The administrative headquarters of Thane District and a division of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region; Thane, located at the onset of the Thane Creek is the northeastern suburb of Mumbai. Nestled on the Salsette Island and enclosed by Yeoor and Parsik Hills, Thane covers the total geographical area of about 147 square kilometers. Entitled as the ‘Elder sister of Mumbai’, Thane has made its mark in the history of Indian Railway as the first railway line in India was laid between Boribandar (now CST) and Thane. The first Indian train ran from Mumbai to Thane on 16th April 1853. The 30 water reservoirs situated within the periphery of Thane bestow upon it a nickname of the ‘Lake City’. Mumbai Metropolitan considerably depends on Thane for its water supply. One of the oldest cities of the country and the most populated district of India, Thane happens to be the third most industrialized district of the state. The proximity with the state capital and the rapidly growing textile, engineering, chemical, software and electronic industries have turned Thane from a small agricultural hub to a leading economical pivot. The city Thane was honored with the ‘Clean City Award’ for the year 2000 and also received ‘the Best Integrated Multi-modal Transportation System Award’ in the year 2009. Thane Municipal Corporation has won the state-level awards for 5 consecutive years for its contribution towards energy conservation and energy management.

The term ‘Thane’ in Marathi means ‘a station’. The city derives its name from its ancient appellation ‘Shristhanaka’ prevalent during the governance of Shilahara Kings. Thane is one of the oldest civics of the country boasting of its 2000 years old history. The earliest reference to Thane can be tracked back in the works of Ptolemy, the great Greek Philosopher who flourished between 90 AD and 168 AD. He has cited a place known as ‘Chersonesus’ which, as reported by the researchers is the area that lies around the Thane creek. A number of copper plates and slabs dated back to the Middle Ages have been discovered by the archaeologists in Thane. One of them dated 1078 AD has been dug up in the year 1787 from the foundations of the Thane Fort. It reads a declaration from Arikesara Devaraja, the monarch of Tagara addressed to the inhabitants of a city named Shristhanaka saying that the land has been gifted to them by the king.

A celebrated traveler Friar Jordanus visited Bombay between 1321 and 1324 AD who has documented it as being administered by a Muslim governor. Ibn Batuta and Abul Feda, the contemporaries of Friar Jordanus who also visited Bombay mention Thane as ‘Kukin Tana’ and describe it as a harbor from where vessels carrying a cloth known as 'Tanasi' sailed to the gulf countries. According to their testimony, Thane was famous for its production of the export quality Tanasi Cloth. A yet another famed traveler named Duarte Barbosa has described Thane as a beautiful town with Moorish mosques and temples and several lovely gardens. Thane was known as ‘Tana Mayambu’ back then. Portuguese conquered Thane around 1530 AD and retained their dominance till 1739 AD when Thane was known as ‘Cacabe de Tana’. The construction of Thane Fort commenced in the year 1730.

The Marathas defeated the Portuguese, took over the region and reined Thane till 1784 AD. Marathas were succeeded by the Peshwas who lost the territory to British in 1817. During the British Raj, Thane came to be known as Tana. It was made the district headquarters of North Konkan district and the district collector was appointed here. The Thane Municipal Council was formed in the year 1863. In 1945, 33 villages of the Bombay Suburban district were reassigned to Thana District.