Courtesy: The Indian Railways Fan Club
The Sikh and Punjabi community of Sion-Koliwada Camp, Mumbai, hailed mostly from the Muslim-majority North West Frontier Province (NWFP), rather than undivided Punjab. They brought to their adopted city – and to India – a rich and varied cultural presence
Courtesy: Archive.org
Many of the Hindu Sindhi refugees who fled to India post Partition succeeded in rebuilding their lives afresh, their native entrepreneurial spirit enabling them to rise up from the destitution that displacement caused. Ulhasnagar, Thane district, which was a refugee camp 70 years ago, is a microcosm of how the community rehabilitated itself--with the help of a well dispersed and generous Sindhi trading network
Courtesy: Live Mint
The 70th Independence Day for India and Pakistan – August 15 and 14 respectively – is a reminder of how Partition displaced 15 million people, causing untold hardship. What is less known is that the cities of Karachi and Bombay have had a shared colonial history and economy: the parting of ways left one bereft of a host of spirited citizens, who went on to rebuild their lives in the other
Courtesy: Zahur Ramji
The Aga Khan IV, Prince Karim al-Husayni, the religious head of of the Ismaili Shia Imamat, celebrated the diamond jubilee year of his leadership earlier this week with the launch of many development projects. What is not very well known is that Bombay was a centre for the consolidation of the community and its religious leaders’ influence
Courtesy: Dr. Sarah Israel
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel (July 4-6) marks 25 years of India’s diplomatic relations with the State of Israel. Forging political and economic ties with it has not been smooth sailing, and it’s the Indian Jewish community that has kept a tenuous relationship going
Courtesy: Consulate General of France in Mumbai
All eyes are on the outcome of the French elections next month with its portents of a far right president being the people’s choice. But it was 200 years ago that Bombay forged its French connection. Trade with France ushered in cultural influences while the city’s early nationalists were drawn to the French Revolution’s political philosophy of ‘Liberty, Equality and Fraternity’
Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
The historic role of Bombay (as it was then called) as a hub for banking, commerce, trade, and shipping, and its financial clout a 100 years ago, are little known today. With the city scheduled to soon open an international financial services centre, it is worthwhile to recall and integrate this legacy with Mumbai’s present strengths in order to attract global capital to its IFSC
Courtesy: Chemould Prescott Road Archives
Germany’s presidency of G20 in 2017 comes at a time when the country is in a state of deep flux. But its relations with India have always been unshaken. Even 80 years ago, German-speaking immigrants, fleeing the Second World war, greatly enhanced Bombay’s cultural life
Courtesy: Jehangir S. Sorabjee
British Prime Minister Theresa May’s visit to India from November 6-8, her first to a country outside Europe, has been focusing on increasing bilateral trade and investments. But 300 years ago, London and Bombay shared a critical financial relationship.
Courtesy: Eminence Designs Pvt Ltd.
The trade between Bombay and America’s north eastern ports 200 years ago was unique as it coexisted with the period’s territorial colonial monopolies. This article retraces those routes to riches in light of the Indo-U.S. Strategic Partnership.