Mumbai’s iconic and most famous historical landmark, the Gateway of India, located on the Arabian Sea in Colaba, South Mumbai, celebrated its glorious centennial anniversary, on 4^th December, 2024. The stunning Indo-Saracenic arch monument was built to commemorate the historic arrival King George V, for his Coronation as the Emperor of India a few days later, and Emperor Consort – Mary, of Great Britain, on 2nd December, 1911. This marked the first ever visit by a British Monarch to India, a British Colony then.

Marking the momentous occasion, Maharashtra’s Chief Postmaster General, Amitabh Singh, released a Commemorative Special Cancellation and Picture Postcard in the presence of top officials, to honour the Gateway of India’s 100-year legacy, showcasing its grandeur and architectural beauty.

The Gateway’s foundation stone was laid on 31^st March, 1913, by Sir George Sydenham Clarke, the then Governor of Bombay and the design was finalized the next year, by George Wittet. For its construction (undertaken by Gammon India), on Apollo Bunder which was earlier a native fishing ground, much land was reclaimed and a sea-wall was built. Some of Wittet’s other significant creations include the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya – formerly, the Prince of Wales Museum; the Institute of Science, the KEM Hospital, the Small Causes Court, the Bombay House (Tata Group headquarters), the Wadia Hospital, all located in South Mumbai.

Work on it started in March 1913 and was completed in 11 years, with the inauguration done on December 4, 1924, by the then Viceroy of India, Rufus D. Isaacs, throwing it open to the public, to become a popular tourism site. It was subsequently utilised as a symbolic ceremonial grand entrance for important official visitors and dignitaries. After India gained Independence, the First Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, the last British troop to leave India, went through the Gateway with a 21-gun salute, on February 28, 1948, heralding the end of the British Raj.

The structure, comprising a 26-metre-high arch and central dome of 15 metres diameter, was built of yellow basalt and reinforced concrete, with local stones, while the perforated screens were from Gwalior. Built in Indo-Islamic and Gujarati style architecture, the Gateway of India is located diagonally opposite its equally famous neighbour, the Hotel Taj Mahal Palace (opened in 1903).

Flanked by five jetties, thousands of excited tourists and locals enjoy fun harbour rides in motorboats, or head to the Elephanta Caves (a UNESCO site), or Alibaug, via the Arabian Sea, enjoying the view of the Gateway and Hotel Taj Mahal Palace, in a single frame. After both of these became terror targets during the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, stringent security measures were enforced in the vicinity.