The name Mumbai (or Maha-Amba) comes from the Koli goddess Mumbadevi and "Aai" meaning "mother." When Portuguese settlers arrived in the sixteenth century, they began using variations of that name before settling on "Bombaim." In the seventeenth century, the British anglicized the name into "Bombay." Even after India gained independence in 1947, the name Bombay remained in place until 1996 when the Indian government officially changed the name to Mumbai. This was in keeping with a trend of renaming former colonial institutions using historic names.
In ancient times, Mumbai was a collection of seven neighboring islands that together became one of the world's most populous cities. These islands included Bombay Island, Parel, Mazagaon, Mahim, Colaba, Worli, and Old Woman's Island. In the third century BCE, these islands were incorporated into the Maurya Empire under Buddhist ruler Ashoka of Magadha. To Ptolemy and Ancient Greece, the island was known as Heptanesia (Cluster of Seven Islands). In the ninth century, after the decline of the Maurya Empire, the islands fell to various indigenous dynasties before being ruled by the Silhara Dynasty from 810 to 1260.
In 1348, Muslim ruler conquered the area and governed under the Gujarat Sultanate from 1391 to 1534 when the Treaty of Bassein gave the islands to Portugal. In 1661, Charles II of England received these islands as a dowry gift then leased them to the British East India Company. In 1668, the islands became known as Bombay. In the eighteenth century, Bombay became a center for trade, establishing trade routes with Mecca and Basra. In the nineteenth century, Bombay became a center for economic and cultural development, building the first railway line in India. In the twentieth century, Bombay was the epicenter for Gandhi's Rowlatt Satyagraha in 1919 and the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny in 1946, the city was a center for the Indian Independence movement. After independence in 1947, Bombay territory expanded into Bombay State.
Mumbai is located on the western coast of India, near the Arabian Sea in the region of the Konkan. The city and its suburban district are located on Salsette Island, partly shared with the Thane district. Mumbai has a primarily tropical climate with a humid season March through October, and a dry season November through February. Temperatures tend to peak at 30 degrees Celsius (or 86 degrees Fahrenheit) and drop to as low as 16.4 degrees Celsius (or 61.5 degrees Fahrenheit). Mumbai has one of the world's greatest natural harbors, enabling the city to handle as much as sixty percent of India's passenger traffic and cargo. Mumbai is also a base for the Indian Navy and the Western Naval Command.
As of 2001, the population of Mumbai is close to twelve million. Counting the entire metro area, the figure is nearly twenty-one million. The population density is roughly 22,000 people per square kilometer. The ethnic demographics are roughly half Maharashtrians, one fifth to a quarter Gujaratis, with smaller populations of North Indians, Tamils, Sindhis, Tuluvas and other groups. Much of the population is multilingual. Marathi is the official language of the region. There are also prominent Hindi, Gujarati and English-speaking populations in the area. English is primarily spoken in white-collar workforces while Bambaiya (a mix of Marathi, Hindi and Indian English) is spoken on the streets. Roughly two thirds of the region is Hindu while close to one fifth is Muslim. Other prominent religious minorities include Buddhists, Jains, Christians, Sikhs and Parsis.
Mumbai is a cultural center for art, media and publishing. The city is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus (or Victoria Terminus) and the Elephanta caves. Mumbai is also a center for both Western and Indian cultural festivals including the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (for music, dance, theater and film), the Bandra Fair for people of all faiths, the Banganga Festival for music, and the Elephanta Festival for classical Indian dance and music. Mumbai is also the center for Bollywood (a portmanteau of the names Bombay and Hollywood). Since 2000, Bollywood films have become increasingly popular overseas, bringing about advancements in film and cinematography.
Mumbai is considered the financial capital of India and is headquarters to companies such as the State Bank of India, the Tata Group and several Fortune Global 500 companies. Many foreign banks and financial institutions also have branches in Mumbai. Much of the city's work force consists of government employees as well as blue collar workers such as taxi drivers and mechanics. Until the 1980s, much of the city's prosperity came from the textile and shipping industries, but the economy has diversified since then. The workforce also consists of those in engineering, diamond-polishing, health care and information technology. Like many fast-growing cities, Mumbai suffers from problems of urbanization including poverty, unemployment and substandard conditions in education and health. However, economic liberalization of the 1990s and the information technology and outsourcing boom of the 2000s has brought great economic growth to the city.
