𑘦𑘡𑘻𑘕 𑘓𑘼𑘠𑘨𑘲

The Gateway of India was built in Bombay. The Taj Mahal Palace opened in Bombay. Marine Drive became the Queen’s Necklace in Bombay. Victoria Terminus, the Rajabai Clock Tower and Bombay’s extraordinary Art Deco district emerged from Bombay’s evolution as a global city. Bombay gave India Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, Homi Bhabha, Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Farokh Engineer, Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia and great industrialists from the Tata legacy. It nurtured a world-class financial centre, a textile revolution and the Hindi film industry. Bombay’s identity has been shaped by the Kolis, Parsis, Gujaratis, Sindhis, Marwaris, Marathi communities and diverse communities from across India. Bombay is a city, a culture and an emotion, built by generations of people who built it and called it home. The 1995 renaming was a political decision. It cannot make that history disappear, or render the identity of millions who knew it as Bombay any less legitimate. Call it Mumbai if you wish. But don’t force me to. And don’t reduce the history of a great city to serve a single community or a single political narrative.