Everything about Mumbai Underworld totally explained
The
Indian mafia refers to certain criminal organizations found in some of
India's major cities. What is referred to as the Mumbai Mafia is an
organised body of criminals, is the biggest part of the Indian mafia. Its actual size, and thus the extent of its influence, is unknown because it's the least heard-of internationally. The first of mafia elements, or syndicates, perhaps had their origins in the
gambling and bootleg liquor dens set up
Karim Lala in the 1940s. He was succeeded by
Varadarajan Mudaliar, a
Tamil migrant who arrived to Bombay along with an influx of south-Indian migrants. The increasing restrictions placed on the Indian economy by the socialist regimes of those days gave the Bombay underworld increasingly more means by which they could expand their activities.
Ramabhai Naik in 1986 gunned down supari-king
Karim Lala's nephew, the dreaded Samad Khan, and paved the way for
Dawood Ibrahim.
A colleague of his, who was placed in jail during the
Indian Emergency (1975 - 77),
Mastan Mirza, more famously known as
Haji Mastan also played a key role in structuring illegal gambling as an organised business.
After the collapse of the cotton mills based textile industry in Mumbai in the 1980s, many workers were left unemployed, furthering the environment for crime that already existed. Various underworld dons rose to power.
As Mastan's influence in Bollywood grew, he began to produce films and cast his mistress, an aspiring starlet, into small roles. He was also known for his links with the legendary actor Dilip Kumar. During the Indian Emergency (1975 - 77) he was imprisoned. Haji Mastan become as a Muslim leader in 1984.
D-Company was formed by
Dawood Ibrahim, an acolyte of Hajji Mastana, and a descendant of migrants from the
Konkan coast Ratnagiri district to be specific. It was amongst the most powerful criminal organisations in the world in the 80s, with many illegal and legal business ventures under Dawood's control. His group eventually split up creating separate gang of
Chotta Rajan, sometime during the mid-nineties due to his use of communal violence for personal gain. Where his mafia had previously been secular, it now broke up on communal lines. Soon after the
Bombay riots, a series of blasts that took place in Bombay in 1993 and changed Bombay underworld completely, he was accused, both by former colleagues and the police, for orchestrating
the blasts. It is thought that in an attempt to gain political support from religious radicals that would legitimise him as more than a crook, he collaborated with various terrorist organisations. This led to the fragmentation of his criminal empire when
Chotta Rajan, his lieutenant, broke away and gained support of powerful right-wing Hindu Nationalist politicians. Soon after the
bombings he was forced to flee the city (now renamed
Mumbai) and the country.
Dawood Ibrahim reportedly now lives in Karachi or Dubai, and controls what is left of
D-Company from there. The last known public contact with him was when a
Times reporter once interviewed Dawood in Karachi.
The Indian Mafia in the meantime has spread to other parts of India and has diversified onto various activities. In Mumbai, with the adoption of new police policies, crime has been going down in Mumbai and the mafia has been forced to flee the city to safer havens. Many of its crime bosses operate from different parts of the world, controlling the Mafia within India.
Mumbai underworld today
underworld of
Mumbai, the most populous city in
India and capital of
Maharashtra state, is a criminal network, which thrives on
extortion,
drugs and
prostitution. The underworld is controlled by three or four major
gangs, but most of them have been on the run from law recently.
The underworld's activities are not just limited to organized crime. Many 'dons' are supposedly linked to the heart of India's entertainment industry, otherwise known as
Bollywood. The main role played by the underworld is that of financing the productions, although some outfits aim to control the script content and other thematic elements of the plot.
The Mumbai underworld today doesn't exist as one single gang, like the former
D-Company, but rather as a collection of gangs which have formed from the parent gangs' split. Some are;
Chotta Shakeel and
Abu Salem gang (also known as
D-Company),
Chotta Rajan gang,
Ejaz Lakdawala gang and
Arun Gawli gang, as well as other gangs which have arisen recently. Drug trade still continues with other parts of the world from Mumbai, and the city still sees a lot of bloody shootouts between gang members and police.
Indian mafia in popular culture
In the 1970s, many of the most well known classic
Bollywood movies were based around themes of fighting criminals and corruption at a time when crime was rising, and authorities were powerless. Classical
Amitabh Bachchan films such as
Zanjeer,
Don, and
Amar Akbar Anthony depicted the underworld and heroes trying to overcome it. The Indian mafia has also been depicted in several films by
Ram Gopal Varma, including
Company by Ajay Devgan. Kamal Haasan played the lead role in the Tamil movie Naayagan, directed by Mani Ratnam. This is the only Indian film in last century in TIME magazine. This movie represented Mumbai Don Varadha Bhai's life(Varadharaja Mudhaliar)
Bollywood connections
The Indian mafia is notoriously very heavily involved in the film industry, providing films with funding and using them as fronts for other activities. Although in recent times police investigations have forced mobsters to make their activities more subtle, for most of Bollywood's existence stars openly displayed their mafia connections, attending parties with mafia dons and using their help to gain new roles.
Other cities
Muthappa Rai is one of the prominent figures in the Bangalore underworld.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Mumbai Underworld'.
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