| Summary/Abstract |
This paper attempts to understand the development of Thane, a suburban city of Mumbai, by focusing on two moments, nearly a century apart, that contributed to its identity in formative ways. The first is the introduction of the first railway passenger train service in India between Bombay and Thane in 1853, and the second is the setting up of the first industrial estate in the state of Maharashtra in Thane in 1961. Despite spanning different periods and actors, the two moments share the same theme: dispersal from Bombay, of people in the first case and industries in the second, which resulted in Thane acquiring the status of first a suburb, and then an industrial city. These identities involve a certain degree of functionality in terms of Thane’s relationship with the larger metropolis of Mumbai, but simultaneously also give a distinct character to Thane’s trajectory of development.
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