A most remarkable community: Anglo-Indian contributions to sport in India

Abstract

The Anglo-Indians are one of India's constitutionally recognized minorities, a microscopic community of combined South Asian and European ancestry that emerged after the arrival of the Portuguese and other Europeans on the subcontinent. Among the Anglo-Indians' contributions to modern India has been a remarkable involvement in sport that is altogether disproportionate to the community's size. Anglo-Indian schools have long promoted Western sports, and Anglo-Indians have often been India's instructors, coaches and Olympians. As in other fields, Anglo-Indian women pioneered Indian women's sport. A lasting imprint has also been made with regard to organized games, which continue to be the primary leisure activities of countless Indian service workers. The subject at large encourages a different view of Western cultural influences in South Asia as they now tend to be rather uniformly rejected. In Anglo-Indian contributions to sport in India, we find insight into a Western cultural feature that has been thoroughly integrated into everyday Indian society. The article makes use of textual sources as well as contributions from Anglo-Indian families located in India and several countries of re-settlement.