a crowded city
In early days, Bombay did not grow according to any plan and houses especially in the Fort area were interspersed with gardens.
The Fort area was divided in to two

Native town: Indians

White sections: Europeans

A racial pattern was true of all three Presidency cities
Because of the unplanned expansion of city the crisis of housing and water supply became acute

70 per cent of the working people lived in the thickly populated chawls of Bombay
Workers walked to their place of work, 90 per cent of mill workers housed in Girangaon, a mill village.
The private land lords, merchants, bankers and building contractors constructed a chawls for to earn the money
Chawls divide in to smaller one room tenements which had no private toilets.
Homes being small, streets and neighborhoods were used for cooking, washing, leisure activities and sleeping

Liquor shops and akharas came up in the empty spot.
The Chawls were also the place of the exchange of news about jobs, strikes, riots and demonstrations.
The village headman settled the disputes, organized food supplies or arranged informal credit
He also brought important information on political developments
The depressed class found it even more difficult to find housing
They were made the shelters with sheets, leaves or bamboo poles

The planning of Bombay came about as a result of fears about plague epidemic
The City of Bombay Improvement Trust was established in 1898, it focused the clearing of poorer homes out of the city centre
In 1918 Rent Act a passed to keep rents reasonable, so land lords withdrew houses from the market

Land Reclamation in Bombay

First project: Bombay governor William Hornby, 1784- approved the building of the great sea wall which prevented the flooding of the low lying areas of Bombay.
Because of the demand of additional space led to the formulation of several plans, both government and private companies, for the reclamation of more land from the sea.
Private companies became more interested in taking financial crisis

1864- Back Bay Reclamation Company won the right to reclaim the western foreshore from the tip of malabar Hill to the end of Colaba.
Reclamation often meant the leveling of the hills around Bombay.
1870- most private companies closed down due to the mounting cost, the city expanded to about 22 sq.miles
In early 20^th century, every bit of the available area was built over and new areas were reclaimed from the sea

1914-18 A successful reclamation project was undertaken by the Bombay Port Trust had used the excavated earth to create the 22 acre Ballard Estate
Subsequently, the famous Marine Drive of Bombay was developed.

Bombay the City of Mayapuri (dreams)

Many Bombay films deal with the arrival in the city of new migrants, and their encounters with the real pressure of daily life
Popular songs from the Bombay film industry speak of the contradictory aspects of the city.
1896: Harishchandra sakharam Bhatwadekar shot a scene of wrestling match in Bombay
1913: Dadasaheb Phalke made Harishchandra
As a result Bombay city became more popular
In1925, Bombay had become the India’s film capital

1947: 50 Indian film, invested 756 million
1987: 520,000 people had employed in the film industry
Migrants from Lahore, Calcutta, Madras had contributed a national character of the industry
Those who came from Lahore and Punjab caused for the development of the Hindi film industry
Ismat Chughtai and Saddat Hasan Manto, were associated with Hindi cinema.
Bombay films have contributed in a big way to produce an image of the city as blend of dream and reality of slums and star bungalows.