History Of Thane

T hroughout 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 earlist evidence of Thane appears in the works of the Greek geographer, ptolemy, who, in his writings ( 135 - 150 AD) refers to a place called Chersonesus, which, according to researches, is the area around Thane creek.

The city crops up again in the Middle Ages and slabs and copper plates dating back to the period have been discovered in 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 Sthanaka.

The great Venetian traveller Macro Polo too, in the course of his wandering set foot in Thane in 1290 AD. He describes the city as a greatkingdom, which apparently had a well-developed port, for he mentions a continous traffic of ships, and merchants trading and exporting leather, buckram, cotton, and importing horses.In fact, the present day Ghodbunder is said to be the site where horses were unloaded from ships.

Friar Jordanus, a great traveller, who visited the city between AD 1321 and 1324, describes it as being under a Muslim governer. 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 port from which ships sailed to the gulf carrying a kind of cloth called 'Tanasi' which was produced in Thane. Duarte Barbosa, a noted traveller, 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 to Thane about 1530 and ruled for over 200 years till 1739. Thane was then known as Cacabe de Tana. Work on the Thane Fort began in 1730.

The Marathas, who conquered Bassein and Thane in 1737 and 1739, held sway over the region till 1784, when the British captured thr Fort and ruled Thane, then also called Tana. They made it the headquarters of the district administration with a district collector stationed in Thane. The 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.

Year	Event
997	Capital of Shrilahar King
1340	Ibna-Batula wrote about Thane
1663	St. Jon Baptist Church built
1754	Subhedar Bivalkar of Peshwa was staying in the old district Court building
1760	Kaupineshwar Mandir renovated by Subhedar Bivalkar
1774	Thane population crosses 9000.
1780	Parsee Agyari built by Deshavji Sorabji Rustomji Patel.
1818	Vithal Mandir on Station Road
1821	B.J.School started
1824-1827	Collector office built
1835-1836	Civil Hospital built
1838	Thane Fort is converted to Thane Prison
1850	Population 11120
1853	Bombay - Thane Railway Line. First rail train started from Bombay to Thane at 3.30 pm on 16/04/1853 with 400 passengers
1855	Railway station bridge constructed
1863	Thane Municipal Corporation inauguration on 10/03/63
1863	Thane - Kalwa ridge
1866	First Weekly "Arunodhya". Editor K.V.Phadke
1879	Israel Jew Church built. Jain Temple on Tembhi Naka built
1881	Pokhran lake built
1882	Panvel Taluka transferred from Thane to Raigad
1890	M.H. High School started with 34 students
1898	L.K.Bhave wrote book Maharashtra Saraswat giving information on old Marathi literature
1901	Mental Hospital built
1910	Freedom Fighter 'Kanhere' hanged in Thane jail
1914	Kalwa Bridge near Colour Chem completed
1916	Gaondevi Temple built
1922	Central Maidan resumed as Playground (Area 19380 sq. yards)
1923	Noori Baba Darga built
1926	Electric railway line on Kurla - Thane section
1928	Electric railway line on Thane - Kalyan section
1932	Dr. Bedekar Vidya Mandir started
1935	Brahman Shikshan Mandal
1940	Prabhat Theatre built
1948	Shop & Establishment Act made applicable to Thane
1950	Marathi Grantha Sangrahalaya Building
1954	Mansunda Tank cleared
1955	State Bank of India started
1957	Mulund area joined to Bombay Corporation
1958	Thane Rotary Club started
1959	New Station Road parallel to Old Station Road built.
1960	Thane Student H.C. Pradhan stood first in S.S.I. Exam
1962-65	Raymond, Modella, Voltas, Kores, Colourchem, Roche, Nocil, PIL, etc.
1969	Underground drainage for Thane city
1972	New Thane Creek bridge joining Sion and Panvel completed.
1977	MSEB started Electric Supply
1978	TSSIA first big meeting of Small Scale Industries at St. John Baptist Hall - Chief Guest George Fernandes
1979	Gadkari Rangayatan - Drama Theatre inaugurated
1980	Dnyan Sadhana College started
1981	Thane Population 4.72 Lakhs
1982	1st Oct. Thane Municipality changed to Thane Corporation
1984	Air survey of Thane area by TMC