A woman was taking her afternoon nap, calm and at peace, when sudden gunshots shattered the silence outside her house. Moments later, she learned that her son had been shot in a gang war. In a slum-like area where even the rain turns life into misery, the streets now carried a stream of blood. It was a terrifying scene, yet in the era of the Mumbai mafia, it was just another ordinary day. The Phenomenon of underworld, also known as Organized Crime in India, particularly the rise of the Indian Mafia, is not merely a story of Violence and Criminals but a chain narrative structured by socio-economic conditions, political dilemma and global opportunities. Despite being termed as Masculine Chaos, this system of power also relies on Feminine interference which makes the Indian Underworld a very Complex Crime network.

Contemporary developments show that while gang structure has weakened, new forms of network ranging from real estate to Illegal Mining, i.e., Sand ( Balu Mafia ). This shift reflects not the disappearance of organised crime, but the shift from the street to modern economic, political and global realities.

From Footpaths to Firearms: The Poverty Pipeline

The roots of the Indian Mafia can be traced back to the 1950s and 1960s in the City of Dreams 'Bombay ( now Mumbai ), particularly in densely populated and economically deprived areas. According to NCRBs ; Prison Statistics India ( PSI ) reports , which serve as a stark minor of social reality. The numbers tell a heavy story : nearly 65% - 68% of the people behind bars are either illiterate or never made it to Matriculation. When we layer that with the fact that about two thirds of the prison population comes from SC, ST and OBC communities, it becomes clear that the “underworld” isn't just a collection of random bad actors it is largely recruited from the margins of the society.

Hubs like Dongri and Byculla were marked by rapid urban migration, unemployment, and limited access to legitimate economic opportunities. For young men , crime was not initially a calculated choice but a survival strategy.

Early criminal activities were largely unorganised and included petty theft, street violence, and small extortion. However, the lack of effective policing and weak institutional control allowed these activities to grow unchecked. Over time, Criminals began to recognize the profitability of illegal operations, gradually organizing themselves into structured groups.

In summary, when young undertrials are from poor socio - economic and educational backgrounds, their life chances get reduced, they may get pulled into a life of crime impacting not only them but their families.

From Pavement to Power: The Blue-Collar Roots of the Mafia

As competition intensified and profits grew , these gangs began to organise themselves more systematically. Leadership hierarchies were established , and now operations become more coordinated. This marked the transition from fragmented criminal groups to structured syndicates capable of managing large-scale operations. This transition was led by influential figures such as Haji Mastan, Karim Lala and Dawood Ibrahim.

Haji mastan and Karim Lala were among the earliest to establish large-scale smuggling operations, particularly during a time when India’s restrictive economic policies created a thriving a Black market. Smuggling of Gold, electronics, and other goods became highly profitable, and these figures built extensive networks that even later extended India’s Borders. Dawood Ibrahim, however, represented a new phase in the evolution of the mafia. Coming from a modest background, he entered the world of crime at a young age and quickly rose through the ranks due to ambition, strategic thinking and willingness to use violence. His D Company has evolved from a street-level gang into a borderless, corporate-style syndicate. According to investigative reports in The Times of India and The Indian Express, while Dawood Ibrahim remains a reclusive figure in Karachi, his network now dominates "Narco-terrorism" and global hawala routes. This transition shows that the modern underworld is less about local turf wars and more about invisible financial infrastructure and digital-age smuggling.

Weak Governance and Corruption allowed Criminal networks to grow unchecked, and later the Indian Mafia became a network where both governance and underworld goes parallel and created an Interdependence flow.

The Shadow Multinational: The Mafia Went Global

By the 1980s and 1990s , the Indian Mafia had expanded far beyond its original activities. Smuggling remained a core operation, but new areas of Influence emerged, including drug and human trafficking, extortion, Hawala, and real estate. The LPG model by then Prime Minister P.V Narsimha Rao, in the 1990s, further accelerated this expansion.

Economic liberalisation opened new avenues for both legitimate and illegitimate business. The influx of money, growth of industries, and rapid urban development created opportunities for the mafia to infiltrate sectors such as construction and entertainment.

A defining feature of the narrative is the geographical expansion of the underworld. As law enforcement agencies intensified crackdowns in India, many crime leaders relocated to International hubs such as Dubai, Bangkok and later other parts of Southeast Asia. These strategic locations offered advantages for smuggling routes, Weaker enforcement and access to International criminal networks.

A Series of Killings: Gang Wars and Violence

One of the most defining phases of the Indian mafia was the period of intense gang wars, particularly between rival factions. Personal rivalries, betrayals, and power struggles often escalated into violent confrontations. The death of close associates or family members frequently triggered cycles of revenge, transforming individual disputes into large-scale conflicts. These gang wars were characterised by public shootouts, targeted killings, and a general atmosphere of fear. Over time, the unwritten codes that once governed the underworld began to break down. Earlier norms, such as avoiding harm to families, were abandoned, leading to more brutal and indiscriminate violence. While the image of a "gang war" often evokes cinematic shootouts, the reality captured in the NCRB’s Crime in India report is more subtle but equally grim. Official data suggests that roughly 600 murders each year are directly born out of gang rivalries, though this is likely a conservative estimate. When we look closer, we see that the violence is concentrated in areas where economic deprivation meets a high-stakes struggle for resources like land and minerals.

This phase not only destabilised the criminal ecosystem but also had a profound impact on society, as ordinary citizens became indirect victims of the violence.

Survival of the Sharpest: Women in the Shadow Economy

The world of organized crime is often perceived as a male dominated space defined by violence, power and control. But some stories reveal a side of the underworld that is often ignored regarding the role of women not just as victims, but as powerful actors within a male-dominated system. Figures like Gangubai Kathiawadi and Haseena Parkar illustrate how women entered the underworld through circumstances such as exploitation, family ties, or survival, but eventually carved out authority and influence. Their rise shows that the structure of organised crime is flexible enough to accommodate power wherever it emerges.

In recent years, news reports have continued to highlight how women remain involved in illegal networks, including property disputes, financial rackets, and local crime syndicates. At the same time, data from the National Crime Records Bureau indicates that while women constitute a smaller percentage of overall crime involvement, their participation in organised activities has been steadily visible in certain categories. This suggests that their role, though limited in numbers, is significant in impact. Overall, these narratives challenge the stereotypical image of the underworld, showing that it is not purely patriarchal but shaped by opportunity, vulnerability, and the constant negotiation of power within society.

The Democracy Crisis: Crime Politics Nexus

The relationship between crime and politics in India is not a recent development but a gradual evolution of mutual dependence, as reflected in the Indian Underworld. The narrative shows how underworld figures did not operate in isolation; instead, they built connections with political actors to secure protection, access resources, and expand their influence. In return, these networks were often used to mobilize support, control territories, or influence local outcomes. This informal alliance blurred the line between legality and illegality, allowing organized crime to embed itself within governance structures.

In recent years, news reports have repeatedly highlighted instances where illegal activities such as land grabbing, mining operations, and extortion rackets have links to political patronage, indicating that the nexus has not disappeared but has adapted to new forms. Data further strengthens this observation. According to the Association for Democratic Reforms, around 43% of Members of Parliament elected in 2019 declared criminal cases, and nearly 29% faced serious charges, including crimes like murder and extortion. These figures point to a systemic issue rather than isolated exceptions. The persistence of such patterns suggests an interdependence where organised crime benefits from political legitimacy, while sections of the political system rely on these networks for power and control. Ultimately, this nexus reflects deeper structural weaknesses in governance, where institutions struggle to fully separate public authority from criminal influence.

Underworld 2.0: The Modern Shift of the Mafia

In recent decades, the structure of organised crime in India has undergone a noticeable shift, moving away from the visible, centralised underworld once associated with cities like Mumbai to a more dispersed and less conspicuous network spread across different regions. Earlier accounts describe a time when the mafia operated through identifiable gang leaders and territorial control. Today, that model has largely fragmented. Increased policing, encounter strategies, and legal crackdowns weakened traditional gangs, forcing them to adapt. As a result, organised crime has diversified into sectors such as illegal mining, sand extraction, real estate manipulation, and financial fraud, often operating in states beyond Maharashtra. News reports frequently point to the rise of “sand mafias” in northern and central India, where local networks function with significant autonomy. According to trends noted by the National Crime Records Bureau, organised criminal activities continue across multiple states, though they are less centralised than before. This shift indicates that the mafia has not declined but evolved, moving from street-based violence in one city to economically driven, regionally spread operations that are harder to detect and control.

The evolution of organised crime in India makes it clear that the mafia cannot be understood simply as a collection of criminals or isolated acts of violence. As seen through accounts, reports and changing trends across regions, it operates more like a system that adapts to economic shifts, exploits institutional weaknesses, and survives through networks of influence. From the streets of Mumbai to dispersed operations across the country, its form has changed, but its presence remains embedded in structures of power, business, and governance. This persistence suggests that eliminating crime alone is not enough; deeper reforms in institutions, transparency, and accountability are necessary to weaken the system that sustains it. Ultimately, the story of the Indian mafia is less about individuals and more about the conditions that allow such networks to exist and until those conditions change, the system will continue to reinvent itself in new and often unseen ways.

The underworld may change its form, but it survives wherever systems fail.

References

• Books

1. Dongri to Dubai : Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia - S.Hussain Zaidi
2. Mafia Queens of Mumbai - S.Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges
3. Byculla to Bangkok - S.Hussain Zaidi

• Reports and News Articles

1. ncrb.gov.in
2. ncrb.gov.in
3. ocindex.net
4. timesofindia.indiatimes.com
5. Analysis of Criminal Background, Financial, Education, and Gender of Winners - Lok Sabha 2019

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