Mumbai

Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay until the name was officially changed in 1995, serves as both the capital of Maharashtra and India's financial hub. Situated on the Konkan coast along the country's western shoreline, the city boasts a deep natural harbour. According to the 2011 Census, it is India's most populous city, with nearly 12.5 million residents, while the broader Mumbai Metropolitan Region houses over 20 million people. The city is split between the Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban districts and is governed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, a body established in 1888.

Originally a cluster of seven islands, the area shows signs of human activity dating back to the South Asian Stone Age. The Maurya Empire ruled these islands from the 3rd century BCE, and they were mentioned by Ptolemy around 150 CE. The Marathi-speaking Koli people, whose deity Mumbā is thought to have inspired the city's name, inhabited the islands. Over the centuries, the region fell under the control of various dynasties, including the Satavahanas, Western Satraps, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, and Shilaharas, before passing to the Delhi Sultanate and later the Gujarat Sultanate during the Middle Ages.

Apprehensive of the power of the Mughal Empire under Humayun, Gujarat Sultan Bahadur Shah signed the Treaty of Bassein with the Portuguese on 23 December 1534, through which the seven islands of Bombay, along with Bassein and its dependencies, were ceded to the Portuguese on 25 October 1535. In 1661, the islands were transferred to the British Crown as part of Catherine of Braganza's dowry, and finally leased to the East India Company in 1668. Under British rule, Bombay became the capital of the Bombay Presidency and grew into a major trading and administrative centre.

Starting in 1782, the Hornby Vellard project dramatically reshaped the city by reclaiming land from the Arabian Sea between its seven islands. Completed in 1845, this reclamation, along with the construction of major roads and railways, unified the islands and turned Mumbai into a key seaport. The 19th-century cotton boom further accelerated economic growth, cementing the city's role as a commercial powerhouse. Mumbai played a significant part in the Indian independence movement.