Chawls of Bombay


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Chawls of Bombay

Chawls of Bombay: The rich Parsi, Muslim, upper caste traders, industrialists of Bombay lived in spacious bungalows. But more than 70 per cent of the working people lived in the thickly populated chawls of Bombay. Chawls were multi-storeyed structures, which had been build since the 1860s in the native parts of the town. Each chawl was divided into smaller one-room tenements, which had no private toilets. These houses were largely owned by private landlords like merchants, bankers and building contractors. The homes were small, so streets and neighbourhoods were used for a variety of activities like cooking, washing and sleeping and also for social functions. Liquor shops and akharas came up in any empty spot. Chawls were also the place for the exchange of news about strikes, riots, jobs or political demonstrations.

Mill Neighbourhood and Housing difficulty of Poor: Caste and family groups in the mill neighbourhood were headed by someone, who was similar to a village headman. Sometimes, the jobber in the mills became the local neighbourhood leader. People belonging to the depressed classes found it very difficult to find houses. Sometimes, they had to live in shelters made of corrugated sheets, leaves or bamboo poles. Planning in London emerged from the fears of social revolution and planning in Bombay came out as a result of fears about plague epidemic.

Establishment of Bombay Improvement Trust: To overcome the problem of housing, Bombay Improvement Trust was established in 1898. It focused on clearing poorer homes out of the city centre. By 1918, only 14000 were rehoused out of 64000 displaced persons. In 1918, Rent Act was passed to keep rents reasonable. But, it could not solve the severe housing crisis as landlords withdrew houses from the market.

 
 


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