Politics of Leisure in Colonial India: 'Lagaan': Invocation of a Lost History? Author(s): Boria Majumdar Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 36, No. 35 (Sep. 1-7, 2001), pp. 3399-3404 Published by: Economic and Political Weekly Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4411061 Accessed: 19-08-2019 05:58 UTC

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This content downloaded from 134.114.107.45 on Mon, 19 Aug 2019 05:58:14 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Politics of Leisure in Colonial India 'Lagaan': Invocation of a Lost history?

It is possible to read in 'Lagaan' not only evidence of Indian resistance to British imperialism but in the filmic and imaginative mode, a commentary on the evolution ant development of cricket in colonial India and an attempt to recover, in fiction, some of the lost history of the game.

BORIA MAJUMDAR

darity against the might of the colonial Champaner is outraged that a young, state. 'Lagaan', for me is a commentary, spirited, peasant boy, Bhuvan, describes ricket is a fascinating subject but in the filmic and imaginative mode, on cricketthe as 'feringhee' version of 'gilli Indian cricket is more so because evolution and development of cricket danda',1? in a game which he, Bhuvan, has of the peculiar traits of the Indian colonial India. In the last scene of the film, played since he was a child. Captain Russell people who play it. On the field of play there is a voice-over by Amitabh challenges Bhuvan in the presence of the the Indian, it has been correctly said, isBachchan6, a lamenting that despite his provincial Raja and the rest of the villagers split second sooner in sighting the ball. Hisvalour on the sporting field, Bhuvan, the to beat the English team in a cricket match, reflex is quicker and his wrists more flex- central character in the film, has been failing which the entire province would be ible and pliant than those of his, say, English relegated to the dusty shelves of news- charged three times their share of annual counterpart...That is why you see a Nayadu paper archives, a very apt comment on the tax or 'Lagaan'. Should these country or a Constantine doing the 'impossible' lost history of our de facto national game7. bumpkins succeed in the impossible task things - things that shock the orthodox In this paper, I draw on the representations of defeating the English team, their taxes, mind. "It's not done", they say, brought ofup the game in the film to comment on the and those of the entire province shall be as they are in the exactitudes of the cricket- lost realities of Indian cricket, facts largely revoked for three years. With the odds so ing science. They forget, though, that ignored in existing historiography on the heavily against him, since twice the tax cricket is after all, a game and a game does subject.8 Furthermore, 'Lagaan' helps was already upon the village, Bhuvan not remain quite a game if it is does not rectify certain conventional wisdoms about accepts the challenge notwithstanding bring out the characteristics of an indivi- the evolution of cricket in India, viewing opposition from his fellow villagers. dual as much of a nation. That is why it aas more than an aristocratic pastime of The cricket match thus becomes an arena Ranji or a Duleep, schooled in the exact certain elite groups. for asserting indigenous strength against science as is'taught an Englishman, never- the might of the colonial state. The sport- theless revealed his national traits, uncon- II ing prowess of the villagers and their sciously perhaps, in a flick here or a tap there ultimate victory help them emphasise that which were peculiarly native but which 'Lagaan' goes deep into the psyche of their 'Indian' identity was in no way in- became great contributions to the game the Indian masses. It brings together the ferior to the whites'. Native mastery of the itself. To point this out is not to extol thetwo most potent components of Indian colonial sport of cricket emerges as the Indian at cricket as against others, just cultural as life - the magic of Hindi cinema leveler between the coloniser and the colo- Gandhiji's loin cloth does not necessarily and the excitements of the game of cricket, nised. The film however, goes beyond the constitute the ideal in the Indian national told against the setting of the traditional cricket field. The aspirations of the village dress nor an example to the rest of the Indian village. It is therefore a collage of of Champaner to enjoy their own agricul- world. Yet, both are significant; they re- the most powerful elements in Indian mass tural produce, the victory of rural goodness veal the nation through the game or through culture, a colourful and patriotic tale of the over imperial craftiness can be seen as an the kit - for the better or for the worse. glories of Indian cricket, told through the evocation of a Gandhian critique. Cham- A three hour 42 minute film with a medium of Hindi cinema. The infallibility paner becomes a filmic embodiment of a budget of Rs 25 crore, Aamir Khan2 ofand this formula is not accidental. Hindi pristine village community, untainted by Asutosh Gowarikar' s3 Lagaan'4 has filmsbeen and cricket are pillars of Indian public the vices of industrial modernity. The Indian accepted as one of the most successful culture, and unlike other 'cricketing' films9 farmer takes centre-stage in the film, Bollywood5 blockbusters of recent years, which have failed miserably at the box- emerging as a modern citizen asserting his both in India and abroad. The film's suc- office; the success of 'Lagaan' has accrued right of self-determination by successfully cess, as I see it, goes much beyond the from an ideal blending of the two. ousting the foreigner from his domain. fantastic camera work, gripping story line Set in 1893, 'Lagaan' is the tale of a team Indeed there is an element of the 'feel and melodious music. As a sport historian, of village men playing cricket against angood' of the Bollywood blockbuster genre working on the historical centrality of oppressive colonial regime in the village ('Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander', 'Ghulam') to cricket in Indian socio-economic and of Champaner in Kutch to save their lives, the plot. But, there is much more in the political life, I read 'Lagaan' not simply families and land. At the outset of the film, film that distinguishes it from other rep- as a lore of Indian resistance to British captain Russell the arrogant British army resentatives of this genre. Released in the imperialism, or the victory of rural soli-officer in charge of the cantonment firstat year of the new millenium, 'Lagaan'

Economic and Political Weekly September 1, 20013399

This content downloaded from 134.114.107.45 on Mon, 19 Aug 2019 05:58:14 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms captures the pulse of the Indian nation sion of capital, its western education and superiority. As Guran, the village state. It is a nationalist tale depicted via an urge for social mobility within the godman,20 plays an impossible shot hit- the fortunes of the country's most popular colonial framework. All these factors it ting the ball over the wicketkeeper the game. To this extent, the film is a first and may be noted were also present among audience erupts with joy. This shot can crucial cinematic tribute to India's buried other Indian communities in the early 19th easily be perceived as that 'moment of cricket history. . Yet, they did not take to cricket departure', 21 when an indigenous brand until the 1880s and 1890s. As a , the of Indian nationalism takes off. When 1l explanations advanced in existing histo- Deva22 hurls his deliveries at an English riography fail to successfully account for batsman, nationalism is at its 'moment of Historians of the game in India 1 have the origins of the game in India. How was arrival'.23 The colonial mission of import- always attempted to represent cricket as a it that the Parsis, who, while they displayed ing sport as a civilising tool is successfully sport appropriated from the British rulers the same characteristics as many others, turned on its head. A non-violent arena of as part of an emulative enterprise. The were the only ones who started playing assertion, cricket is successfully trans- close links, if any, between cricket and organised cricket in the early 19th century, formed into a tool to subvert colonial rule. nationalism are seen as a very contempo- while it was only in the later years of the 'Lagaan' also leads us to rethink certain rary phenomenon. That the two could be 19th century that the game was taken upclaims that have been made on behalf of linked historically is still seen as an un- by the rest of the country? Generalisations, nationalism; namely that it arose in the founded and fallacious proposition, as on the basis of the Parsi experience, such 'spiritual' realm of society.24 Yet, in many evidenced by the following description by as the ones documented above, fail to take ways the process of cricket's appropria- Richard Cashman: into account the complex historical rea- tion in the film resembles a 'derivative Indian nationalism was less radical, in a sons that spurred the introduction of cricket discourse'. What marks the experience cultural sense, than Irish where the nation- in the rest of the country. Accordingly, shown in the film as singular is that al- alists attacked cricket and other English regional variations need to be taken into though it manifests itself in the arena of sports as objectionable elements of colo- account in order to invoke what is now a leisure, it is not leisure of the kind that nial culture and patronised Gaelic sports instead. The Indian nationalist leaders at- lost history of the game. earned much ridicule for the Indians in the tacked the political and economic aspects first half of the 19th century. There was of British imperialism but retained an IV none of the frivolity associated with lei- affection for some aspects of English sure activities like cockfights, pigeon culture. 12 In many ways the story of Indian cricket racing, kite flying in playing games like This passage makes it clear that the notion as told in 'Lagaan' brings light to the lost cricket and football. Its substance was of cricket being appropriated for purposes history of how other Indian groups started political - a politics typical of colonial con- of resistance against the colonial state playing the game, often for reasons more ditions and a rapidly westernising society. remains largely ignored in existing histo- complex than simply trying to emulate the An almost identical inning as the one British. Furthermore, the Parsi initiative, riography. A closer look into the archives played by Bhuvan, was played in reality of Indian cricket reveals an entirely dif- a deeper probe reveals, also started to by C K Nayadu against the touring MCC have nationalist resonances in course of ferent story. The first Indians who played side led by Arthur Gilligan in 1926-27. cricket were the Parsis of Bombay, an time. Interestingly, in 'Lagaan' the match This inning of 153 by Nayadu against the educated, prosperous and westernised is played in 1893, just a couple of years British, symbolic of Indian cricketing community.13 As Ramchandra Guha after the Parsis had defeated the touring prowess has now become part of our cricket writes, "In the 1830s Parsi boys began British side led by G F Vernon in a game lore. The following description of this in- imitating white soldiers, improvising the witnessed by over 12,000 spectators ningin by Edward Docker testifies this point: implements of cricket by using hats as Bombay. This game, as indicated in con- Nayadu played circumspectly forward to , umbrellas as bats, and old leather temporary records generated considerable two balls from Boyes then danced out to stuffed with rags and sewn up, as balls. patriotic fervour all over the country. 16 As the next one and hit it back over the bowler's In 1848 these boys (now men) established in the film, in this historic match against head and onto the pavilion roof. The crowd was stunned. Was that the first six the Oriental Cricket Club. At least thirty the Parsis, the British complained about Parsi Clubs were formed in the 1850s the bowling action of an Indian bowler, ever hit by an Indian batsman against the MCC? How would the bowlers react to and 1860s. They were named for British H Modi, who continued to bowl in the rest that? The next over Jai played quietly though viceroys and statesmen and for Roman of the match, as does Goli17 in 'Lagaan'.18 That cricket was much more than an the restless murmuring of the crowd and Gods: Gladstone, Elgin, Ripon, Jupiter Boyes bowled again to Nayadu. Crack! and Mars".14 emulative enterprise, even for the Parsis, Another six, this time to the right of the Mankasji Kavasji Patel, one of the ear- becomes clear from a close analysis pavilion of and not only did the ground burst liest historians of Parsi cricket suggests, the early histories of Parsi cricket: into a tremendous sustained roar but even the reason behind this early patronage was The Parsis have proved that Indians pos-the umpires were seen to clap vigorously. At the other end now the same treatment the desire of the newly emerging Parsi sess physical and moral qualities which, under given circumstances stand favour- was meted out to a still - two balls met bourgeoisie to strengthen its ties with the able comparison with those which the colonial state. Parsi intellectuals also wel- defensively, the next one despatched over Europeans themselves possess.19 the sight screen and onto the maidan... comed cricketing prowess as a sign of the When Bhuvan, played by Aamir Khan It was amazing how fast the news spread, renewal of physicalvitality of a race sapped in the- film, appears on screen having considering the city was still without a by centuries in tropical climes.15 marshaled his team of local villagers to wireless set. When Nayadu and Mahale From these descriptions, it appears that take on the whites, the audience holds its returned to the after lunch every the primary factors that stimulated the Parsi breath. The one hour 40 minute match tree was black with human spectators, initiative were the community's posses- becomes the site for an assertion of racial every roof top that commanded even a

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This content downloaded from 134.114.107.45 on Mon, 19 Aug 2019 05:58:14 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms partial or distant view of the game.25 inclusion of Kachra, the local 'achhoot',28 him as their member and so far pollution The huge crowd that had gathered to parallels the way dalit and low caste crick- from touch with a low caste went, the watch the proceedings of the match in the eters like Baloo and Semper in Bombay plucky brahmins of Poona gave the film comprised villagers from all over the and Mani Das in Bengal were treated by to orthodoxy.33 province. People had occupied all possible their counterparts. At the beginning of the match in 'Lagaan ', vantage-points celebrating every single hit Like Bhuvan, there were 19th century fig- when the Champaner men are still unac- by Bhuvan in a manner almost identical ures like Nagendraprasad Sarbadhikary29 customed with the norms of , the to the above description. who voiced a critique of caste-based entire village team runs after the ball The introduction of cricket in the film, discrimination in the arena of sports. when a stroke is played. This image of a as a sport played by the whites and watched Nagendraprasad belonged to an orthodox' group of Indians running wildly are de- by the Indian aristocracy, is exactly the Hindu family. Who while establishing a scribed in Indian cricket tracts of the late story of the way in which the game took series of sporting clubs, chose to ignore 19th century: roots in India in the second half of the 19th all caste prejudices. His staunch position I have noticed that in India while the players century. It was not until the mid/late 19th against the discriminatory actions based can bat fairly well, their standard of field- century that the Indians had started playing on caste status is clearest in the incident ing is considerably lower than that of the the game on an organised basis. surrounding the induction of a potter's son sahibs. The sahibs do not miss a single ball. The following passage in an European into the Wellington Club. The club had aIt is as if they know beforehand which way the ball will travel. It is never the case that travelogue, (1843) is telling of the English membership of nearly 500 from all classes all fielders run after a ball. In contrast to monopoly over the game of cricket: of society. When Nagendraprasad wanted this, in India it is often noticeable that five In such a climate as that of India those who to induct Mani Das, a potter's son, the or more fielders run after a ball. On other have never entered through the ghauts of richer members protested vehemently. occasions all fielders stand rooted to their Calcutta might conclude that no such Nagendraprasad refused to buckle under positions while the ball goes past. Owing laborious sport as cricket would be pur- the pressure arguing that a sporting asso- to this uncontrolled physical exhaustion sued there. Yet if the voyager arrived during ciation should be free of any prejudice and our (Indian) players often get tired after the comparatively cold season and land in half an hour.4 the evening at the Chandpal Ghat, he will decided to dismantle the Wellington Club. at once ascend to the first view of the City Greatly irked by the intrigues carried on The way the village team is formed, of Palaces, looking upon it across a plain behind his back, Nagendraprasad dissolved symbolising a process of indigenisation forming the most magnificent cricket the Wellington Club and by combining the and appropriation of a colonial sport, ground in the world, and where the Calcutta various sporting clubs he had established replicates the trajectory of the develop- Club play regularly. On the cricket ground - The Boys Sporting Club, Friends Club, ment of cricket in India. By the early years stand two spacious tents, not like the paltry Presidency Club, the erstwhile Wellington of the 20th century, Indian cricket had affairs bearing that name in England, but Club - founded the Sovabazar Sporting brought within its fold a number of lower lined with fancy chintz, furnished with Club. Mani Das, whose proposed induc- and lower middle class Indians. While looking glasses, sofas, chairs and each tion was the cause behind the dismantling player's wants are supplied by his turbaned leading players like Lala Amarnath and attendants whether it be a light for his of the Wellington Club was one of the first D D Hindelkar came from a family of cigar, iced soda water or champagne. The members of the Sovabazar Club. He later farmers, Amir Elahi was the son of a natives do not at all enter into the pleasures distinguished himself as one of the best butcher.35 of this manly game, neither do the servants cricketers of the Mohun Bagan Club.30 The 'dhotis' and 'kurtas' in which the of the players, if desired to stop a stray ball, This attempt by Nagendraprasad to free villagers played in the film is also based think it at all meritorious to risk stinging sports of caste prejudices in the 1880s was on historical fact. There are a number of their fingers by stopping it while in motion, the first of its kind in India. accounts mentioning Indians playing the they amble by its side until it has ceased Soon after this, in the 1890s, Baloo,31 a rolling and then pick it up.26 game clad in dhotis, a fact leading to major From this account it is clear that Indians left arm slow spin bowler, (as is Kachra clashes with the British. In a match bet- stayed away from this sport until the mid- in the film, except that he bowls right- ween Mohun Bagan Club and the Calcutta 19th century. handed) and a chammar by birth, was Cricket Club on January 3, 1931 the game The description of the game in the film inducted into the uppercaste Hindu team.32 had to be abandoned because the Indians as being similar to the Indian game of 'gilli Kachra's inclusion into the Champaner were insulted by the British governor danda', also finds striking parallels with team, an act justified by his skill in spin- R B Lagden on account of their clothing. a description of cricket in the first ever tract ning the ball and symbolic of a triumph The Indians, demanding an apology from on the sport written in Bengali in 1890: of meritocracy is an episode reminiscent Lagden, refused to play. Since no apology Bengali boys who have not seen or played of the ascendancy of Moni Das in Bengal was forthcoming, the match was aban- danda gulli are very rare. Cricket can be and Baloo in Bombay, players who were doned.36 Six months later a similar inci- justifiably described as a variant of danda eventually looked upon with great respect. dent occurred in a match between the gulli. However, like the great difference The champion bowler of the Hindus isVidyasagar College and the Calcutta in the Bengali and Sahib way of eating fish, Baloo, a chamaar. Indeed it is not Bombay Cricket Club. Matters of clothing also led there is an even greater difference between that rubbed of this caste exclusiveness. to clashes among the Indians themselves. the Bengali and Sahib version of danda Years back Baloo was a bowler in the In Bombay it led to major ill-feeling gulli. While the playing of danda gulli is Poona European Gymkhana. The Poona between the Hindus and the Parsis. The a very trivial pursuit for the Bengali, for Hindus who consisted mostly of upper the Sahib, cricket is a national treasure. caste Hindus found that chammar though Hindu boys played in dhotis, without shoes The respect accorded to a good cricket Baloo was his inclusion in the Hindu or boots, bowled underhand and made all player by the Sahibs finds no parallel.27 team would improve matters considerably. the mistakes of novices. Parsi players, far Again, the initial objection by most With the pluck and spirit which the Poonamore advanced by then, ridiculed the members of the Champaner team to the Hindus of the 1890's had, they admitted Hindus for their dress and style of play.

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This content downloaded from 134.114.107.45 on Mon, 19 Aug 2019 05:58:14 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms This episode, the Indian Social Reformer effeteness levelled against the Indian male of Indian cricket in the late 19th century. states, resulted in bad blood between the remained rampant well into the late 19th It was believed that a display of talent in two communities.37 century.39 English games like cricket would infuse Finally, as evident from the film, history It was precisely this failure to secure in the Indians a sense of pride and purpose, reveals that by the second half of the 19th acceptance in European eyes that led the helping in articulating the desperation in century it had become imperative on the patrons of sport, who had hitherto taken the Indian soul. part of the Indians to devise effective the lead in acquiring physical prowess, to Even children imbibed this feeling of strategies to counter the excessive demands shift their focus to European sports like superiority that came from victory in com- of colonialism. However, just as in the cricket and football. The importance of petitions against the coloniser. A passage village, there were several constraints upon European sports in the closing decades of from the contemporary Bengali journal their conduct, for such strategising had to the 19th century is also evident from the Sakha is redolent with these sentiments: The be done from within a society where the numerous advertisements published in the editor recalls a conversation he had one physical expression of such actions would newspapers of the 1880s and 1890s.40 evening with a 'young friend' who reported be severely suppressed. Sports became the Marketing and promotional strategies were with glee that he had successfully beaten the arena in which this heavily politicised, but made full use of demonstrating the ele- 'sahib' in a game of 'bat-ball': veiled strategising took place. We may date ment of competitiveness among the vari- "I wondered", he writes, "what is so great this phenomenon to the 1880s and 1890s ous concerns.41 Indian enterprise in this about defeating the sahibs? Boys of all when sports rooted in physical culture, field may be dated back to 1895 with nations indulge in play. So what is it that which was earlier deemed insignificant, Saradaranjan Ray establishing 'S Ray has marked out English boys as superior to their young counterparts especially the became an integral part of the Indian and Co'. Bengalis?" identity. This fact is reiterated in the intro- This turn to 'European sport' came at "The answer lies in the fact that while the ductory speech by H E Stapleton, I E S a very difficult moment in the post-mutiny sahibs play these manly games almost M L C director of public instruction, period when Indian military initiatives were regularly, Bengalis are averse to any form Bengal on the occasion of the opening of crushed and most of the wars of annex- of physical exhaustion. Since the sahibs the Government Training Centre for ation had been won by the Raj, which was practice athletics, cricket, etc, their bodies Physical Education, Ballygunge, Calcutta. more secure than ever in its paramountcy. are strong and they acquire skills which July 1932: This was no time for the disarmed and cannot be matched by the natives. Manly I have been surprised to find how few facts defeated subject population to flaunt itssports are therefore an exclusive English preserve. It is precisely the act of having are available as to the early development armed strength. It was a time to propagate defeated the overlord on his own ground of interest in games and physical training. 'charitrabal' (strength of character) rather Prior to 1890 there seems to have been that filled his young friend with such glee."43 than 'bahubal' (physical might). The From this account it is evident that the act little public interest in the matter, even Indians, in barred from staging violent Calcutta, and it is only during the twenty of defeating the sahibs at their own game demonstrations or other acts that would years between 1890 and 1910 that interest was considered no mean achievement, and physically challenge British superiority seems to have been gradually aroused. had already filtered down to the Bengalis naturally looked upon 'leisure' pursuits Taking football first, the earliest compe- by the mid-1880s. tition began in 1889 when the Trades Cupwith new eyes. This factor clearly distin- It is important to note here that the above was presented. This was won by St Xavier' guishes s Indian sports from their English analysis of the appropriation of European in 1893, by the medical college in 1894 counterparts. Colonialism and the realities sport by the Indians, might seemingly and 1895, 1903 and 1904 and on three of being a subject population were the portray the entire exercise as a limited subsequent occasions by the Shibpur conditions that made possible the origins Engineering College in 1896, 1901 and enterprise. It appears that this process was of Indian cricket and informed its develop- 1905. It was not however till 1893 and spurred by a desire to simply defeat the ment and evolution. 1894 the football began to play a promi- sahibs at their own game. The picture The portrayal of a cricket match played nent part in the life of the city of Calcutta, however, is much more complex, and to by country folk becoming an arena of the Indian Football Association being capture its nuances we need to look at the nationalist assertion is unthinkable in the established in 1893, in which year also manner in which Indians devoted them- British context. British village cricket has the Cooch Behar Cup for Indian teams selves to sport organisation in the closing was presented: while the Elliot Challenge always been valorised and glorified for Shield for Indian students of schools and decades of the 19th century. For instance, being untainted by the rigours of the flowering of club and local cricket colleges was presented in 1894. This proved industrialisation, commercialisation and highlights a complex psychological invest- to be of greatest use in encouraging the politicking.42 In India however, in the late development of students interest in games ment in the adoption of European sports. 19th century, leisure settings helped and the names of nearly all the leading The growing patronage of cricket clubs by provide an exciting imaginary where a Calcutta colleges appear in the list of the Indians was closely linked with per- certain role reversal from real life occurred. winners.38 ceptions of fashioning a new identity for Imitation of real life political encounters the Indian male. This becomes clear from V between the coloniser and colonised was an analysis of the motives of the Indians key, but minus the attendant dangers and who played against an Australian team in risks which would otherwise characterise However, the cultivation of masculine Calcutta in 1885: strength by participating in indigenous these situations. The visit in the past of Lord Hawke's team sports like wrestling and body-building By the 1890s it was felt that mastery to India is of great interest to cricket his- soon came to be regarded as insufficient in the manly (manly by European stan- torians specially in Bengal. While in to counter the politics of the colonial state. dards) sports could be an effective reply Calcutta, His Lordship evinced great eager- Drawing upon the political controversies to colonial exploitation. This veiled politi- ness to play against a Bengali team. Before of the 1880s it is clear that the charge of cal motive lay at the root of the flourishing this, Bengali Cricketers played against a

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This content downloaded from 134.114.107.45 on Mon, 19 Aug 2019 05:58:14 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms team of Gentlemen Cricketers who came Aside from the political character, an- a sophisticated form by the 1890s under to Calcutta from Australia, not indeed for other significant aspect of cricket was that figures like W G Grace.50 Yet, the notions the purpose of playing there but on impor- it was .characterised by none of the vio- of virtue, fair play and sportsmanship dis- tant business errand in connection with lence that was associated with other proto- played by the older generation of English Calcutta International Exhibition of 1885. nationalist endeavors which led to their officers and umpires in the film, helping Amongst them there was one Shand a resourceful lefthand bowler. It was a twelve failure and suppression. Sports is a sphere to bring about the eventual victory of the a side game - the result being a drawn of competition rather than violence. This Champaner team reflects why cricket one. The Bengali team was skippered by fact made early European sports in India continues to be labelled a gentleman's game. N P Sarbadhikary. This was before the a safe haven wherein feelings of self-worth Finally, it is interesting to note that the Parsis played against any foreign team and strength of character could be articu- release of 'Lagaan' coincided with a period in Bombay.44 lated without the tension and fury that of renewed interest in Indian cricket. If the In this match the performance of the Bengali would accompany such articulation in the film had been released even a year before it cricketers was so commendable that they 'political' sphere. I would argue that these did, its marketability would have been mar- were invited to a party by His Excellency covert yet deeply politicised moorings ofred by the scandal.i of match-fixing circu- Rear Admiral Free Mantle of the battleship cricket gave it a longevity and tenacious- lating in the Indian cricket world51. But H M S Bodecia, something unheard of in ness found missing from indigenous sports. with victories over the mighty Australians52 contemporary Indian society.45 - It is not only on account of its worth asand a test win in Zimbabwe,53 Indian cricket The above episode shows that the a game per se, but on account of the political had certainly emerged from the shackles Indians' hopes that prowess in manly message that was so inextricably linked ofto match fixing.54 This close linkage bet- games would enhance their social it from the beginning, that cricket has ween commerce and leisure in the Indian respectability, were at least, partly fulfilled. endured on Indian soil. As 'Lagaan' jus- context, a fact evident from the timing of A letter to Nagendraprasad Sarbadhikary tifiably demonstrates, Indian cricket was the film's release, is yet another factor that from Lord Hawke attests to the recogni- always imbued with meaning whose makes' Lagaan' worthy of study. B1i tion which the Bengalis earned from the roots went beyond the sporting arena. A colonial rulers: narrative of the origin of cricket on Indian Notes Dear Sarbadhikary, Please accept my soil makes sense only when we take into heartiest congratulations. European sports account the colonial context and read the 1 Berry Sarbadhikary, Indian Cricket Un- covered, Calcutta, Illustrated News, 1945. in India have a brief lineage, more so for trajectory of the spread of a cricketing a costly sport like cricket which has barely 2 The film's producer and lead actor. culture in terms of power equations 3 The director of the film. begun here; but your phenomenal talent between the coloniser and the colonised. .4 Released in June, 2001, the title 'Lagaan has ensured that your name is not unknown designates the annual tax to be paid to the in distant England.46 VII colonial state by the village. 5 Derived from Hollywood - a name by which VI the Mumbai film industry is commonly known. 'Lagaan' is also a comment on the broader 6 MegastarofHindi cinema. Has been nominated history of the game. Even though the film superstar of the last millennium. Thus, as depicted in 'Lagaan', the origin rather anachronistically situates the men- 7 While hockey is the de jure national game of. and development of Indian cricket can ace of match fixing in the Indian context the country, cricket has over the years mar- only be meaningfully analysed by placing ginalised hockey in the Indian sporting hier- in the late 19th century, Lakha's sabotag- it against the wider political canvas of the archy. This fact becomes evident from a ing of own his side48 (his reasons are comparison of the earnings and iconic status colonial state. This is not to say that one different of course) finds many parallels of cricketers and hockey players, as also the can read a straightforward narrative of in late 19th and early 20th century dis- statistics of spectatorship of the two sports. the rise, spread and flowering of anti- 8 Ram Chandra Guha, 'Cricket and Politics in courses on the game's history. European sentiment into sports. Existing Colonial India', Past and Present, November Corruption and vice in cricket can be historiography of cricket in India reads 1998; Edward Docker, History of Indian traced back to the early 1740s. S M Toyne Cricket, Delhi: Macmillan, 1976; Richard very much like a simple narrative of trans- establishes this fact in his The Early History Cashman, Patrons, Players and the Crowd, position wherein the specificity of the game of Cricket. He writes: Calcutta: Orient Longman, 1979; Mario Rodri- itself is lost, and it can easily be replaced gues, Statesman, Calcutta, November 1, 1997, After the game had become fashionable in with matters such as western education or Vasant Raiji, India's Hambledon Men, Tyeby the 1740s betting rose to fantastic sums of Press, Bombay, 1986; Mihir Bose, History of Indian entry into the civil service and still one thousand pounds or more. Of one match Indian Cricket, Andre Deutsch, London, 1990. make as much sense! Further, the indig- it has been stated that the side bets among 9 Earlierfilms on cricket like 'Kabhi Ajnabi The' enous adoption of European sport was not spectators and players totaled twenty thou- which starred Indian cricketer Sundeep Patil, simply an act of mimicry47 (understood sand pounds. In the early part of the 19th 'All Rounder' and 'Awwal Number' which star- red Aamir Khan had all failed in the box office. in the literal sense of the term) which century the game itself was in danger of ruin since it had become the chief medium 10 A local Indian game played with a thick stick and would have invariably brought in its wake a wooden ball similar in shape to a rugby ball, for national gambling. Bookmakers at- an allegation of not quite, not white. Its though smallerin size. This game was extremely tended the matches, odds were called as roots went much deeper - into certain popular among the rural Indian youth upto the the fortunes of the game fluctuated, and ideas of self-cultivation, manliness and 1950s and 1960s.The player uses the stick to side bets on the score of individual players raise the ball in the air and then to hit it with all self- worth. Cricket was played not simply led to bribery and cheating. One noted his might. If the fielder catches it the hitter is to facilitate social mobility. Rather, the player took hundred pounds to lose a out. If the fielder fails to catch the ball the hitter game became a mirror through which an match...Even the Hambledon club was continues with his stint. A certain score is agreed Indian identity assessed itself, and in this said to have usually staked five hundred upon by the players before the start of the match. Whoever achieves it first is the winner. pounds on each match.49 respect the appropriation of European 11 Ram Chandra Guha, 1998 op cit, Edward Even the practice of sledging, articulated sports by the Indians can be seen as early Docker, 1976 op cit; Richard Cashman, 1979 breeding grounds of nationalism. beautifully in the film, had already reached op cit; Mario Rodrigues, 1997, op cit.

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This content downloaded from 134.114.107.45 on Mon, 19 Aug 2019 05:58:14 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 12 Richard Cashman, 1979 ibid, pp, 22-23. 33 Ibid. 46 Ibid, p 128. 13 Ram Chandra Guha, 1998 op cit, Edward 34 Bilate Cricket Khela, Hemchandra Sarkar, 47 For an entirely different understanding of Docker, 1976 op cit; Richard Cashman, 1979 Pradip, 1898, pp 393-96. mimicry, see, Homi Bhabha, The Location of op cit; Mario Rodrigues, 1997 op cit. 35 'Social Background of Indian Test Players', Culture, Routledge, 1994. 14 Ram Chandra Guha, 1998, ibid, pp 158-59. Richard Cashman, 1979 op cit, pp 173-89. 48 Lakha, another member of the village team, 15 Cf Mankasji Kawasji Patel, A History of Parsi 36 Anandabazar Patrika, January 3, 1930. jealous of Bhuvan enters into an understanding Cricket, Bombay 1892. 37 'Hindu Cricket', The Indian Social Reformer- with the English captain to sabotage his side. 16 The Parsi victory led to major celebrations in 1906, p 292. He was in love with Gauri, the village girl who Bengal. The contemporary Bengali journals, 38 St Xavier's Magazine, St Xavier's College, in turn liked Bhuvan over him, forcing Lakha Sakha, Pradip, are full of praise for the Parsis Calcutta, 1932, p 70. to resort to unsportsman like behaviour. urging the Bengalis to gear themselves up in 39 John Roselli, 'Self Image of Effeteness: Phy- 49 S M Toyne, The Early History of Cricket. For trying to achieve a similar feat. sical Education and Nationalism in Nineteenth an analysis on the corruption and vice plaguing 17 One of the villagers who plays for Bhuvan's Century Bengal' in Past and Present, 86 cricket from the mid 18th century, see Boria team. (February 1980), pp 121-48; Mrinalini Sinha, Majumdar, 'Indian Cricket - Myths and 18 For a detailed analysis of this controversy see Colonial Masculinity, The manly Englishman Reality', Outlook, March 7, 2001. The Times of India, January 1890. and the Effeminate Bengali in the Late 50 There are a series of stories about W G and 19 CfMankasji Kawasji Patel, 1892 opcit; Quoted Nineteenth Century, Manchester, Manchester his ways on the field. A story goes that on one in M E Pavri, Parsi Cricket, Bombay: J BUniversity Press, 1995. occasion he was all praise for the bright weather Marzban and company. Steam Printing Works, 40 For advertisements on cricket and football see upon which a young batsman who was 1901, p 38 the Statesman, The Times of India. looked up to the sky to appreciate the glories of 20 The astrologer of the village who would predict 41 The Statesman, Calcutta, January 22, 1901, the sun. With the sun in his eyes he was soon the future of the villagers, suggesting remedies The text of the advertisement reads: 'Cricket bowled allowing W G to have the last laugh. for forthcoming misfortunes. bats', ours are the cheapest, because they are Despite many other similar instances WG is 21 Partha Chatterjee, 'Nationalist Thought and priced the lowest and last the longest and hailed as the father of cricket and the best the Colonial World', Partha Chatterjee because with every bat above 10 we give a gentleman cricketer ever. There are a series of Omnibus, OUP, 1999. superfine quality extra stout rubber bat handle stories about W G and his ways on the field. On 22 Deva Singh Sodhi; the Sikh from Dhaulpur free. S Ray & Co, 62, Bowbazar Street, Calcutta, one occasion he was all praise for the weather who had earlier played cricket for the British patronised by the Calcutta Cricket Club. upon which a young batsman who was batting army and had already mastered the game. He 42 In all monographs on British cricket, village looked up to he sky to appreciate the glories joined Bhuvan's team declaring that whether cricket is glorified as an ideal, far removed of the sun. With the sun in his eyes he was it is the battlefield or the cricket field he was from the vices of industrialisation. For one of bowled allowing WG to have the last laugh. always ready to take on the oppressive colonial the best illustrations of village cricket see 51 After the match fixing controversy had come state. His inclusion into the Champaner team Hugh De Selincourt, A Cricket Match, Oxford to light, there were wild speculations across considerably increased its strength. University Press, 1979. the world as to whether the death warrant of 23 Partha Chatterjee, 1999, op cit. 43 Sakha, Volume 12, December, 1883. cricket had been signed. Indian cricket had lost 24 See Partha Chatterjee, 'The Nation and Its 44 Eskari, Hitabadi Sporting Souvenir, 1935;' its credibility and cricket's popularity all over Fragments', in Partha Chatterjee Omnibus, Saurindra Kumar Ghosh, Krida Samrat the world had taken a nosedive. For an OUP, 1999, Chatterjee's argument by now Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhikary 1869-1940, exposition of these sentiments see Rudrangshu well known in Indian historiography is about Calcutta, 1964, pp 125-26. This is a startling Mukherji, The Telegraph, November 4, 2000. a discursive distinction between the material fact for recorded history regards the Parsis to52 June 2001. This was India's first test win abroad and spiritual realms of society. The former have been the first Indian team to have played an since a solitary win against Sri Lanka in 1993. coincides with the world of work, money, international match during their tour of England 53 In one of the most keenly fought test series commerce and politics while the latter refers in 1886. Vasant Raiji, India'sHambledon Men, on Indian soil India defeated the Australians to the home, religiosity and family. Nationalist Tyeby Press, Bombay, 1986; Mario Rodrigues, 2-1 in a three test series played in February- men, being overshadowed by the coloniser in The Statesman, Calcutta, November 1,1997; March 2001. the material realm asserted their sovereignty Mihir BOse, History of Indian Cricket, Andre 54 Boria Majumdar, 'Cricket Remains Gulliver', first in the spiritual sphere which became the Deutsch, London,1990. Outlook, April 10,2001, 'Cricket abarMadhya- site for the take off of nationalist impulses. 45 Ibid, p 126. gagane', AnandabazarPatrika, March 27,2001. 25 Edward Docker, History of Indian Cricket, Delhi: Macmillan, 1976, pp 2-3. 26 GeorgeW Johnson, Three Years in Calcutta, Or Stranger in India, London, 1843, pp 60-63. This fact also becomes clear from other ac- Depoliicizing Development counts of cricket published in the sports magazines of the day, Bengal Quarterly Sporting Magazine, Calcutta, 1828; India The World Bank and Social Capital Sporting Review, Calcutta, 1845. JOHN HARRISS 27 SaradaranjanRay, Cricketkhela, Mukul, 1890, reprinted in Siddhartha Ghosh and Prasad- 81-87496-16-9, Demy 8vo, pp. vi + 145, hardcover Rs 250 ranjan Ray, Cricket Majar Cricket, Saibya Prakashani: Calcutta,1999, pp 130-136. Depoliticizing Development critiques the idea of social capital. 28 The untouchable, whose touch it was believed would pollute the ritual purity of upper-caste John Harriss asks why the notion should have taken off in the villagers. 29 Leading Bengali social reformer and sporting dramatic way that it has done, and finds in its uses by the World patron of the late 19th century. Bank the attempt, systematically, to obscure class relations and 30 Saurindra Kumar Ghosh, Krida Samrat Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhikary 1869-1940, y power. This powerful and lucid critique will be useful to all those Calcutta, 1964, p 120. 31 Born in Dharwad in 1875, Palwankar Baloo a interested in development studies, including sociologists, chammar by birth had become the leading D) economists, planners, and NGO and other activists. Indian bowler by the time of the English tour of 1911. His brothers, Vithal, Shivram and POSTAGE FREE for single copy orders. Add Rs 45 to cheques drawn on banks outside Delhi. Ganpat were all leading players of the day. LeftWord Books, 12 Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi 110001 INDIA Vithal also captained the Hindu team in the Bombay Pentangular tournament in 1923. Phone (91-11) 335 9456, 335 6966. Email: [email protected] 32 'Hindu Cricket', The Indian Social Reformer - 1906, p 292.

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