The term Indian mafia refers to certain^[which?] criminal organizations found in some^[which?] of India's major cities. The "Indian Mafia" also refer to powerful families that have criminal aspects to it.^{[not verified in body]}

The first of mafia elements, or syndicates, perhaps had their origins in the gambling and bootleg liquor dens set up by a pathan Ayub Khan Pathan alias Ayub Lala. He was the founder president of Pakhtun Jirga e Hind, an association of around 13,000 Afghani nationals settled in Bombay. Although Ayub Lala was labelled a mafia don, he had not even slapped a single person during his life time, to show off his muscle power. He controlled the gambling clubs mostly owned by marwaris, Muslim and gujrati operators and drug cartel including spurious liquor dens in Mumbai. Ayub Lala also owned a few KawaKhanas (a drink made from opium served with black tea) and Chandolkhanas (somewhat like hokkah parlours). He left Bombay after the murder of his own step son Kashmiri Lala handing over the reigns of all his activities to Karim lala who was earlier a vendor selling liquor at a den at Dongri in south mumbai. in the 1940s.

Mumbai /mʊmˈbaɪ/, also known as Bombay /bɒmˈbeɪ/, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million. Along with the neighbouring urban areas, including the cities of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it is one of the most populous urban regions in the world. Mumbai lies on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. In 2009, Mumbai was named an Alpha world city. Mumbai is also the richest city in India, and has the highest GDP of any city in South, West or Central Asia.

The seven islands that came to constitute Mumbai were home to communities of fishing colonies. For centuries, the islands were under the control of successive indigenous empires before being ceded to the Portuguese and subsequently to the British East India Company. During the mid-18th century, Mumbai was reshaped by the Hornby Vellard project, which undertook the reclamation of the area between the seven constituent islands from the sea. Completed by 1845, the project along with construction of major roads and railways transformed Bombay into a major seaport on the Arabian Sea. Economic and educational development characterised the city during the 19th century. It became a strong base for the Indian independence movement during the early 20th century. When India became independent in 1947, the city was incorporated into Bombay State. In 1960, following the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, a new state of Maharashtra was created with Bombay as capital. The city was renamed Mumbai in 1996.

Dawood Ibrahim (born Sheikh Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar), also known as Dawood Ebrahim, and Sheikh Dawood Hassan, is the head of the Indian organized crime syndicate D-Company in Mumbai. He is currently on the wanted list of Interpol for organised crime and counterfeiting. He was No. 4 on the Forbes' World's Top 10 most dreaded criminals list of 2008.

Dawood Ibrahim is accused of heading a vast and sprawling illegal empire in and against India and Indians. After the 1993 Bombay bombings, which Ibrahim allegedly organized and financed, he became India's most wanted man. According to the United States, Ibrahim maintained close links with al-Qaeda's Osama Bin Laden. As a consequence, the United States declared Dawood Ibrahim a "global terrorist" in 2003 and pursued the matter before the United Nations in an attempt to freeze his assets around the world and crack down on his operations. The Bush administration has since imposed several sanctions on Ibrahim and his associates. Indian and Russian intelligence agencies have pointed out Ibrahim's possible involvement in several other terror attacks, including the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, as per Interpol. Along with the Pakistan Administered Kashmir, the issue of extradition of Dawood Ibrahim is one of the major hurdles in normalizing Indo-Pakistani relations.

Arun Gulab Gawli (Maratha : अरुण गवळी), known to his followers as "Daddy", is an alleged criminal turned politician. Gawli is Maratha family Mumbai . Mumbai, India. He is based at Dagdi Chawl in Byculla- Saat Rasta, Mumbai. In 2004, he was elected as a MLA from the Mumbai Chinchpokli Constituency as an Akhil Bharatiya Sena candidate.

Gawli's rise in prominence is believed to be due to his "native roots" as a local lad, which makes him distinct from most other non-Marathi-speaking dons. Gawli also differs in that he is Hindu (his wife, Ashatai [ d/o Mohammed Shaikh Lal Mujawar "Nanhubhai" of Vadgaon-Paanchpir, Dist. Pune] alias Mummy was a Muslim) while most other dons are Muslim. Gawli was at one point actively supported by Bal Thackeray, but his ties to Thackeray and the Shiv Sena later broke down when Gawli's boys mercilessly slew several Sena legislators and party workers. Terrified, the hithero fearless Sena members found themselves at the receiving end of their own terror tactics. In the Mumbai underworld, Gawli actively carried out kidnappings and extortions and was believed to have been supported by some powerful bureaucrats and politicians following the vacuum created by Dawood Ibrahim's flight from Mumbai. As he slowly began to lose relevance, Gawli stepped into mainstream politics, burning his bridges with his former mentors.

Sanjay Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is a prominent Indian Hindi film star, producer and politician. Dutt, son of Hindi film actors Sunil Dutt and Nargis Dutt, made his acting debut in 1981. He has since featured in films that are amongst some of the most popular Hindi language films of the past three decades.

Dutt was born on 29 July 1959 to Bollywood megastars Sunil Dutt and Nargis and was educated at The Lawrence School, Sanawar. Dutt married the actress Richa Sharma in 1987. Sharma died of brain tumour. The couple have a daughter, Trishala, born in 1987, who lives in the United States with her grandparents, following a custody battle with Dutt after the death of his wife. Dutt's second marriage was to model Rhea Pillai in 1998. They divorced in 2005. Dutt married Manyata (also known as Dilnawaz Sheikh) in 2008 at a private ceremony in Goa, after two years of dating. On 21 October 2010, he became a father to twins, a boy named Shahraan and a girl named Iqra. He is well known for several altercations with the law, along with many other controversies throughout his life, as well as drug addiction in his early years.^{[citation needed]} He spent 5 months in prison in late 1982 after being caught in possession of illegal substances, upon his release he spent 2 years in the United States, the majority of which was spent in a Texan rehab clinic before returning to India and resuming his career.