Palvankar Baloo

The first India born and bred cricketer of international eminence was a Harijan, a social outcaste. His name was Baloo Palvankar and he hailed from Dharwad, an obscure corner of Maharashtra.

Born in1875, his poverty-stricken family soon migrated to Poona. The young Baloo had to leave school early in life to augment the family income. His first job was with a Parsee cricket club where he rolled and swept the ground.

By 1892 however he got employment in the exclusive environment of Poona Gymkhana, where he was required to assist the chief groundsman. He also in his spare time bowled to the European players at the nets. One European Jungly Greig (more on him in another article) was the first to discover his exceptional talents.

Word soon spread that the young Harijan groundsman possessed outstanding bowling skills. But the high-caste, conservative Hindus of Poona would not even contemplate giving him a trial. In the caste-ridden ambience of Poona at the time, the low-born Harijan had little sympathy and less opportunity. Fortunately around this time Baloo’s father went to Bombay, where the cosmopolitan clime afforded him comparatively a little easier social mobility.

Here too, at the Hindu Gymkhana the orthodox elements were initially not in favour of playing with a ‘low-born’ Harijan. But then regular defeats at the hands of the European and Parsee oppositions compelled them to include Baloo in their team.

Using all his skills he was an immediate success in the local matches, which made him an automatic choice for the combined Hindu team in the triangular tournament where the Hindus competed with the Parsees and the European expatriates. Immediately the Hindus began to win matches and titles. The primary reason was the fantastic exploits of the social pariah, Baloo.

From 1907 to 1920 he was the best bowler in the land. Left-arm spinner of phenomenal performance and remarkable consistency. Even though he was winning them trophies, the Hindus did not allow him to sit beside them even to have his cricket lunches!

Despite opposition from his own community to his leadership, late in life Baloo had the satisfaction to lead the Hindus to victory in the Quadrangular of 1920. This was most certainly a rare achievement. For a “low-caste” Hindu to give leadership to the supposed higher castes was indeed a major breakthrough in the social fabric of the Hindu community at the time.

For the sake of self interest and convenience, the upper class Hindus accepted a social outcaste to play alongside them. The man, who was judged to be an untouchable because of his birth, now became a hero because of his genius. In 1911 when the Maharaja of Patiala decided to take an all-India cricket team to England, Baloo was an automatic choice.

 In England, Baloo created havoc match after match. He did not worry about the cold, blistery weather. Nor did he find any time to bother about the ever-changing conditions and the varying pitches on which he had no experience earlier. The social pariah made no discrimination in his opponents as he teased and tormented the English batters.

He exhibited to the caste Hindus and the world what a social outcaste from an obscure village in India was capable of, if given the right opportunities. Later Baloo was joined in the Hindu team by his three brothers – Shivram, Vithal and Ganpat – each a brilliant performer in his own right. These four brothers made the Hindu team the best in the land.

 On his triumphant return from England in 1911, prominent social activists like Gokhale, Ranade and Tilak hailed his greatness in public announcements. Even Bhimrao Ambedkar, then a young student, became a self-confessed ardent fan of his.

 Whatever he got from cricket was not for his own benefit but for the benefit of the upper class Hindus. He and his brothers were merely pawns to be exploited and forgotten.

Baloo did not change his religious belief to Buddhism in response to a call from his friend and fan, Ambedkar, who was convinced that the ‘untouchables’ had no future within the Hindu community and so he wanted all his fellow ‘untouchables’ to convert themselves into Buddhists.

Baloo did not change his religion as he felt that with Mahatma Gandhi’s emergence and influence the status of his community would improve and that they would become an important part of the mainstream.

The contradiction in approach between the two friends drew them apart. In 1937, despite reluctance on his part, Baloo was coerced to fight an election against the formidable Dr Ambedkar and, as apprehended, lost the contest.

He died in 1955 in penury, thoroughly forgotten by the very men he had helped to prosper. Every Indian cricketer owes him an eternal debt. He is the first ever Indian cricketer who heralded the superiority of Indian cricketers to the world at large. He is the man who opened the door for the modern cricketer to earn respect abroad.

No national award, no national recognition, no financial benefit was ever granted to this dignified genius. He left behind the memory of a legend that should make every Indian cricket lover feel guilty of having forsaken him.