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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Seventy-six mayors ruled BMC since 1931

After four years, Mumbai to salute its first citizen Kishori Pednekar Vishwanath Mahadeshwar Snehal Ambekar Sunil Prabhu Mumbai: As the date for appointing Mumbai’s First Citizen looms closer, various political parties have adopted tough posturing to foist their own person for the coveted post of Mayor – the ‘face’ of the country’s commercial capital. Ruling Mahayuti allies Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena have vowed that the city...

Seventy-six mayors ruled BMC since 1931

After four years, Mumbai to salute its first citizen Kishori Pednekar Vishwanath Mahadeshwar Snehal Ambekar Sunil Prabhu Mumbai: As the date for appointing Mumbai’s First Citizen looms closer, various political parties have adopted tough posturing to foist their own person for the coveted post of Mayor – the ‘face’ of the country’s commercial capital. Ruling Mahayuti allies Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena have vowed that the city will get a ‘Hindu Marathi’ person to head India’s richest civic body, while the Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT)-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena also harbour fond hopes of a miracle that could ensure their own person for the post. The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) optimism stems from expectations of possible political permutations-combinations that could develop with a realignment of forces as the Supreme Court is hearing the cases involving the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party this week. Catapulted as the largest single party, the BJP hopes to install a first ever party-man as Mayor, but that may not create history. Way back in 1982-1983, a BJP leader Dr. Prabhakar Pai had served in the top post in Mumbai (then Bombay). Incidentally, Dr. Pai hailed from Udupi district of Karnataka, and his appointment came barely a couple of years after the BJP was formed (1980), capping a distinguished career as a city father, said experts. Originally a Congressman, Dr. Pai later shifted to the Bharatiya Janata Party, then back to Congress briefly, founded the Janata Seva Sangh before immersing himself in social activities. Second Administrator The 2026 Mayoral elections have evoked huge interest not only among Mumbaikars but across the country as it comes after nearly four years since the BMC was governed by an Administrator. This was only the second time in the BMC history that an Administrator was named after April 1984-May 1985. On both occasions, there were election-related issues, the first time the elections got delayed for certain reasons and the second time the polling was put off owing to Ward delimitations and OBC quotas as the matter was pending in the courts. From 1931 till 2022, Mumbai has been lorded over by 76 Mayors, men and women, hailing from various regions, backgrounds, castes and communities. They included Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Parsis, Sikhs, even a Jew, etc., truly reflecting the cosmopolitan personality of the coastal city and India’s financial powerhouse. In 1931-1932, the Mayor was a Parsi, J. B. Boman Behram, and others from his community followed like Khurshed Framji Nariman (after whom Nariman Point is named), E. A. Bandukwala, Minoo Masani, B. N. Karanjia and other bigwigs. There were Muslims like Hoosenally Rahimtoola, Sultan M. Chinoy, the legendary Yusuf Meherally, Dr. A. U. Memon and others. The Christian community got a fair share of Mayors with Joseph A. D’Souza – who was Member of Constituent Assembly representing Bombay Province for writing-approving the Constitution of India, M. U. Mascarenhas, P. A. Dias, Simon C. Fernandes, J. Leon D’Souza, et al. A Jew Elijah Moses (1937-1938) and a Sikh M. H. Bedi (1983-1984), served as Mayors, but post-1985, for the past 40 years, nobody from any minority community occupied the august post. During the silver jubilee year of the post, Sulochana M. Modi became the first woman Mayor of Mumbai (1956), and later with tweaks in the rules, many women ruled in this post – Nirmala Samant-Prabhavalkar (1994-1995), Vishakha Raut (997-1998), Dr. Shubha Raul (March 2007-Nov. 2009), Shraddha Jadhav (Dec. 2009-March 2012), Snehal Ambedkar (Sep. 2014-March 2017). The last incumbent (before the Administrator) was a government nurse, Kishori Pednekar (Nov. 2019-March 2022) - who earned the sobriquet of ‘Florence Nightingale’ of Mumbai - as she flitted around in her full white uniform at the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic, earning the admiration of the citizens. Mumbai Mayor – high-profile post The Mumbai Mayor’s post is considered a crucial step in the political ladder and many went on to become MLAs, MPs, state-central ministers, a Lok Sabha Speaker, Chief Ministers and union ministers. The formidable S. K. Patil was Mayor (1949-1952) and later served in the union cabinets of PMs Jawaharlal Nehru, Lah Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi; Dahyabhai V. Patel (1954-1955) was the son of India’s first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel; Manohar Joshi (1976-1977) became the CM of Maharashtra, later union minister and Speaker of Lok Sabha; Chhagan Bhujbal (1985-1986 – 1990-1991) became a Deputy CM.

Father of Indian Astrophysics dies at 86

Mumbai: Globally renowned scientist, Dr. Jayant Vishnu Narlikar – acknowledged as the Father of Indian Astrophysics – passed away peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday, officials and associates said.


He was 86 and breathed his last early today at his residence here. Dr. Narlikar is survived by three daughters and their families.


His wife Mangala - a Mathematician who served as a lecturer at TIFR and University of Mumbai besides Savitribai Phule Pune University - passed away in 2023.


Dr. Narlikar’s final rites will be performed tomorrow (May 21), said an official of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), of which he was the founder.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Governor C. P. Radhakrishnan, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other dignitaries mourned the passing of Dr. Narlikar by offering glowing tributes to his lifetime of scientific achievements and contributions.


Born on July 19, 1938, in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, Dr. Narlikar hailed from a family steeped in academia. His father, Vishnu Vasudev Narlikar, was a renowned mathematician, Professor and Head of Department at the Banaras Hindu University and his mother, Sumati Narlikar, was a Sanskrit language scholar.


The young Narlikar pursued his early education in Varanasi before moving to the University of Cambridge, where he completed his Ph.D. under the mentorship of Sir Fred Hoyle.


As he continued to blaze new trails in his chosen field, in 1972, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi invited Dr. Narlikar back to India to help boost the development of science in the 25-years young Republic.


Accordingly, he joined the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and served in several other prestigious assignments till a major turning point in his career.


In 1988, he founded the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune, served as its first Director and shaped it into a premier institution for research and training in astronomy.


“His vision for the institute, dubbed the “Eightfold Way”, emphasized not only excellence in astronomy research but also outreach to University faculty, guidance to PhD students, access to latest observational facilities for Indian astronomers as well as science outreach and education for school children and the wider public,” said an IUCAA official.


Beyond his scientific endeavors, Dr. Narlikar was a prolific writer and communicator who penned numerous books and articles in English, Hindi, and Marathi, aiming to make science accessible to the general masses.


His works ranged from advanced scientific treatises to science fiction, reflecting his commitment to fostering scientific temper across society.


All through his illustrious scientific career, Dr. Narlikar was decorated with numerous national and international accolades, including the Padma Bhushan (1965) and the Padma Vibhushan (2004), India's third and second-highest civilian honors, respectively.


He was also honored with the UNESCO Kalinga Prize for the popularization of science in 1996 and the Prix Jules Janssen from the French Astronomical Society in 2004.


Dr. Narlikar’s legacy as a scientist, educator, and communicator will endure, continuing to inspire both the scientific community and the public for generations to come.


Visionary scientist extraordinaire

An internationally acclaimed Indian Astrophysicist, a visionary, passionate science writer and communicator, Dr. Narlikar’s passing marks the end of an extraordinary chapter in Indian science.


Over the course of a remarkable career spanning more than five decades, he made groundbreaking contributions to cosmology, challenged prevailing scientific orthodoxy, and dedicated himself to making science accessible to the broader public.


Dr. Narlikar is best known for co-developing the ‘Hoyle–Narlikar Theory of Gravity’ — an alternative to Albert Einstein’s General Relativity — and for championing the steady-state theory of the universe, a bold counterpoint to the widely accepted Big Bang model.

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