BOMBAY

bŏmbāˈ, former state, W central India, on the Arabian Sea. The state contained within its borders the former Portuguese colonies of Goa and Daman and Diu. Historical remains exist from the period (320–184 b.c.) when much of Bombay belonged to the Buddhist Maurya empire. Buddhism was supplanted (c.5th cent. a.d.) by Hinduism, which remains the major religion. In the 16th cent. Portugal was the leading foreign power, but Great Britain predominated in the 17th cent. and by the early 19th cent. had formed the Bombay presidency. In 1937, Bombay became a province. After India gained its independence in 1947, all former native states within the provincial boundary joined Bombay. In 1956, Bombay was reorganized as a state and absorbed parts of Hyderabad and Madhya Pradesh and the princely states of Kutch (Kachchh) and Saurashtra. In 1960, however, Bombay state was divided into the new states of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The city of Bombay or Mumbaimoomˈbī (1991 pop. 3,175,000), now the capital of Maharashtra state, occupies about 25 sq mi (65 sq km) on Bombay and Salsette islands. Bombay Island was created in the 19th cent. by reclamation projects that combined seven basaltic islets and is a peninsula of the larger Salsette Island to the north. Salsette Island itself is connected to the mainland by causeways and railroad embankments.

Bombay has the only natural deepwater harbor in W India, and is a transportation hub and industrial center. Manufactures include cotton textiles, automobiles, machinery, clothing, chemicals, and refined petroleum. It is home to India's largest banks and financial houses. Bombay is also the center of India's domestic film and entertainment industry, the largest in the world. Although it contains vast slums, Bombay is also a city of great wealth; most of India's tax revenues come from Bombay. There is an extensive system of hydroelectric stations, and nearby at Trombay is a nuclear reactor.

Bombay Univ. (founded 1857) is in the city. On Salsette Island are Buddhist caves. The nearby small island of Elephanta is noted for its hewn-stone temples. Bombay has many large suburbs, including Andheri, Thane, and Ulhasnagar, each with a population of more than 100,000, and the city itself has the largest community of Parsis in India.

The area of the city was ceded (1534) to Portugal by the sultan of Gujarat. Bombay, after it passed to Great Britain in 1661, was the headquarters (1668–1858) of the East India Company in W India. During the American Civil War it expanded to meet the world demand for cotton and became a leading cotton-spinning and weaving center. Bombay was convulsed by anti-Muslim riots in 1993. The city was officially renamed Mumbai (its name in the indigenous language, Marathi) in 1995.

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright© 2004, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. All rights reserved.

-6293-