Still, Baloo Spun It Square

The Untold History of the First All-India (Cricket) Team, which toured England in 1911, is a narrative of the game바카라�s contr­oversial, conflicting and contra­dic­tory relationship with col­­o­­nia­lism, nationalism, communalism, commercialism and caste/class differences. The composition of the team is revelatory. An elitist, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, led the team for reasons that didn바카라�t include cricket. The original 16 was chosen along communal lines바카라�apart from a Sikh skipper, there were seven Parsis, four Hindus (later five), and four (later three) Muslims. Among Hindus were three Brahmins and two Dalits, Palwankar Baloo and his brother, Shivram.

For the colonisers, the aim of the tour was to inculcate Western ideals and values in the 바카라�orientals바카라� through cricket. As nationalist feelings turned radical/armed revolutionary, the rulers perceived that the gentleman바카라�s game could bring 바카라�natives바카라� closer. Cricket was seeped in 바카라�benevolent paternalism바카라� and 바카라�Britannic nationalism바카라�. Some Indians 바카라�sought to promote a reassuring image of India in Britain바카라� in times of 바카라�intense mutual antipathy and antagonism바카라�. Others thought in nationalistic terms바카라�what if the browns could beat the whites at the latter바카라�s game?

Such feelings resonated and echoed as Indians adopted the game in the 1850s and form the basis of Prashant Kidambi바카라�s Cricket Country. From the late 1870s, the Parsis, who were the first to become exp­ert cricketers, began to win against Eng­lish clubs in Bombay. After the English 66th Regiment lost to Parsi Cricket Club in 1877, the 바카라�defeated soldiers lashed out at the Parsi spectators바카라� by 바카라�wielding their belts바카라�. The Parsi and other Indian communities savoured such victories as natio­nalistic wins, feeling 바카라�equal, if not superior바카라� to the English.

As Parsi domination continued, domestic cricket evolved on communal lines with the emergence of Hindu Gym­khana and Islam Gymkhana in Bombay. Com­munal tensions were visible when these teams played each other, and were interspersed with nationalism when one of them won against an English team. Many felt that the 1911 tour would enhance fee­­lings of Indian-ness, and dil­ute communal disharmony. A letter writer rem­­arked, 바카라�In an eleven consisting of Hindus, Parsis, and Moslems, each one will instinctively feel that he is an Indian first, and a member of their race afterwards.바카라�

Within the religious divide, caste and class played a definite role. Kidambi notes that the educated middle class and the elite (including Indian and princes) were the 바카라�principal adherents of the game바카라�. Educational institutions that imp­arted Western teaching popularised cri­cket too. This explains why more than half of the 1911 team hailed from Bombay, which had an 바카라�extraordinarily dense network of (British-style) institutions바카라�. Given such roots, it was almost logical for the game to become a prism through which 바카라�Hindu society was forced to reassess the insidious effects of the caste system바카라�.

At the heart of this caste debate was one of the country바카라�s best cricketers, Baloo Bahaji Palwankar, a Dalit spinner, and his two cricketer brothers, Shivram and Vithal. The fact that these untouchables played for the Hindu and Indian teams illustrated the 바카라�progress that had been made in the cause of Hindu social reform바카라�. For critics, it highlighted the 바카라�deep-roo­ted caste prejudices that defined Baloo바카라�s long cricketing career바카라�. Initially, his team members wouldn바카라�t eat with him. Only the efforts of the English, who appreciated his skills, and intense public criticism, forced his entry into the Hindu team.

Princely politics was enmeshed with cricket when the Indian Rajas realised its benefits. This was epitomised by Ranjit­sinhji, who became the Nawab of Nawa­nagar only because of his legendary exp­l­­oits in England. The captain of the 1911 side, Bhupinder Singh, initially ref­used to travel, but changed his mind. The reason: his belief that through cricket, he could reach out to British officials in Eng­land, who could overrule their offi­cers in India, who were apprehensive about the Raja바카라�s character and ability to rule. Singh hardly played cricket on tour and successfully networked with key bureaucrats.

From the beginning, commercialism went hand-in-hand with cricket. The 1911 team was partly financed by the Tata Group, which funded Mahatma Gandhi바카라�s struggles in South Africa and the Indian nationalist movement. Among the earlier Parsi patrons were businessmen like Cowasjee Jehangir Readymoney. Hindus and Muslims had their backers바카라�Guj­arati traders and Khoja entrepreneurs. The English aristocracy hosted the 1911 team and the earlier all-Parsi teams that travelled to England. British governors, soldiers, journalists and publicists pushed for the 1911 tour. In ess­ence, the first all-Indian team marked the culmination of several social, political, economic, and cultural factors.