Identity Rebirth

From the Portugese to the British. From seven islands to one thriving metropolis. Bombay to Mumbai. What so intrinsically pulls a city that deems to never stop functioning can inherently be found in the communities that weave the fabric of this teeming soul of human enterprise. A true microcosm to the diversity that India as a country entails.
Diverse ethnic backgrounds and over a dozen languages add to the interminable texture of phantasmagorial Mumbai.
If the Portuguese saw the potential of the city’s natural harbour, the fisherfolk had long discovered the shiny coastline. Celebrated author Salman Rushdie in his acclaimed book Midnight’s Children writes, “The fishermen were here first ... when Bombay was a dumbbell-shaped island tapering, at the centre, to a narrow shining strand beyond which could be seen the finest and largest natural harbour in Asia”. The Koli’s. The original inhabitants of these islands who gave the city its name. “They were the original inhabitants of Mumbai of course — earliest settlers in much the same way as the Red Indians of North America or the Maoris of New Zealand. In an anthropological sense, they made a significant contribution to Mumbai. Many were converted to East Indian Christians, but those who were educated went on to hold clerical posts in major civic bodies, including the BMC and the Port Trust,” says historian Sharada Dwivedi.
With the city’s itch to find its niche in the new world order, they now live a marginalised existence at the fringes of Mumbai. “Today, their situation is not encouraging. The government has done little to promote their trade. They face tremendous competition as exports of marine products grow. I think they themselves made the mistake of taking their incomes for granted,” says advocate Rajan Jayakar.
If the easily distinguishable and excitable Koli’s now find their settlements protected by law, can Sassoon dock be far behind? The Jewish communities, the
Baghdadi Jews and the
Bene-Israel have given the city many of its important landmarks. Mostly traders and financiers, the Baghdadi jews contribution to the industrial growth of Bombay is well documented.
David Sassoon, a member of the community is a well-known philanthropist. Post independence there has a continuous migration of the Baghdadi Jews to Israel leaving behind few yet a trail of majestic glory.
On the other hand, claiming to be descended from Jews who escaped persecution in Galilee in the 2nd century BC, the identity of the Bene-Israelis was eventually transformed when they came into contact with the Cochin Jews. Once they emigrated to Bombay, contact with the
Baghdadi Jews and the worldwide Zionist movement transformed their cultural identity. “The Bene-Israelis came to Mumbai much earlier. They immediately setup many textile mills, creating huge employment opportunities for the local people. But more important was the money they pumped into technical institutes, for both mechanics and school children. While the community itself doesn’t exist today, their legacy lives on through the many educational and research centres they set up,” says Dwivedi. This particular community opened our minds to the poet
Nissim Ezekiel.
While the Jews might have looked outward for the Promised Land, the Muslim community seemed to have eased themselves into the cacophony of the city. The
Bohras and the Khojas being the best known. “What these communities had in their favour was the fact that when they first came into Mumbai from Gujarat, they had protection from conversion. The British at the time gave them complete freedom to practise whatever faith they chose to. They are the earliest migrants from Gujarat to Mumbai. As traders, they set about building a vast network of textile mills. Their contribution to the history of Mumbai is manifested in the opportunities they created from a large number of people.” Says Dwivedi.
“The northern end of the fort, near the present day
general post office is still called Bora Bazaar, after the large numbers of Bohras who set up shops there. With increasing wealth, some Bohras moved out of business and into other professions, just as some
Parsis did at the same time,” says Jayakar.
And there has never been a more integrated community than the Parsis that has captured the spirit of this definition defying city. Zoroastrian Persians migrated to India after the fall of the Sassanian Empire, and gave rise to the modern Indian Parsi community. The first record of a Parsi, Dorabji Nanabhai, settling in Bombay dates from 1640. And ever since the Parsis are intimately connected with the history of Bombay. “The
cotton boom was largely fuelled by Parsi entrepreneurs. The oldest newspaper in Bombay, "Bombay Samachar", was run by Parsis.
Congress stalwarts like
Dadabhai Naoroji,
Pherozeshah Mehta and Dinshaw Wacha were Parsis. One of India's biggest industrial houses was founded by a Parsi, Jamsetji Tata. Even the physical shape of Bombay was determined by donations to build causeways, roads and buildings by members of the Jeejeebhoy and Readymoney families,” says Mr Gorakshkar, retired head of the Prince of Wales Museum.
“Like the Parsis, the Pathare Prabhus have been stagnant. Today the community will not be more than 10,000 although it is now growing. Because of other more adventurous communities like the Parsis, the Pathare Prabhus are is not as well known. Moreover it was a community of professionals like architects, lawyers and doctors rather than businessmen. Pathare Prabhus are a community that came to Mumbai around 1294 from a place called Pathan in Gujurat,” says Jayakar.
“A lot has changed in the community in the last 60 years. The culture has become diluted so much so that it has to be taught now,” says Mr Gorakshkar.
With the heady mélange of ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity, to the vibrant influence of the new and the old, the affluence and abject poverty — this is the Mumbai we love. This is the Mumbai we’ve lived. It’s everyone’s representation of the city. And the city’s representation of its people. Mumbai mere jaan.