Kamothe Navi Mumbai: Secret History

Under the British rule, the Kamothe Navi Mumbai today was a part and parcel of the Bombay Presidency, an important administrative territory within the British Empire. Kamothe itself was a rural and agrarian village, with little first hand appearance in British sources and its history is tied to the larger trends in the area. The following is a brief description of context of Kamothe Navi Mumbai in the British era:

• Agriculture: The Kamothe Navi Mumbai and its surrounding region was mostly agricultural region and the cultivated produce mainly included rice, millets, pulses. Farmers used to cultivate under the conventional rural agricultural practices and depended on rainfall as well.
• Taxation: The British levied heavy land taxes in the Ryotwari system that in most occasions affected the local farming population.
• Salt Production: Salt production was another significant production in the coast by Navi Mumbai during British rule. The Salt Taxing and monopolizing of salt was enacted in the Salt Acts, although indirectly residents were affected of Kamothe Navi Mumbai, particularly when demonstrations such as the Salt Satyagraha (1930) took place.
• Railways: The British came up with railways in the region but the Panvel region (nearer to Kamothe Navi Mumbai) was more connected since that was a transit point. Even Kamothe Navi Mumbai was a lonely place, just by minor routes and the local waters.
• Trade: The economy of Kamothe was indirectly affected by the trade interests that the British had in Bombay (Mumbai).