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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.

Forensic Battle Against Counterfeit Medicines

In India, counterfeit medicines have quietly become a serious threat, even reaching legitimate shops and hospitals.

India is now increasingly threatened by the growing menace of counterfeit medicines. Counterfeit medicines are fake drugs that look just like the real ones but might not work—or worse, they could harm health. Fake medicines often contain no real ingredients, wrong substances, or harmful chemicals, yet are packaged with labels, logos and seals to look authentic. In India, where medicines are used by millions every day, counterfeit drugs have quietly become a serious threat, even reaching trusted shops and hospitals. These illicit drugs find their way into legitimate supply chains. As counterfeiters grow more sophisticated, spotting and stopping these drugs is increasingly critical.


Counterfeiters target multiple parts of a drug’s presentation. They even exploit the names of reputed pharmaceutical companies to circulate fake medicines in the market, deceiving both regulators and consumers. Counterfeit tablets or capsules often mimic the colour, shape, and size of real drugs but may lack active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) or contain harmful substitutes. They differ in texture, weight, and dissolution. Common signs include incorrect fonts, misspellings, poor logos, fake QR codes or holograms that don't link to verification databases, and low-quality packaging. Batch numbers and expiry dates are often printed with non-standard inks, and tamper-evident seals are typically forged, lacking proper pressure sensitivity or adhesive bonding of the genuine products. Counterfeiters use fake licences and illegal manufacturers to dodge regulation.


India is tackling counterfeit drugs with a multi-layered strategy combining forensic science and regulation. Key steps include QR code-based serialisation for full drug traceability and upgrading state and central forensic labs into specialised pharma forensics units. These labs use tools such as Raman spectroscopy, infrared analysis, and AI databases. Experts use visual and digital autopsies to examine packaging and contents, while digital forensics from phones and computers uncovers networks. Fingerprint analysis links suspects to crime scenes, and psychological profiling aids in understanding perpetrators. This integrated approach helps to detect, trace, and dismantle fake drug operations to safeguard public health.


The Parliamentary Standing Committee's fifth report (2024–25) flags widespread spurious drugs and a misleadingly low 5.9% conviction rate. Of 2.3 lakh samples tested (2015–2019), 593 were spurious and 9,266 substandard, yet only 35 convictions occurred. In April 2025, 196 drug samples were declared ‘Not of Standard Quality (NSQ)—60’ by central labs and 136 by state labs. Similar concerns were raised in March 2025 and December 2024, when 135 NSQ drugs were flagged.


Key counterfeit medicine hubs in India include Delhi-NCR, Baddi, Kolkata, Patna, Mumbai, and parts of UP and Hyderabad. These areas are exploited for their pharma activity, weak oversight, and transport access, aiding fake drug production and distribution.


There is currently no centralised national database to track counterfeit medicine cases, which allows repeat offenders to secure bail relatively quickly after serving only a short period in police or judicial custody. Although violators are subjected to provisions under the Drug and Cosmetics Act, enforcement remains challenging.


In November 2024, the Supreme Court issued a notice based on a petition filed by the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance seeking clear guidelines for prosecuting counterfeit drug offences. In March 2025, the Delhi High Court ruled in favour of Johnson & Johnson, imposing a ₹3.34 crore penalty on Medserve for selling counterfeit medical devices, emphasising the serious threat to public health.


ANTF and DCA Telangana have led multiple successful raids, seizing counterfeit, expired, and unlicensed drugs and arresting key offenders. These actions, supported by the Pharma Task Force and State Drug Officers, disrupted major fake medicine networks. Tackling counterfeit drugs is a critical public health issue, demanding stronger forensic tools, digital traceability, and coordinated national action to safeguard lives and the pharma industry’s integrity.


(Dr. Kumar is a former IPS officer and forensic consultant to Assam government. Das is a student of FSU, Guwahati. Views personal.)

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