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To the Layman,Thane's sole claim is the fact that the firstrailway
train ran between Thane and Bombay on April 16, 1853. However,
the city's link to history is not so tenious and dates back
to antiquity. Throughout recorded history the city has left
its mark under various names. However, it's present-day name
is said to be derived from Sthan or Sthanaka, the capital
of the Shilahara kings of Konkan. The earliest evidence of
Thane appears in the works of the Greek geographer, Ptolemy,
who in his writings (l35 - 150 AD) refers to a place called
Chersonesus, which, according to researchers is the area around
Thane creek. The city crops up again in the Middle Ages ans
slabs and copper plates dating back to the period have been
discovered by Thane. One of them, dug up from the foundations
of Thane Fort in 1787, dated 1078 AD, is apparently a land
grant from Arikesara Devaraja, sovereign of the city of tagara,
wherein he address the inhabitants of a city called Sri Sthanka.
The
great Venetian traveller Marco Polo, too, in the course of
his wandering set of foots in Thane in 1290 AD. He discribes
the city as the great kingdom, which apperently had a well-
developed port, for he mentions a continious traffic of ships,
and merchants trading and exporting leather, buckram, cotton,
and importing horses. In fact, the site where horses were
unloaded from ships.
Friar
Jordanus a great traveller, who visited the city between AD
1321 and l324, describes it as being under a Muslim governor.
He leaves a detailed sketch of early Christians in Thane and
refers to the martyrdom of four Christian priests in the region,
more than 200 years before the portuguese ever set foot in
India. The celebrated Ibn Batuta and Abul feda, contemporaries
of Friar Jordanus, also came here. They refer to Thane as
Kukin Tana and speak of its fame as a pot from which ships
sailed to the gulf carrying a kind of cloth called 'Tanasi'
which was produced in Thane. Duarte Barbosa, a noted travellers,
described Thane by the name Tana Mayambu 25 years before the
portuguese conquest. He paints a vivid picture of the town
as one of Moorish mosques and temples, with many pleasant
gardens. The Portuguese came and ruled for over was then known
as the Thane Fort began in 1530 and ruled for over 200 years
till 1739. Thane was then known as Cacade de Tana. Work on
the Thane Fort began in 1730. The Marathas, who conquered
Bassein and Thane in l737 and 1739, held sway over the region
till 1784, the British captured the Fort and ruled Thane,
then also called Tanna. They made it the headqurters of the
district administration with a district collector stationed
in Thane.
Thane
Muncipal Council was formed in 1863 when the city had a population
of 9000 souls. After independence, Thane grew slowly and attained
the status of an industrial town in the 60's and 70's. There
was also a corresponding growth in trade, transport and construction
activities, which picked up tremendously in the 80's. The
90's has seen the city burgeoning ahead, with great stride
in construction and housing. The population has also increased
manifold and Thane now occupies pride of place as a prime
suburb and is all set to make its mark in the next millennium.
Special
inputs by Mr. Joe Alvarez
Picture courtesy: Late Sari Dynaeshvwar Shejwel
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