Mumbai (formerly Bombay) has long been portrayed in popular culture as the city of dreams. However, beneath its glittering skyline lies a complex and often violent history of organized crime. S. Hussain Zaidi, a veteran crime journalist, documents this hidden history in Dongri to Dubai . The title itself is symbolic: "Dongri" refers to a densely populated, working-class neighborhood in South Mumbai often associated with early gang activity, while "Dubai" represents the haven where modern dons fled to operate remotely. This paper examines how Zaidi uses investigative journalism to chronicle the professionalization of crime in India.
It follows Dawood’s journey from the narrow lanes of Dongri, Mumbai, to his eventual escape and establishment of an international empire in Dubai in 1986. from dongri to dubai pdf
A critical insight provided by the book is Dawood’s shift to Dubai. Following the Mumbai police crackdown in the 1980s, Dawood relocated to Dubai. Zaidi explains that this geographical shift allowed him to operate with impunity, using the telecommunication boom to run operations in Mumbai remotely. This shift marked the end of the "local don" and the birth of the "transnational criminal." Mumbai (formerly Bombay) has long been portrayed in
Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia is a non-fiction book by former investigative journalist S. Hussain Zaidi, first published in 2012. It provides a comprehensive historical account of the evolution of organized crime in Mumbai, tracing its roots from post-independence street gangs to the rise of global crime syndicates. Overview and Author Hussain Zaidi, a veteran crime journalist, documents this
S. Hussain Zaidi’s Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia serves as a seminal work in the canon of Indian crime non-fiction. This paper explores the book's thematic core, tracing the socio-political evolution of the Mumbai underworld from the 1960s to the rise of global terrorism. By analyzing the transition from romance-driven gangsters to business-oriented dons and finally to transnational terrorist syndicates, this paper highlights Zaidi’s narrative of how the Mumbai mafia mirrored the changing landscape of the city itself.