The run-of-the-‘mill’ mall: A Socio-political Ballad of Bombay

rama raghavan
Oct 16, 2019
4 min read

Bitia Mills, Mumbai

The High Street Phoenix Mall

In a city, social processes and spatial forms are inextricably interrelated (Harvey, 1973). In Bombay, this relationship was in a tug of war wherein the supremacy of one led to the downfall of the other. The capitalist social trajectory post decline of mills is what defaced the spatial forms that arose during the redevelopment of the mill lands. The constant tussle between the bourgeoisie Mill owners and the proletariat workers could possibly have been the reason for this inequitable development, a consequence of which was outlandish built form taking over the city fabric.

Bombay cotton textile mills contributed immensely to the economic, social, political and cultural life of the city. In the 1850’s, they transformed Bombay into an Industrial hub, employing as many as 3, 00,000 workers. There were 58 mills leased to various mill owners at cheap rates by the government. The owners and the workers shared not only a relationship of interdependence but of conflict as well arising from the dominance of the owners. Workers’ unions were formed and subsequently protests were staged against inadequate wages and other oppressive measures. By 1980s, the mills started to shut down owing to various reasons such as opening of the national economy to foreign trade, drastically destabilizing the lives of the workers. To the Mill owners, it was an opportunity to cash the 600 acres of prime land that would making them astronomically rich.

There was a feeble attempt by the government to make it appear that the land issue would be equitably addressed and a study group was set up in 1996 for an integrated development plan for the mill lands. The group headed by Charles Correa presented its report whose key features were division of the land into three equal parts for public housing by MHADA, Open spaces and public amenities under BMC and finally for the mill owners. It also gave suggestions for amalgamation of the land into an integrated master plan that would improve city infrastructure, increase open spaces, adaptively re-use some of the sturdy buildings as offices, studios, etc., compensatory housing for the mill workers, and an overall plan beneficial to all strata of society in Bombay. However a big blow was dealt when the new Congress-NCP Coalition came into power in 2001. The mill land plans drafted by the study group were scrapped and the one-third rule was made applicable only to the open mill land which was a meagre 200 acres out of the 600 acres. The result was that much of the land was developed but the portion meant for BMC and MHADA was blatantly overlooked, the brunt of which the city and the mill workers bore. The new government at that time was an ally of the owners. The plummeting land prices were the obvious give-away of the values that the ruling party harboured. The land had transformed into an economic commodity, the returns of which would be relished by the abettors. The happenings made it obvious that the land was manipulated by ‘hidden mechanisms’. The redistribution of income via the hidden mechanisms adopted naturally benefitted the rich and disadvantaged the poor (Harvey, 1973).

The spatial fabric of the city began echoing with this political polarity. The National Textile Corporation ended up selling most of its mill land to Realty groups at whopping prices. The only way that viability could be achieved on these lands was by getting the government to increase the FSI norms and conceiving luxury residences and commercial centres. Naturally, high rises started sprouting in quaint low- rise neighborhoods rupturing through like javelins.

The victory of the mill owners by way of their ultimate control only illustrated the fact that the city was moving towards a capitalist way of life. The social conflict arising from this event was completely negated. This actually makes one question whether this brewing war between the mill owners and the workers throughout the industrial period of Bombay is what led to the catastrophe of the inequitable development of mill lands. Had there been a shared ownership, the story might have concluded differently.

The mill lands remain as open wounds on the city’s layered skin. Rubbing salt into the wound is the sight of a remnant of a mill-a chimney that struggles to stand tall but remains stunted among whitewashed gimmicky building blocks that were once the flourishing Bitia mills. The buildings now house branded stores frequented by people who pull in their fancy cars. The High Street Phoenix Mall was an adaptive re- use of the Bitia mills. The Mills constructed in 1905 played an important part in the labour movement in Bombay in the 1900s. Now, when people walk into the swanky mall for shopping in branded stores that replace the spinning units, they are completely unaware of the history of this place or the contribution of the workers who shed their blood and sweat to contribute to the city’s economy. The Phoenix mills were developed by the Ruias who themselves ironically were cotton traders. The complex which is now meant only for a particular section of the city is an insult to the working class, especially the mill workers who were an inextricable part of its history.

The politics of space has ruptured the social fabric of cities. Central Bombay had a certain culture woven into it owing to the mills and the working class that came with it. Now the scales have tipped and the resultant culture is entirely alien to the one that existed. Is the working of cities manipulated and its social network dictated by these invisible forces that show their visibility in the drastic changes that materialize at intervals? Can the heterogeneity in social and cultural values of polar groups ever be negotiated to arrive at common ground? What is the consequence on built form when the social make of the city becomes fragmented?

Cities must look at re-configuring development to bridge the gap between social processes and the spatial development to address conflicting groups. As opposed to an imbalanced myopic vision of political and economic dynamics, the approach to space making in a city must be examined in terms of patterns of ownership, interdisciplinary, inclusive policies, projections of spatial form from political processes etc. to achieve a coherent social objective.

Abbreviations:

BMC: Bombay Municipal Corporation

MHADA: Maharashtra Housing and Development Authority

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