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Historian Jim Masselos (1939-2025) Wove Mumbai's Stories Into a Tapestry of Empathy and Insight
Jim Masselos (1939-2025), the eminent Australian historian whose life's work illuminated the intricate social and urban history of Bombay (now Mumbai), passed away on June 25, 2025, in Australia, aged 86. A pioneering scholar, Masselos spent over six decades exploring the city's vibrant streets, festivals, and turbulent moments, crafting a legacy that redefined South Asian urban historiography.
His empathetic and erudite approach to Bombay's hidden histories – its mohallas, crowd events, and marginalised voices – leaves an enduring mark on academia and the city he loved. Mumbai mourns not just a historian but a friend who saw its soul.
From Sydney to Bombay: A scholar's odyssey
Born in 1939 in Australia, James Cosmas 'Jim' Masselos graduated with a BA (Hons) from the University of Sydney in 1961. That same year, a Commonwealth Scholarship brought him to the University of Bombay, where he began his lifelong engagement with India.
At the Heras Institute of Indian History and Culture, St. Xavier's College, he pursued his Ph.D., completing his thesis: Towards Nationalism: Group Affiliations and the Politics of Public Associations in Nineteenth-Century Western India, in 1964. This work, later published in 1974, laid the foundation for his exploration of group identity and urban dynamics in colonial India.
Returning to Australia, Masselos rose to prominence as an Honourary Reader in History at the University of Sydney's School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry from 2001. His contributions were recognised with his election as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities (FAHA), cementing his status as a leading voice in South Asian studies.
Wandering Bombay: Uncovering a city's soul
Masselos' first encounters with Bombay in 1961 were transformative. As he wandered through its bustling bazaars, vibrant neighborhoods, and festival circuits, he saw the city as a living archive of human stories. His essay in Bombay Before Mumbai: Essays in Honour of Jim Masselos (2019) reflects on these early expeditions with fellow students, exploring markets specialising in everything from mattresses to jewelry and observing the distinct character of each locality.
These experiences shaped his intellectual framework, leading him to study urban space through the lens of group identity, social behavior, and 'mental maps.'
Masselos introduced the concept of 'templates' or 'accustomed space,' describing how Bombay's residents navigated familiar routes at customary times, creating patterns that anchored their sense of belonging. His focus on the everyday lives of subalterns, elites, and migrants brought a fresh perspective to urban history, emphasising the interplay of space, time, and identity.
Capturing Bombay's rhythms and riots
Masselos was a keen observer of Bombay's crowd events, which he saw as microcosms of its social fabric. He chronicled religious festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Mohurrum, and Holi, as well as secular spectacles such as Yuri Gagarin's visit to Chaupati Beach in the 1960s. These events, he argued, revealed the city's rituals of belonging and civic life.
His vivid accounts of the 1969 riots – when protests against politician Morarji Desai led to burning vehicles and barricades – captured the chaos and camaraderie of those turbulent days. Stranded during the unrest, he recalled groups of rioters waving to him, blending menace with fleeting moments of connection.
The 1992–1993 communal riots, which scarred Bombay with unprecedented violence, left a deep impression on Masselos. His essays analysed the territorial and communal roots of urban unrest, drawing on both personal experiences and archival records to uncover the dynamics of collective action. These studies offered tools for understanding the politics of urban India, resonating with scholars and policymakers alike.
A prolific legacy: Books and Collaborations
Masselos' scholarship spanned a rich corpus of works that blended rigorous research with accessible storytelling. His key publications include:
Towards Nationalism: Group Affiliations and the Politics of Public Associations in Nineteenth-Century Western India (1974), his Ph.D. thesis, which explored the roots of nationalism in Bombay and Poona.
Indian Nationalism: A History, a comprehensive narrative of India's nationalist movement.
Beato's Delhi: 1857–1997, co-authored with Narayani Gupta, tracing Delhi's transformation through text and visuals.
India: Creating a Modern Nation and Bombay and Mumbai: The City in Transition, co-edited volumes that examined nation-building and urban evolution.
Bombay Then, Mumbai Now, a tribute volume featuring 13 essays inspired by his work.
Bombay Before Mumbai: Essays in Honour of Jim Masselos (2019), a festschrift edited by Prashant Kidambi, Manjiri Kamat, and Rachel Dwyer, celebrating his contributions through essays on community, space, power, and nationalism.
His writings, often published in newspapers as well as academic journals, made Bombay's history accessible to a wide audience. Collaborations like Bombay Meri Jaan with Naresh Fernandes further showcased his ability to bridge scholarly and popular narratives.
A photographer, curator and art collector
During his stay in Bombay (Mumbai) and travels across India Masselos fell in love with the Indian architecture and painting. Motivated by beauty and delight, he collected paintings from the great Mughal and Rajput traditions as well as Company, folk and vernacular art from across India.
Alongside his academic career at the University of Sydney, he made a significant contribution to the scholarship and presentation of Indian art at the New South Wales (NSW) Art Gallery, including his involvement in the exhibitions 'Divine and Courtly Life in Indian Painting' (1991), 'Dancing to the Flute: Music and Dance in Indian Art' (1997), 'Goddess, Divine Energy' (2006), 'Intimate Encounters: Indian Paintings from Australian Collections' (2008) and 'Indian Empire: Multiple Realities' (2010).
The New South Wales Art Gallery was honoured to hold the Jim Masselos South Asia Archive, acquired in 2011, as well as more than 280 textiles, paintings, prints and photographs donated between 2001 and 2024. Jim's generous contribution to the Art Gallery's collection of Indian paintings has made it one of the most significant in the country.
Honours and global impact
Masselos' influence extended far beyond the page. In 2017, the University of Mumbai, in collaboration with the universities of Leicester and SOAS, hosted a conference titled Power, Public Culture and Identities: Towards New Histories of Mumbai to honour his contributions.
The event highlighted his global impact, bringing together scholars to explore themes he had pioneered. Bombay Before Mumbai, described as an 'unstinting tribute,' underscored his role as a 'salutation to the people, streets, and archives of the city.'
His work inspired a generation of historians to focus on the social history of urban living, amplifying the voices of marginalised communities. His methodological innovations, particularly his use of 'mental maps,' provided a framework for studying cities as dynamic, human-centered spaces.
A friend to Mumbai
Though based in Sydney for much of his career, Masselos remained deeply connected to Mumbai. He returned often, walking its streets, pouring over colonial records, and engaging with its people. His empathy shone through in his writing, which gave voice to mohalla dwellers, Parsi merchants, and political demonstrators alike. He saw Bombay not just as a subject of study but as a living entity, shaped by its inhabitants' stories.
His passing away marks a profound loss for Mumbai and the academic world. At 86, Masselos left behind a legacy that continues to inspire historians, students, and residents. His scholarship, blending transnational perspectives with intimate observations, forged a path for understanding urban India's complexities.
A lasting echo in Mumbai's streets
Masselos' voice – measured, reflective, and humane – will resonate in the pages of urban history. As Mumbai grows and transforms, his work remains a guide to its past and present, revealing the city's hidden corridors, communal pulse, and social geographies. His legacy endures in the scholars he mentored, the readers he inspired, and the streets he chronicled with such care.
Mumbai bids farewell to a true friend, whose words ensured that its stories – ordinary and extraordinary – would never be forgotten. As he once wrote, 'There is so much in Bombay or Mumbai that is worthy of attention.' Through his scholarship, he ensured that attention would endure.
