Friendship Tour

I was appalled to read about a die hard cricket fan - a teacher from Indore- set himself ablaze immediately after Virat Kohli was out in the second innings of the first Cricket test between a India and South Africa. This game arouses such passion that some times leads to such disastrous consequences. It is therefore no wonder that Cricket is considered as a religion in India followed by tens of millions across the country. While appreciating this colonial game - that was described by an eminent social scientist Ashish Nandy as “an Indian game accidentally discovered by the British”, - the only issue that I have is why do people goto such extreme length as to take their own life. After all it is the gentleman’s game and the better team always wins and in the First Test the South Africans were truly a better side if the two.

I was privileged to be a part of the curatorial team consisting of Dr Prashant Kidambi and Suresh Menon, tomCurate an exhibition “ Cricket Connects - India South Africa which was exhibited in two cities in South Africa in the year 2014 as a part of the Festival of India. This Cricket Exhibition, with images from historical times including the first post-apartheid cricket series for South Africa, highlighted how cricket offers unique insights into the longstanding relationship between India and South Africa. The exhibition was developed to commemorate 20 years of India - South Africa relations, 20 years of South African Freedom and Democracy and 100 years since the return of Gandhi to India from South Africa.

Sport in general, and cricket in particular, became one of the ways in which the diverse Indian communities in South Africa came to interact with one another and other non-European races. Cricket in India had established itself as a popular sport among Indians by the end of the nineteenth century. Many of the Indian migrants who went to South Africa from India were familiar with the ‘imperial game’. The Indian migrants in South Africa set about creating their own cricket clubs from the 1890s onwards.

In 1948, when the National Party came to power in South Africa, India was the first country to close its embassy in South Africa. Friends of my generation will remember a stamp in our Passport which said valid for all countries except South Africa. South Africa was subsequently banned by the ICC from playing any official international cricket (1969). Forty three years after India had closed its ties with the South Africa (1991) - subsequent to the release of Nelson Mandela from jail - at a meeting of the International Cricket Council (ICC) at Lord’s, it was India who proposed South Africa’s re-entry into international cricket. This was seen as entirely appropriate since India had been at the forefront of the fight against apartheid, and an endorsement would ease acceptance for the new South Africa around the world.

The symbolism of India’s proposal at Lord’s and the country’s invitation to South Africa to play its first international there in 22 years was profound. Within four months of rejoining the ICC, a South African team under Clive Rice toured India. The South African team arrived in Kolkata in 1991 for a three-match one-day series. Thousands of fans lined the streets to greet the team. Eden Gardens - which hosted the first match – was packed to capacity. Throughout their stay in Kolkata, the visitors were greeted by banners proclaiming love, anticipation, welcome, hospitality.

India’s inaugural tour of South Africa the following year (1992-93) – the first official tour by a non-White team to that country – was labelled the “Friendship Tour”. It began with another moving scene – with fans lining the streets of Durban and giving the motorcade with the Indian players a memorable welcome. Nelson Mandela witnessed the Johannesburg Test, and endeared himself to the players with his easy informality and knowledge of the game’s players.

The Cricket Connects exhibition which was presented at Johannesburg and Durban received an excellent reception and review. We brought out a special exhibition catalog which too was released at Johannesburg. For those who are interested you may like to download the book from

https://drive.google.com/…/0B2JCHZuuIxa1UGxMVEU2bkx3Wlk/view

Ever since the inaugural “Friendship Tour”, India and South Africa have witnessed some outstanding cricketing ties which have strengthened the socio-cultural and political ties between the two countries and the current series is no different and should be looked at it from that angle.