Anglo-Indians in Hockey                                                                                        

When India decided to send her hockey team to the Amsterdam Olympic in 1928, Great Britain the defending champion withdrew their team! It seemed that Great Britain was afraid of their prized-colony beating the master at the latter’s own game.

Prior to 1928, twice the hockey event was held at the Olympic Games, first in 1908 at London and then at Antwerp in 1920. Both the times GB was the winner. It was indeed surprising to find the defending champion GB withdrawing at India’s participation. Was it a political defeat at the time of India’s nationalist movement? Strange are the ways of politicians around the world.

In 1928 at Amsterdam in Holland, debutant India won all her five matches by convincing margins. While Dhyan Chand and company were doing wonders up ahead, the citadel was in the safe custody of the Anglo-Indian community.

Apart from Dhyan Chand the core of the team were all from the highly versatile Anglo-Indian community. According to David Wallechinsky, the authority on Olympic history, out of 14 members there were no less than nine Anglo-Indians from Bengal, Punjab, Central Provinces and United Provinces in the gold-winning combination: Eric Penniger (deputy captain), Richard Allen, Michael Rocque, Leslie Hammond, William Cullen, Rex Norris, Maurice Gateley, George Marthins and Frederic Seaman.

The tough and talented team of diverse backgrounds showed the world what fortitude meant. Not even one goal was scored against India in five matches! Wizard Dhyan Chand’s men scored 29 goals.

The outstanding goalkeeper from Calcutta, young and fearless Richard Allen began the trend of attack from the goal-line itself. The strong, swarthy man was a stumbling block which no power in the world could penetrate.

Eric Penniger of Punjab was the link between the defence and the offence. He was a master in the area of distribution. Matured and a natural leader, Penninger wore the mantle of deputy-captain with dignity and pride. Central Provinces’ Rex Norris was the pivot in the mid-field. He was an outstanding play-maker with all-round skills. An excellent game-analyst, he was a born mentor of players.

Thankfully the India hockey team to Amsterdam in 1928 combined very well and began a tradition of unity in diversity. A lot of credit should go to the manager AB Rosser, an Anglo-Indian from Bengal who was firm yet friendly and totally unbiased. He stamped his authority in no uncertain manner and skipper, the highly-connected Jaipal Singh, had to leave the team during the course of the tournament.

In the following Olympic in 1932 at Los Angeles, there were eight Anglo-Indians in the Indian Olympic squad. Carlyle Tapsell, Frank Brewin, Richard Carr, William Sullivan and Arthur HInd joined the experienced Allen, Hammond and Penniger. The very knowledgeable, mid-field exponent Rex Norris was no longer around. Up ahead, Dhyan Chand’s younger brother, the brilliant Roop Singh was an automatic choice.

Again Dhyan Chad was not given the captaincy. The curse of ‘royalty to lead’ remained. Surprisingly Eric Penniger, who was the deputy captain at Amsterdam four years ago and was being thought of as the ideal person to lead the team, was eased out. An average player of influential background Lal Shah Bokhari arrived from UK and was asked to lead!

In his first Olympic in 1932, an Anglo-Indian from Calcutta Carlyle Tapsell gave the world a notice of his class and composure. He was simply superb in his defensive role. India let in just two goals at Los Angeles in 1932, while scoring 35 in 2 matches. The man guarding the goal happened to be the one and only Richard Allen. He exuded confidence and inspired his mates from his goal-line with constant encouragement.

At the Berlin Olympics in 1936 the candidature of Dhyan Chand as the captain could no longer be suppressed. In any case he was the undisputed leader of the team since 1928, but now he also became the formal captain. With Roop Singh around there was little reason to worry about the attack.

In defence, the presence of Tapsell once again gave one the reassurance of old. This time too there were eight Anglo-Indians serving India: Allen, Tapsell, Earnest Cullen, Joseph Phillip, Paul Fernandes, Lionel Emmett, Cyril Michie and Joseph Galibardy.

And of course guarding the citadel with pads on was the master, Richard Allen. Along with Dhyan Chand, Allen held a permanent place in the India Olympic teams from 1928 to 1936 (3 Olympics). Unfortunately the legendary Allen has not been remembered in India today. No one has the time and the inclination to worry about a sportsman who won 3 gold medals for India at the Olympics!

First heard about the grand performances of Allen and Tapsell from my father in the late 1950s. Later in 1967 from our school games-master at St Xavier's, James Brown, the former goalie with Calcutta’s BN Railway (now South Eastern Railway). He missed the India colours only because of the perennial presence of the great Shankar Laxman.

At a time when we in India are bending backwards trying to highlight the non-medalists as well as mere participants at Olympic Games, we have little interest in the exploits of men who brought glory to the nation in the Olympic Games in the past.

Apart from the immortal and legendary Leslie Claudius, no other Anglo-Indian hockey player has been shown an iota of the gratitude that he deserved. The exceptional Claudius – a product of post-independent India – with three gold and one silver medals in four Olympic Games is an all-time role model for any sportsman of any sports discipline. He was too important to be ignored.

But what about the rest from the Anglo-Indian community of the pre-independence era? Penniger, Hammond and Tapsell have won two gold medals each for India in two outings. Richard Allen improved on that to get three gold medals in three Games. Yet how many of our country’s youth have been told of their contribution to the national cause?

The Anglo-Indians played hockey not for money. Their progeny are not asking for financial assistance. Not even bothered about awards and recognition.

The Anglo-Indian community in India displayed superlative hockey skills and established India’s credentials as world champions.If we have any sense of gratitude, then it is our obligation to acknowledge their contribution. By honouring them today, we would merely be rectifying a wrong done and continued for so many decades.

Why can we not give them some kind of recognition in posterity? Why do we not rewrite our sports history by acknowledging that the Anglo-Indians helped to make India the world hockey champions? Who is stopping us from spilling out the truth? Why are we dishonest to our own selves? What have we gained by not heralding the glorious achievements of these champion athletes?

So low is our self-esteem that today we like to glorify sportsmen who are mired in controversies; we eulogize sportsmen who are lackeys of political parties and we love to honour those sportspeople who are close to the seats of power and influence.

This happens to be the sports culture of modern India. Shall we live to see a turnaround?