Borivali or Borivli is a suburban area located in the north-west section of Mumbai island. Borivali is approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi) from Mumbai Airport and 33.4 kilometres (20.8 mi) from Churchgate Railway Station. The estimated population of Borivali in 1991 was over 6 lakhs.

Borivali town was developed in areas of what once used to be the small villages called Eksar, Poisar, Kandivali, Shimpoli, Mandpeshwar, Kanheri, Tulsi, Magathane and others which were situated on and around Mount Poinsur, between the Dahisar River and Poisar River. It is believed that the name "Borivali" comes from existence of lot of bushes of sweet fruit named "bor" in local language. The existence of a Portuguese church and the Mandpeshwar and Kanheri caves is testament to the rich history of this place. Borivali was spelt 'Berewlee' by the British and is also known as Borivli.

The original residents in Borivali can be referred in two groups but are local Maharashtrians: the tribals and the East Indians. These groups owned almost all the land and lived here with agriculture being the only occupation, other than occasional fishing. There was a huge influx of people in the 19th century when the price of land began rising between Bandra and Churchgate. There is still a very small population of the originals, but they have all changed their occupation with the times.

Sanjay Gandhi (Hindi: संजय गाँधी ) (14 December 1946 – 23 June 1980) was an Indian politician. The younger son of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi, he was a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family. During his lifetime he was widely expected to succeed his mother as head of the Indian National Congress, but following his early death in a plane crash his older brother Rajiv became their mother's heir, and succeeded her as Prime Minister of India after her death. Sanjay's widow Maneka Gandhi and son Varun Gandhi are also politicians.

Sanjay, along with his elder brother Rajiv Gandhi, studied Grades 1 to 6 at the Welham Boys' School. Rajiv studied Grades 7 to 12 at The Doon School in Dehra Dun. Sanjay studied Grades 7 and half of Grade 8 at the Doon School and the remainder of Grade 8 through Grade 11 at St. Columba's School, Delhi. Sanjay never attended college, but took up an apprenticeship with Rolls-Royce in Crewe, England. He was very interested in sports cars, and also obtained a pilot's license. While he was building a career as an airline pilot independent of politics, Sanjay still chose to remain close to his mother.