As Bombay expanded in the late 19th century and early 20th century, it developed a strong library culture, which came to be organised along various lines – religious communities, neighbourhoods, and secular educational institutions.
On the one hand, there were community-led libraries, such as the Mulla Firoz Library (established in 1830), containing books relating to Zoroastrian religion, the Jain Reading Room and Library, the Jamestji Nasarwanji Petit Fore Reading Room and Library by Parsis, the MJ Khoja Library and the Anjuman-i-Islam by Muslims. On the other hand, there were strong neighbourhood libraries, such as the Native General Library (established in 1845) in Dhobi Talao and Sr D Petit Khanda Mohalla Library in Nizampura.
Some of these libraries were free and open to all; others charged a fee. Besides, there were society libraries that had the largest collections of books, such as the BBRA Society, containing 90,000 books; the Sassoon Mechanics’ Institute Library, containing 14,000 books; the Blavatsky Lodge Library, containing 2000 books; and the Bombay Natural History Society’s Library, containing 1000 books.
Bombay workers, however, were absent from these libraries. They attended small and ephemeral libraries established in chawls. Some read bhajan books in mills; while others borrowed books from circulating or travelling libraries, established by the...
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