Horse drawn carriages, trollies, and other cool things from the turn of the century. Judging by this picture I'd say that's the turn of the 20th century not 21st.

At least I hope.

"The Alexandria of India" is a very cool distinction and 1 to be proud of.

Cool that they had Model T's even back then. Wonder if they had the appropriate insurance and savvy going up hill. Heard the T's had some problems with large hills because the gasoline would be pulled by gravity to the back of the tank and there was no fuel injectors back then.

Mumbai or Bombay is increasingly important as India rises in the world pecking order and as a financial center.

Having traveled and studied the history of India (or Bharat of old) I am starting to develop some fine BS detectors for the kind of writing here.

The Washington Post readers would appreciate a few pointers form a man on the ground

1. Did you know that Mumbai is the original name of this region named after indigenous culture here of Goddess (Devi) Mumba. Travelling through India I am consistently appalled at the arrogance of the colonial occupiers especially the British who took upon themselves to mangle the pronunciation of towns that pre-date the renaissance Europe for starters, then accuse the Indians, especially the gracious Hindus of "right wing sentiments" when renaming cities that belong to them - eg Mumbai not Bombay, Kolkata not Calcutta, Chennai not Madras and so it goes.

2. For those familiar with even a rudiment of India's history - the Islamic occupation and the Islamofascist rulers caused untold horror post 900 AD to the Hindus, Buddists, Parsis (that escaped from a rapidly Islamo-barbaric Iran), the Jews escaping the Middle East, Syrian Christians and more. Where shall we start - charging the infidels a tax for being Islamic to burning down the world's oldest university - Nalanda (sorry Bologna, this is the cradle of civilization, not the ME)

The Maratha Emporer Shivaji - the founder of guerilla warfare in military tactics was instrumental post 1700 AD in defeating and pushing back the barbaric practices of the Islamic despot of the time and is a great hero to the Indians and a symbol of resistance to religious fundamentalism. It is appropriate that he be honored thus, given how the Indians created the Gateway of India at the entrance of Bombay Harbor for a mad English tyrant, King George.

3. I am consistently appalled at the "in-your-face" religious extremism displayed by Sunni muslims in the nation as a whole. The Shia, not so much and a much better integrated. Again, I stress the graciousness of the Hindus, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians in this great city - no other religion insists on shutting down busy roads on a Friday for Muslim prayers. Can you imagine shutting down Broadway NYC or Piccadilly CIrcus London so a religious sect , one of many devout, can pray? Time and time again, in Mumbai and other parts of the country most notably in Kashmir - the Islamofascism and criminal underworld that is sponsored by Saudi Arabian Wahabi extremism, and fanned by people in my part of the world make me question the integrity of journalists that gloss over this and defamewhat seems for me a very gracious nation for religious tolerance.

4. For the most part, an open apartheid existed in India during the British occupation for 300 years - what these posters dont document are the sign that read:

BRITISH ONLY. INDIANS AND DOGS NOT ALLOWED. The Taj Mahal hotel that you refer to in these photographs and which was the site of state-sponsored terrorism from across the border - was built by a beloved Parsi industriallist J. N. Tata - a Parsi. The reason he built this hotel open to all Indians - that overlooks the ocean in Mumbai, is because the hotel next doors was "British Only. Indians and Dogs not allowed".

I hope my years on the ground have highlighted the glaring gaps in your glossy little fluff piece with the typical pro-British, pro-Islamic, anti-India, Hindu-bashing that is so typical of armchair writers.

Ty McCormick, editorial researcher Foreign Policy indeed - Washington Post, really. Shite.

Jaziya - a tax by the Islamists on the infidels or non-Muslims (hey that would be whole of the Hindu nation).
Doesnt it make you want to think about that naseous movie SlumDOG Millionaire in a whoe new light - most of my friends thought so.

Cheers.

Inspired photography and selection of places and events from Bombay's past. On the text be fair it is a historical photo essay not a political analysis. Plenty of other FP's articles do that.

Yes British colonial rule was not perfect and yes India has some serious internal religous conflicts etc.

However whatever the faults of the past India is now a democracy, is growing fast, and its politics is not beholden to religious minorities (although has its problems too) That is the sort of cocktail I like and one which bodes well for the future.

Now let’s compare India to Pakistan next door which is not a democracy, is not growing and has politics beholden to some very nasty religious minorities. I know which country I would prefer to live in and which has the better prospects for its people. Give credit where credit is due.

Also let’s not forget the point made earlier that this article is a photo journal not a potted history of XYZ .

From horse-drawn carriages to rugby players, street scenes of India's megalopolis at the turn of the century. Do you not see the same arrogance in what you have written? Of course, I wouldn't know my nose from my toes since I only have been born and raised in the city in question. In your using words like islamofascist and deification of Shivaji, clearly show you belong to the brand of quasi-historians who goes around denying holocausts happen. Your comments are far more dangerous and insidious than the f payroll company Yes British colonial rule was not perfect and yes India has some serious internal religous conflicts etc. However whatever the faults of the past India is now a democracy, is growing fast, and its politics is not beholden to religious minorities (although has its problems too) That is the sort of cocktail I like and one which bodes well for the future. Now let’s compare India to Pakistan next door.

Almost entirely an english colonial creation, Bombay had become probably the most important seaports about the Arabian Sea by 1900. Underneath the stewardship from the British East India Company, the transformation of Bombay (now Mumbai) from an archipelago of island fishing villages to commercial center was swift; roads and railways sprang as much as connect the town towards the remaining subcontinent, along with a massive engineering project to backfill the region between your city's seven constituent islands was carried out 1845.