Perhaps no other city received as much attention from both the British and the independence movement as Bombay - the city that was simultaneously the icon of the Raj and India (as perceived by the West), forming its financial and railway capital, and the place where the Quit India Movement that started the chain of events that led to the Raj's end was launched.

With a cosmopolitan demographic representative of all parts of the country, and a key position as the centre of Bombay State encompassing much of Western India, Bombay is also the focus of a fierce political struggle - as the Maharashtra movement gathers more and more steam, the future of both the city and the state that currently bears its name is in the air. However, with its exploding population, significant political mobilisation, industrialization - especially in the textiles field - and position as India's chief naval logistics hub, Bombay will remain the nation's gateway to the world, and vice-versa.