Sport in South Asian Society Past and Present

Drawing inspiration from C.L.R. James' well-known epigram, "What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?" the book suggests that South Asian sports make sense only when placed within the broader colonial and post colonial context. It demonstrates that sports not only influence politics and vice versa, but that the two are inseparable. Sports are not only political; they are politics, intrigue, culture, and art. To deny this is to denigrate the position of sports in modern South Asian society.

This volume was previously published as a special issue of the journal "Sport in the Global Society."

Adetailed study of sports' arrival, spread and advance in colonial and post-colonial South Asia. A selection of articles addresses critical issues of nationalism, communalism, commercialism and gender through the lens of sport. This book makes the point thatthe social histories of South Asian sport cannot be understood by simply looking at the history of the game in one province or region. Furthermore, it demonstrates that it would be wrong to understand sport in terms of the exigencies of the colonial state. Drawing inspiration from C.L.R. James' well-known epigram, 'What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?' the findings suggest that South Asian sport makes sense only when it is placed within the broader colonial and post-colonial context. The book demonstrates that sport not only influences politics and vice versa, but that the two are inseparable. Sport is not only political, it is politics, intrigue, culture and art. To deny this is to denigrate the position of sport in modern South Asian society. This volume was previously published as a special issue of The International Journal of the History of Sport.

Part 1. Raj and Post Raj Identities: Sport and South Asia Part 2. Narrative Histories: Sport in Colonial and Post Colonial South Asia Part 3. Marginal Voices: Women's Sport in Colonial and Post Colonial South Asia Part 4. Lagaan - Undertones and Overtones: South Asian Sport, Culture, Society Part 5. Cementing Ties: Sport in South Asian Diplomacy Part 6. Cross Cutting Identities: Sport and the South Asian Diaspora

Boria Majumdar is a Distinguished Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Study at La Trobe University, Australia. He is also Deputy Executive Academic Editor of The International Journal of the History of Sport, Executive Academic Editor of Sport in Society and Co-Editor of the Sport in the Global Society series. Professor J.A. Mangan is former Director of the International Research Centre for Sport, Socialisation and Society at the University of Strathclyde, UK. He was founding Chairman of the British Society of Sports History and founding editor of The International Journal of the History of Sport. He is author of the acclaimed Athleticism and the Victorian and Edwardian Public School and has written and lectured extensively on sport, culture and society.