SPORTDIPL · Postcolonial Diplomacy and the Public Culture of Sport: Britain and India, 1946-1996

Postcolonial Diplomacy and the Public Culture of Sport: Britain and India, 1946-1996

The SPORTDIPL project examined the importance of sport to postcolonial international relations in the second half of the twentieth century through a case study of Indo-British sporting relations. Since the mid-Victorian era, competitive sport has been a tool of diplomacy and cultural imperialism within the British Empire. The significance of sporting relations increased after the Second World War as Britain sought to maintain close ties with its former colonies and dominions, especially through the game of cricket and events like the Olympic and Empire Games (later renamed as Commonwealth Games). The project explored the history of cricket between England and India as a specific form of diplomatic and cultural encounter between the two countries. The chief social importance of this project was its critical engagement with post-war race relations, gender, and migration. It has the potential to help policymakers understand the social relationships formed in the context of integration of immigrants through sport, women’s long term problems in sport pertaining to the question of their legitimacy and authenticity as stakeholders, and how racial attitudes shape sports. The findings offer a plan for countering discrimination and other systemic problems in sport. The project’s objective to deepen the historical understanding of the notions of imperialism, national identity, diplomacy, and sporting nationalism in Britain and India was carried out through three plans of action. First, it studied the extent to which sporting events between Britain and India counted as public diplomacy. Second, through postcolonial literary analysis, with its emphasis on studying the formation of identity and questioning existing power structures from multiple perspectives, it reflected on the interaction between British and Indian cultures and ideologies. Third, the project examined the interpenetration of cultures by analysing official reports and press narratives.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union