A history on foot: How Mumbai’s cosmopolitan history shaped Indian nationalism

Mumbai was once India’s political centre, the de facto headquarters of its fight for freedom from British rule. This is hard to imagine today. Its evolution into a commercial hub has obscured the city’s vital role in the history of the national movement.

This is not a trivial loss. In recent decades, Indian politics has often been the antithesis of the national movement’s broadly unifying ideals. Divisions along religious lines, primarily, Hindu-Muslim, and other schisms based on caste or region have taken over political mobilisation.

In contrast, the nationalism of India’s historical anti-colonial struggle appears preternaturally cosmopolitan. With Mumbai (then Bombay) as the crucible, its success served as a model for many others worldwide.

Earlier this year, my fellow historian Prashant Kidambi and I took a walk in Mumbai to some key sites and streets that had once been associated with India’s freedom movement. It was Monday, January 22. The Central government had unexpectedly declared a national holiday for the consecration of the new Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The event absorbed the attention of the entire country – from children in our neighbourhoods to the media, captains of industry, administrative machinery, and public figures. It was also widely reported in international papers. This was a situation so out...

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