Abstract
Mumbai city, because of its unique position as the commercial capital of India, with the busiest seaport and airport, heavy influx of population from all over the country, exorbitant price of real estate, interspersing of slums with high-rise buildings of well-to-do people, has been a fertile ground for criminals. It is the only city in South Asia where the underworld has ruled for so many years. The areas dominated by the marginalised sections of population have often been the fertile grounds for gangsters in the city. The state’s important arm, the police, has also been deeply involved in corruption and extrajudicial killings, and many a time gangs have been a reaction to it. The city has also seen the rise of female dons under the shadow of males ones. The female dons have often worked as collectors of extortion money, and con-women for the main gangsters. This chapter discusses the rise of the underworld in Mumbai and its association with business, police, politics, and terrorism.
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Notes
- 1.
Shaban (2012) shows how the spaces in the city have been divided on religion and caste bases, and Muslim-concentrated areas are referred as chhota (Mini) Pakistan. The spaces are also metaphorically referred to as Pakistan, Hindustan, and Dalistan on religious and caste bases.
- 2.
- 3.
The major underworld dons of the city have been from the Muslim community, the Scheduled Castes (SCs), the other backward classes (OBCs), or the migrant groups. Karim Lala, Haji Mastan, Alamzeb, Yusuf Patel, Dawood Ibrahim, Chhota Shakeel, and Abu Salem rose from the Muslim community. Arun Gawli (Arun Gulab Ahir) belongs to the Ahir caste, an OBC). Chhota Rajan, said to be a Buddhist by religion, is an SC. Among the major dons in the city, only Amar Naik, Ashwin Naik, and Subhas Singh Thakur come from middle- or upper caste Hindu families. Muslims are among the most socially and economically deprived communities in the city and fear of riots and discrimination in housing market have forced them to get concentrated in a few localities of the city. A large percentage of Muslim population lives in poverty, unemployment, and housing distress in the city (Shaban 2013). The SCs are also concentrated in a few pockets in the city.
- 4.
It is very difficult to gather reliable information on the underworld and their activities. Even those like Mehta (2004), who penetrated the underworld, could only fictionalise the underworld and it was never possible for Mehta to capture complete and concrete facts related to the events and gangs. The information used in this chapter have been drawn from discussion with policemen in the Crime Branch, Mumbai Police, key informants and residents from the areas the kingpins of the underworld operate(d) and live(d), newspaper reports, and other relevant literature. In this way, the chapter seeks to capture the information from different sources to understand the underworld and the police in the city and their linkages with various business groups.
- 5.
These areas have a high concentration of Muslims in the city. Kamathipura is also a famous red-light area of the city (Shaban 2010).
- 6.
Dharavi is the largest slum of Mumbai. This swampy area was reclaimed by the poor, mainly lower castes and migrants from other states, due to lack any affordable space for living in the city. In the 1970s and 1980s, Dhravi became known for its liquor and gambling dens as well as tanneries. Dharavi is still known for its slums and leather workers, and also how through hard work some of its residents have become exporters of leather and craft goods to other countries (Brugmann 2009).
- 7.
It is said that Haji Mastan had good relations with film actors Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bacchan. Amitabh Bacchan’s role in Deewar was inspired by the life situations of Haji Mastan. It is believed that Amitabh Bacchan personally took some tips from Haji Mastan about his role and acting in the movie.
- 8.
This movie was released in 2010, and depicts the life history of Haji Mastan very closely.
- 9.
Some other minor dons and smugglers operating in the city during the 1950s and 1960s were Daniel Walcott, Gawandi Ram, Gafoor Supariwalla, Ibrahim Patel, and Sukur Narain Bakhia (Sharma 2010).
- 10.
Ravi Pujari was an associate of Dawood Ibrahim and parted way with him when the former made an attempt on Chhota Rajan’s life in Bangkok in 2000. He is now supposed to be hiding in Australia. The Pujari Gang, along with the Santosh Shetty Gang and the Chhota Rajan Gang, is suspected to have killed the advocate Shahid Azmi, who was providing legal assistance to Faheem Ansari, accused of providing local assistance to Pakistani terrorists in their attack in Mumbai on 26 November 2008 (Dey 2010). Even J. Dey (the journalist cited just above) was killed allegedly by the Chhota Rajan Gang in June 2011. Another Journalist, Jigna Vora, who is said to be associated with the Chhota Rajan Gang, is alleged to have provided information about the whereabouts of Dey to the shooters. Vora is now under the custody of the Mumbai police. This shows the nexus between journalists and the underworld in the city.
- 11.
Sayyed Khwaja Yunus, a 27-year-old software engineer and a native of Parbhani district of Maharashtra, was falsely arrested by the police in connection with a bomb blast in a bus at Ghatkopar in January 2003. He was booked under the stringent Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) by the police. To hide the false arrest, he was murdered by the police investigation team and his body was burnt at a farm in Asangaon in Raigad district. A cemented platform was constructed by the police team at the place so that no one could find the bones and the ashes (Tare 2012).
- 12.
The police have been acting with bias against the Muslim community and that was well reflected during the proceedings of the Sri Krishna Commission’s inquiry into Bombay riots 1992–1993. It was found that “during the riots, the police conduct was consciously partisan, pro-Hindu and anti-Muslim. From the stage of preventing violence to controlling it—whether arrests of miscreants or investigation of riot offences—at every level, the Mumbai Police revealed itself to be a highly communal force, not worthy of the trust reposed in it nor of the power it commanded. What made it worse was that this unprofessional conduct wasn’t just displayed by lowly constables bearing the brunt of mob violence, but also by senior officers. The bias existed right from the top—the Police Commissioner” (Punwani 2012: 187).
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Shaban, A. (2017). Underworld and the Police in Mumbai. In: Jayaram, N. (eds) Social Dynamics of the Urban. Exploring Urban Change in South Asia. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-3741-9_7
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