The Region of Mumbai

Mumbai is from “Mumba”, the name of the Hindu goddess Mumbadevi, and Aai. During the 16th century, the Portuguese named the area Bom Bahia, “Good Bay.” Once the British gained possession, its name was changed once again to Bombay. Then, officially changed to Mumbai in 1995, but the former name is still used by the inhibited society. Mumbai formerly, but not really known as Bombay is the capital of the state of Maharashtra. Also tagged the entertainment and commercial capital of India. Within its city limits it contains many important structures, the Reserve Bank of India, the Bombay Stock Exchange, the National Stock Exchange of India, “Bollywood,” which is India's film industry, and even the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. With the addition of a harbor and the port handles over half of India's traffic this small region has great opportunities.

In 2006 the estimated population is about thirteen million, which makes it the most populated city in India. Mumbai is located on Salsette Island, off the west coast of Maharashtra. Together with adjacent suburbs, it forms the fourth most populated metropolitan area in the world of about 20 million. Like other large cities in the world, Mumbai suffers from the same major urbanization problems seen in many fast growing cities in developing countries; widespread poverty and poor public health, unemployment, and little or no education is provided. 45%-48% of the population lives in poor conditions. The living conditions for many are cramped and far from workplaces, which leads to commuter traffic.

Since the third century BCE the islands have been claimed or annexed by the Maurya Empire, the Silhara Dynasty, the Gujarat Dynasty, and then by the Portuguese who gave them to Catherine de Braganza and leased to the British East India Company. The company found the deep harbor on the east coast of the islands to be ideal for setting up their first port in the sub-continent. This made the population increase rapidly and they moved their head office in Surat to Bombay due to it being such a key location. The harbor brought a mixture of people, culture, ideas, and products at a fast pace. In 1817 construction started on uniting all the islands into one large island, it was called Hornby Valley. The construction was finished in 1845. This made the city larger and became even more