CSMVS Mumbai Launches Exhibition Revisiting City’s Role In Civil Disobedience Movement

CSMVS Mumbai Launches Exhibition Revisiting City’s Role In Civil Disobedience Movement

The exhibition, titled 'Disobedient Subjects: Bombay 1930–1931', will be open to the public from October 12 to March 31, 2026.

FPJ News ServiceUpdated: Saturday, October 11, 2025, 10:19 PM IST
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The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), formerly the Prince of Wales Museum, in collaboration with the Alkazi Foundation for the Arts, inaugurated an exhibition exploring Bombay’s participation in India’s Civil Disobedience Movement. The exhibition, titled 'Disobedient Subjects: Bombay 1930–1931', will be open to the public from October 12 to March 31, 2026.

Curated visual and material narratives

Curated by Avrati Bhatnagar and Sumathi Ramaswamy, the exhibition showcases rare archival photographs, historical objects, and works by artists such as Homai Vyarawalla, Atul Dodiya, and Uzma Mohsin. Key exhibits include Mahatma Gandhi’s charkha, a 1931 bust of Gandhi by Clare Sheridan, and important loans from Delhi Art Gallery, Mani Bhavan Gandhi Sangrahalaya, National Gandhi Museum, and private collections.

Highlighting women and citizen activism

Dr Sabyasachi Mukherjee, director general, CSMVS, emphasised that the exhibition brings to light women freedom fighters in Bombay. “The Nursey album, acquired by the Alkazi Foundation over two decades ago, provides a detailed visual record of Bombay’s transformation into a city of collective defiance,” he said.

Bhatnagar added, “Through these images, we see ordinary men, women, and children turning acts of defiance into collective courage, redefining nationalism on their own terms.” Ramaswamy noted, “The movement was not just resistance to colonial power but also a reclaiming of dignity, agency, and joy in disobedience.”

Accompanying publication launched

The inaugural event also marked the release of “Photographing Civil Disobedience: Bombay, 1930–1931”, published by the Alkazi Collection of Photography in association with Mapin Publishing.

The opening evening was attended by leading historians, artists, researchers, and members of Mumbai’s cultural community. The exhibition was formally inaugurated by Mukherjee, Rahaab Allana, curator, Alkazi Foundation for the Arts, Bhatnagar, and Ramaswamy.

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