Haji Mastan

Last updated

Haji Mastan Mirza
Haji Mastan Mirza.jpg
Born(1926-03-01)1 March 1926
Ramanathapuram, Madras Presidency, British India
(now in Tamil Nadu, India)
Died25 June 1994(1994-06-25) (aged 68)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Political party Bharatiya Minorities Suraksha Mahasangh
SpouseSafra Bai
Children3

HajiMastan Popularly known as Sultan Mirza, was an organised crime gang leader, originally from Tamil Nadu and based in Bombay. He was one of an infamous trio of mafia gang leaders in Bombay for over two decades from the 1960s to the early 1980s, along with Karim Lala leader of the Pathan gang, and Varadarajan Mudaliar, another famous gang leader from Tamil Nadu in South India. [1]

Contents

At his peak, Mastan operated a powerful smuggling syndicate in Mumbai and along the Gujarat coast and later diversified into film financing and real estate business.

Mastan was known to be a shrewd businessman and a cunning deal-maker. He always maintained friendly relations with the police and government officials and often promoted peace between rival gangs, and was good friends with Lala, Mudaliar, Hassan Patni and Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray. [1] [2]

Very early in his career, Mastan realized the importance of being seen among famous personalities from politics and the film industry as a symbol of power. Therefore, he hobnobbed among the city's rich and famous and was frequently seen with Bollywood personalities at public functions. [2]

Mastan was arguably the most influential mafia don of his time. He was also seen as a "style icon" by many due to his extravagant lifestyle including immaculate white clothes, white shoes, white Mercedes cars and expensive gold watches. Mastan flaunted an extravagant lifestyle to appear affluent and influential. [1]

Early life

Haji Mastan was born in 1926 in a Tamil Muslim family in Panaikulam, an area mostly inhabited by Tamil Muslims in the Madras Presidency (modern-day Tamil Nadu) of British India. He lived in the coastal town of Cuddalore before migrating to Bombay with his father at the age of 8. [3] [4]

Mastan started doing odd jobs as a small boy in the famous Crawford Market and soon joined the docks and started working long hours there.[ citation needed ] During his early twenties, due to the high import duty on gold, people started smuggling gold from overseas. Working in the docks made it easy for him to participate in smuggling and soon Mastan started his own business. Mastan began making a decent sum of money by diverting his sectors into this business. At an early age he also went on Hajj. [1]

Adult life and death

Mastan joined hands with Sukkur Narayan Bakhia, a smuggler from Daman to control the illegal items smuggled into Mumbai and Daman from the countries in the Persian Gulf. Mastan purchased properties at various locations in South Bombay including a sea-facing bungalow at Peddar Road. He lived in a small room built on the roof of his bungalow. [5]

Mastan ventured into film financing later in his life, providing producers in Mumbai with some much-needed funds. He eventually turned into a film producer himself. He also had business interests in real estate, electronic goods, and hotels. He owned several electronic shops in Musafir Khana near Crawford Market. [5]

Mastan maintained good relations with the other gang leaders. When inter-gang rivalry in Mumbai began to increase, he called all the top gang leaders together and split Mumbai between the gangs so that they could operate without coming into conflict. In this the mafia queen, Jenabai Daruwali helped him. [6] Earlier Jenabai was known as Chavalvali, as she was doing business of selling ration in black market. But as she was ambitious, she developed contacts with the then liquor producer and seller, Varadarajan Mudliar alias Varda Bhai. After this, she came to be known as Jenabai Daruwali. Jenabai had good relations with Mastan, the Dawood Ibrahim family, and Karim Lala Pathan. So with the consent of Mastan she arranged a meeting of all rivals under one roof of Mastan's pedder road bungalow called Batul Suroor. [5]

Later in life, Mastan did not take a direct role in running his gang, but instead, he depended on right-hand men like Lala and Mudaliar to carry out his smuggling operations and intimidate rivals and debtors. [7] Mastan was especially close to Mudaliar as they were both from Tamil Nadu. When Mudaliar died, Mastan hired a private chartered plane to bring his body to Mumbai for the final rites.

During the Indian Emergency, he was imprisoned. Whilst in prison, he was influenced by the ideals of politician Jaiprakash Narayan and also began learning Hindi.

After his release from prison, Mastan entered politics and formed a political party in 1980-81 and named it Dalit Muslim Surakhsha Maha Sangh in 1985 which was later renamed as Bharatiya Minorities Suraksha Mahasangh currently led by Sundar Shaekhar[ citation needed ]

Mastan died of cardiac arrest on 25 June 1994.

Related Research Articles

Arun Gulab Gawli also known as Arun Gulab Ahir, is an Indian politician, underworld don and retired gangster. Gawli and his brother Kishor (Pappa) entered the Mumbai underworld in the 1970s, when they joined the "Byculla Company", a criminal gang led by Rama Naik and Babu Reshim, operating in the central Mumbai areas of Byculla, Parel and Saat Rasta. In 1988, after Rama Naik was killed in a police encounter, Gawli took over the gang and began operating it from his residence, Dagdi Chawl. Under his control, the gang controlled most criminal activities in the central Mumbai areas. Throughout the late eighties and nineties, Gawli's gang was involved in a power struggle with Dawood Ibrahim's D-Company gang. Gawli is also the founder of the Akhil Bharatiya Sena political party based in Maharashtra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D-Company</span> Indian criminal organization

D-Company is a name coined by the Indian media for one of Mumbai underworld's organized crime syndicate founded and controlled by Dawood Ibrahim, an Indian crime boss, drug dealer and wanted terrorist. In 2011, Ibrahim, along with his D-Company, was number three on FBI's "The World's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives" list.

Organised crime in India refers to organised crime elements originating in India and active in many parts of the world. The purpose of organised crime in India, as elsewhere in the world, is monetary gain. Its virulent form in modern times is due to several socio-economic and political factors and advances in science and technology. There is no firm data to indicate the number of organised criminal gangs operating in the country, their membership, their modus operandi, and the areas of their operations. Their structure and leadership patterns may not strictly fall in line with the classical Italian mafia.

Gopal Rajwani was a criminal-politician with the Shiv Sena party, from Ulhasnagar, Maharashtra. Formerly associated with the ganglord Dawood Ibrahim, he joined the Shiv Sena in 1996. He was killed when he was appearing in a court case at Ulhasnagar in January 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karim Lala</span> Indian mobster (1911–2002)

Karim Lala, born as Abdul Karim Sher Khan in the Samalam Village of the Shegal District of the Kunar province of Afghanistan. The other two being Mastan Mirza aka Haji Mastan and Varadarajan Mudaliar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Varadarajan Mudaliar</span> Indian mob boss

Sathuvachari Varadarajan Mudaliar, also known as Vardhabhai and Vardha, was an Indian crime boss. From the early 1960s to the 1980s, he was, along with Karim Lala and Haji Mastan, one of the most powerful mob bosses in Bombay. His origin is Sathuvachari in North Arcot district of Tamil Nadu, from where his father migrated to Tuticorin to work in shipping business. He was born in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu.

<i>Irupatham Noottandu</i> 1987 Indian film

Irupatham Noottandu is a 1987 Indian Malayalam-language gangster film directed by K. Madhu, written by S. N. Swamy and produced by M. Mani. It stars Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, and Ambika. The film's music was composed by Shyam. In the film, Sagar alias Jacky, a maverick youth, runs a gold smuggling racket for Sekharankutty, the son of the Chief Minister Inchakadu Ramakrishna Pillai. Jacky and Sekharankutty's relationship stains after Sekharankutty brings narcotics into the business.

<i>Abhimanyu</i> (1991 film) 1991 Indian film

Abhimanyu is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language crime drama film directed by Priyadarshan and written by T. Damodaran. It stars Mohanlal and Geetha. The plot revolves around the Bombay underworld and the transformation of an innocent guy into a crime boss in the city. The movie is loosely based on the life of Bada Rajan. The tagline of the movie is Crime Never Pays.

Ali Baba Budesh was a notorious Indian extortionist and underworld mobster, based in Bahrain. He was mostly active in 1990s. Fearing backlash from the Mumbai police, Budesh fled to Bahrain in the late eighties, where he opened up his new base of operations in the capital city of Manama. He died in coma as he was suffering from sugar related illness.

Rajan Mahadevan Nair, popularly known in the Mumbai underworld by his moniker Bada Rajan, was an Indian mobster and underworld don from Mumbai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jyotirmoy Dey</span> Indian journalist

Jyotirmoy Dey, also known as Jyotendra Dey, Commander J, and J Dey, was an Indian journalist, crime and investigations editor for Mid-Day and an expert on the Mumbai underworld. He was shot to death by motorcycle-borne sharpshooters on 11 June 2011.

Dawood Ibrahim is an Indian mob boss, drug lord, and terrorist. He reportedly heads the Indian organised crime syndicate D-Company, which he founded in Mumbai in the 1970s. Ibrahim is wanted on charges including murder, extortion, targeted killing, drug trafficking, and terrorism.

<i>Shootout at Wadala</i> 2013 film directed by Sanjay Gupta

Shootout at Wadala is a 2013 Indian action-crime film written and directed by Sanjay Gupta. The film stars Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee, Tusshar Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut and Sonu Sood. It is a prequel to the 2007 film Shootout at Lokhandwala. In the film, Manya, a diligent student, lands in prison for killing a gangster who attacked his brother, Bhargav, who eventually dies. Soon, Manya escapes jail and forms his own gang to seek revenge.

Shabir Ibrahim Kaskar was a notorious Indian criminal based in Mumbai. He was the elder brother of Dawood Ibrahim, the current gang leader of the D-Company. The rise of Shabir and Dawood in Mumbai's underworld and the sympathetic attitude of the Mumbai police department toward them evoked the jealousy and resentment of other established gang members from the Pathan gang that dominated the South Mumbai area. The inter-gang rivalry grew to such an extent that Manya Surve, his gang, along with Amirzada and Alamzeb plotted to kill Shabir and Dawood. On 12 February 1981, they shot Shabir at a petrol pump in Prabhadevi.

<i>Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia</i> Non-fiction book by Hussain Zaidi

Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia is a book by former investigative journalist Hussain Zaidi published in 2012. The book traces the evolution of the Mumbai mafia from a group of thugs and smugglers to the present day mafia dons of organised crime. It traces the journey of Dawood Ibrahim from the by-lanes of Dongri where he first cut his teeth in crime, to Dubai, where he eventually established his empire.

<i>Amma</i> (TV series) Indian crime drama television series

Amma is an Indian crime drama television series that premiered on June 25, 2016, on Zee TV. It was created by Farhn P. Zamma. The show is based on the female underworld don of Mumbai, Jenabai Daruwali.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gangubai Kothewali</span> Indian sex worker and social activist (died 1977)

Gangubai Harjeevandas, better known as Gangubai Kothewali or Gangubai Kathiawadi, was an Indian social activist, sex worker and madam of a brothel in the Kamathipura area of Mumbai during the 1960s. Gangubai worked for the rights of sex workers and for the well-being of orphans. She gradually ended up operating her own brothel and is known to also have lobbied for the rights of commercial sex workers.

<i>Mumbai Mafia: Police vs Underworld</i> 2023 Documentary film

Mumbai Mafia: Police vs The Underworld is a 2023 Netflix documentary film produced by Morgan Matthews and Sophie Jones and directed by Raaghav Dar and Francis Longhurst under banner of Minnow Films. It depicts clashes between Mumbai Police and Indian mafia Dawood Ibrahim and his companions like Abu Salem and others.

<i>Bambai Meri Jaan</i> Indian period crime thriller TV series

Bambai Meri Jaan is an Indian Hindi-language period crime thriller television series produced under the banner of Excel Entertainment. The series stars Kay Kay Menon, Avinash Tiwary, Kritika Kamra, Nivedita Bhattacharya, and Amyra Dastur. It premiered on Amazon Prime Video.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Maheshwari, Dhairya (16 January 2020). "Haji Mastan Mirza: Revisiting the story of underworld don often portrayed as 'Bombay's Robinhood". www.indiatvnews.com.
  2. 1 2 Bureau, ABP News (16 January 2020). "Not Just Indira Gandhi, Sena Founder Bal Thackeray Also Met Underworld good friend of Don Haji Mastan". news.abplive.com. abplive.{{cite news}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  3. ↑ "When Tamil dons ruled Bombay". The Times of India . 2 November 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  4. ↑ Singh, Naveeta (27 December 2007). "Aaquib Hussain's daughter serves legal notice on Don's 'adopted son'". dnaindia.com. Mumbai, India. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 Zaidi, Hussain (9 July 2010). "The reluctant Mafioso". Livemint.
  6. ↑ Varma, Anuradha (29 April 2011). "Meet these Lady Dons from the Underworld | Work & Life". iDiva.
  7. ↑ Virani, Pinki (2001). Once Was Bombay. Penguin UK. ISBN   978-93-5214-074-9 . Retrieved 26 July 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.