Rise of Bombay and Konkani Muslim Migration (Part 8)
Rise of Bombay and Konkani Muslim Migration
When the English, French, and other European East India Companies opened their direct trade with India in the seventeenth century, their activities centered on the rich commercial provinces of Gujarat, Bengal, and peninsular India along the Malabar and Coromandel coasts. On the west coast the commercial magnet was Surat, the chief Mogul port, where the English utilized the existing commercial infrastructure, availability of merchandise, shipping facilities, and access to its inland and oceanic communication network. By contrast, the Konkan coast attracted only minor and sporadic European contact in the form of smaller factories at Rajapur (English and French), Malvan (English) and Vengrula (Dutch) with the major exception of Bombay. Among other reasons, the Mogul ban on foreign fortifications in their territories compelled the English to look for an alternative site, and Bombay became that site after it was ceded by the Portuguese to the English in 1661. Gradually Bombay emerged as the center of trade and commerce. The spread of western education in the mid nineteenth century coupled with the introduction of industrial technology in the fields of cotton textile manufacture and railway construction accelerated Bombay's growth. Thus in the later half of the nineteenth century, Bombay emerged as the cotton mill center of India and as a major terminus on the extensive railway network which spanned the entire subcontinent. Bombay's oceanic communications improved vastly with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, which made it the chief Indian port city closest to Britain. The Konkan port towns, usually smaller than the inland towns were completely dwarfed by Bombay. With the emergence of Bombay as the industrial, educational, economic and communication center of India, the people of Konkan were attracted to the city in search of job opportunities.
The shrine and tomb of the saint Shaykh Makhdum Faqih Mahaimi, also known as Ali Paru dates from 1431, indicating Muslim presence in Bombay centuries before it became the great metropolis. The better known shrine and tomb of Haji Ali on an island in the little bay that was once the mouth of the Great Breach does not appear in any account or map of the city until late nineteenth century.
The influx to Bombay included the Konkani Muslims too. Muslims began settling in Bombay as early as the beginning of the 18th century, in Mahim, the northernmost of the seven original islands making Bombay. They were attracted to Bombay by the maritime nature of its European occupants, settled there and amassed wealth first as ship's masters and sailors, and then as merchants and shipowners The great success stories of Bombay magnates are those of the Parsis, Marwaris, and the Gujaratis, but "similar riches were made by those Konkani Muslim families, such as the Kurs, the Roghays, and the Ghattays, who entered the China trade and also traded in pearls with Madras. Muhammad Ali Roghay, who earned the title Nacoda (nakhuda) because of the large number of ships he owned, traded in China in partnership with one of the [Parsi] Readymoneys. The Konkani Muslim shetias (magnates) had a considerable advantage in the trade, because, like the Parsis, their community had long been associated with shipbuilding.
Konkani Muslims later on settled in the eastern part of the native quarter of Bombay, near where the Jama Masjid was built around Dongri fort on a tank and gardens belonging to a Konkani Muslim. This Konkani Muslim was none other than Muhammad Ali Roghay, who also enlarged and repaired the Jama Masjid in 1830s. Construction of this mosque began in 1775 and completed in 1808. The Jama Masjid is Bombay's most important mosque and lies in the commercial center. Located at the junction of Shaykh Memon Street and Janjikar Street, it forms the most important landmark on this important road. A symphony of domes and minarets with ornate entrances, the mosque has a two storied prayer hall, which is a recurring feature in all Mumbai mosques. The second story has a tiled sloping roof designed to take into account the heavy rainfall during the monsoons. A special feature of the Jama Masjid is its large pool on which the prayer hall is built. Water is pumped up to the ablution area.
