Bhiwandi Knowledge Guide

History

Bhiwandi was initially inhabited by the Kolis and Konkanis who were fishermen and used to live near the Konkan sea coast. Bhiwandi was once a trading town as it had its own port (Bandargah) in Bunder Mohalla. The Mughals built their Eidgah in Bhiwandi which is today located at Eidgah Road.The city of Kolis was known by the name Kolwan. The tribal people of the region of Konkan were called Kolis and they are traditional fishermen. Some of the traditional wooden fishing boats can be seen even today in the Bhiwandi area. The Kolis have their own customs and speak a different dialect of Marathi.Bhiwandi city's total population was about half a million in 2001. The bulk of the population forms the workforce for a number of textile and other industries. The first textile loom was set up by Khan Saheb Samad Seth in 1927. He told the local people to sell gold and purchase iron. His slogan was "sona becho aur lokhand kharido", which means invest your money in power looms by selling the golds you have. Today the city of Bhiwandi has about half a million power looms, though handlooms are few in number. For this reason, Bhiwandi is known as 'Manchester of India'.