Question

The history of Gymkhana cricket led to first claim cricket being organised on communal and rural lives. Explain.

Answer 1

The establishment of the Paral Gymkhana in Bombay paved the way for other Indians to establish clubs based on the idea of religious community. By the 1890s, Hindus and Muslims were busy gathering funds and support for a Hindu Gymkhana and an Islam Gymkhana. The British did not consider colonial India as a nation. They saw it as a collection of castes and races and religious communities.
The teams that played colonial Indias greatest and most famous first-class cricket tournament did not represent regions but religious communities. The tournament was initially called the Quadrangular because it was played by tour teams-the Europeans, the Parsis the Hindus and the Muslims. It later became the Pentangular when a fifth team was added, namely, the Rest, which comprised all the communities left over, such as the Indian Christians.
However, the rural and communal foundations of the Pentangular tournament were severely criticised by Journalists, cricketers, and political leaders. Mahatma Gandhi condemned the Pentangular, a communally divisive competition that was out of place at a time when nationalists were trying to unite India's diverse population.