File:The Happiness of Independence.jpg

English: The Gateway of India

The gateway was built to commemorate the arrival of George V, Emperor of India and Mary of Teck, Empress consort, in India at Apollo Bunder, Mumbai (then Bombay) on 2 December 1911 prior to the Delhi Durbar of 1911; it was the first visit of a British monarch to India. However, they only got to see a cardboard model of the monument, as construction did not begin until 1915. The foundation stone for the gateway was laid on 31 March 1913 by then governor of Bombay, Sir George Sydenham Clarke with the final design of George Wittet for the gateway sanctioned in August 1914. Before the gateway's construction, Apollo Bunder used to serve a native fishing ground. Between 1915 and 1919 work continued at the Apollo Bunder to reclaim the land on which the gateway was to be built, along with the construction of a sea wall. Gammon India had undertaken construction work for the gateway. Its foundations were completed in 1920 while construction was finished in 1924. The gateway was opened to the public on 4 December 1924 by then viceroy, Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading. Following Indian independence, the last British troops to leave India, the First Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, passed through the gateway with a 21-gun salute, as part of a ceremony on 28 February 1948, signalling the end of the British Raj.

N. Kamala, professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, refers to the gateway as a "jewel in the crown" and a "symbol of conquest and colonisation". The monument commemorates the legacy of British colonial rule, namely the first visit of a British monarch to India and its use as an entry point for prominent colonial personnel into British India. Today the gateway is synonymous with the city of Mumbai. Since its construction, the gateway has remained amongst the first structures visible to visitors arriving in Bombay by the sea.

Since 2003, the gateway has been the location for the local Jewish community to light the menorah for Hanukkah celebrations every year. This ritual was started by Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg of the chabad in Mumbai (located in Nariman House). It also became a site for prayers following the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks which targeted, amongst others, Nariman House. Rabbi Holtzberg lost his life in the 2008 terror attacks.