India has rapidly evolved over the years, gaining a crucial position on the global stage. This rapid transformation unfolds in the shadows of numerous developing cities. The forgotten infrastructure – abandoned factories, mills, and power stations, all stand as a reminder of the waves of economic transitions that have led to the country being a global power today. But the crumbling facades of these neglected spaces, which are neither completely dead nor alive, narrate long-past forgotten stories that are often overlooked. They occupy a precarious position in the ambiguous zone of contemporary urbanism, making us question what we value in the built fabric.
This concept of neglected and overlooked spaces goes further than the mere physical nature of abandonment. It cherishes the moments of history which embody the city’s evolution, rooting the numerous layers of history, community, and labor in place. When an infrastructural building shuts down, it does not disappear or vanish, it enters this unseen state where its future is undetermined. The possibility of it being left to decay, or to be reimagined, or commodified to serve a different purpose – the prospects are endless.
The Great Mill Heist (Mumbai Edition)
The Girangaon district, “the mill village” in Mumbai embodies this friction. During the 19th century, when the cotton textile industry blew up, the planners of the city capitalized on the opportunity to set up textile mills in central Mumbai. This place became the beacon for people across the state to escape oppression and inequalities. The Textile Strike of 1982 was the beginning to the end of this boom – which now meant that the once predominantly rhythmic clatter of looms was replaced with tall glass buildings reflecting the state of the contemporary urban fabric.
The transformation of the mills to luxury condos stands as the standard practice for the global playbook of urban renewal. As historian Janaki Nair observes, “The erasure of industrial spaces isn’t just about architecture – it’s about the systematic disappearance of certain kinds of labor and the communities built around them.”
The troubling reality of the redevelopment of some of these mills into public spaces like The Phoenix Mills Market city emphasizes the erasure of working-class histories. As historian Rajnarayan Chandavarkar observed before his death, “The mills weren’t just workplaces; they were entire ecosystems of housing, culture, and political organization that simply vanished.”
The Ghost Factories
This erasure becomes even more evident when some industrial projects are not even deemed worthy of reinvention. The Thermal Power Station in Rajghat, Delhi stands as a contradiction to Mumbai’s Girangaon mills. The plant closed its doors in 2015 and now the huge complex is partially demolished and subjected to graffiti with some exposed to the elements. The mills in Mumbai, which are located in a high-value district, this riverside megastructure lives in limbo. The demolition cost is too high but the redevelopment plans are not lucrative, leading to its current state of neglect.
Following along these lines is Kolkata’s jute belt, situated at the banks of the Hooghly River, narrating the story of industrial collapse. The factories, which once made Kolkata the jute capital of the world, now are left abandoned suffering the same fate as Delhi’s Thermal Power Station. These informal settlements and small-scale workshops were not lucrative enough to catch luxury developers’ eyes. The result is a decaying contemporary urban landscape that is filled with remnants of industrial outcasts.
Can Ruins Live Happily Ever After?
While some industrial ruins like Mumbai’s Mills have a good ending to a troublesome life, others are left to an undetermined fate. The transformation, however visually striking it may be, follows the path of gentrification which puts aesthetics before social upliftment. Mumbai’s Girangaon, once the thriving heart of the city’s cotton mill industry, offers the most dramatic metamorphosis. Where the thunder of machinery and the shouts of workers once filled the air, luxury high-rises and high-end retail now dominate. The High Line-inspired redevelopment of some mill lands into manicured public spaces, while aesthetically striking, has come at a cost. The adaptive reuse of Ahmedabad’s Calico Mills as a cultural hub and the grassroots appropriation of abandoned factories by artist collectives point toward more inclusive models of urban regeneration.
The fate of India’s industrial ruins ultimately reflects deeper questions about whose stories get preserved in the urban fabric. When redevelopment prioritizes aesthetics and land value over social continuity, cities lose layers of meaning that can’t be recovered. As Indian cities continue their relentless march toward modernization, these industrial ruins stand as test cases for how we negotiate between the past and future. They challenge us to imagine urban development that honors working-class histories while meeting contemporary needs – not through erasure, but through thoughtful reinvention. The buildings may belong to yesterday, but their afterlife will shape the cities of tomorrow.
References:
admin (2018). The Jute Mill, Silghat. [online] Adventure River Cruises India. Available at: https://adventurerivercruises.com/assam/experience/culture/the-jute-mill-silghat/ [Accessed 25 Apr. 2025].
Mythologies of Mumbai. (2012). Girangaon. [online] Available at: https://mythologiesofmumbai.wordpress.com/about-2/girangaon/ [Accessed 25 Apr. 2025].
ET EnergyWorld (2019). Delhi to shut down Rajghat thermal power plant, use its land for solar park. [online] ETEnergyworld.com. Available at: https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/coal/delhi-to-shut-down-rajghat-thermal-power-plant-use-its-land-for-solar-park/70177420 [Accessed 25 Apr. 2025].
