Indian physical culture explained

Indian physical culture is the form of physical culture practiced in India.

History

Ancient era

Physical fitness was prized in traditional Hindu thought, with cultivation of the body (dehvada) seen as one path to full self-realization.[1] [2] Buddhist universities such as Nalanda taught various forms of physical culture, such as swimming and archery,[3] with Buddha himself having been well-acquainted with martial activities prior to his enlightenment.[4] Gurukulas focused significantly on physical education alongside academics, with Hindu epics such as the Ramayana often depicting kings marrying off their daughters to men who excelled in athletic events.[5]

A variety of ball games and war-training activities were present in ancient India,[6] [7] [8] with both men and women participating. The traditional Indian physical culture generally used little to no equipment.[9] Ayurvedic medical treatises such as the Charaka Samhita and the Sushruta Samhita emphasized exercise as a way of avoiding conditions such as diabetes, and prescribed exercise in accordance with the seasons.[10] [11] Some specialist communities were known for their acrobatic performances, such as dancing on bamboo.[12]

Hunting for recreation was common through Indian history, and was partaken in by royals; it was done for a variety of reasons, such as proving manliness, for religious purposes, or simply for thrill-seeking purposes.[13] [14] [15] The emphasis on hunting coincided with an overall view of the forest as being an area to be conquered and used by the state, which resulted in conflict between kingdoms and forest-dwellers.[16] [17] Though Hindu scriptures warned against excessive hunting of animals, by the end of the colonial era, some animal species had been hunted to extinction, such as cheetahs.[18] Other exercises done with animals included provoking intoxicated elephants for the purpose of building strength by maneuvering around them and escaping their wrath.[19]

Medieval era

Wrestling was common in Mughal India, with even the loser of a wrestling bout being awarded some money in order to avoid discouragement.[20] Pehlwani emerged as a fusion of Persian and native Indian wrestling traditions during this time.[21]

Colonial era

During the colonial era, Indians felt emasculated by the British,[22] who had disarmed and demilitarized Indian society throughout the 19th century.[23] The poverty and starvation of the era reduced Indians' ability to participate in physical exercise.[24] Bengalis became particularly involved in seeking to combat British stereotypes of effeteness by pursuing physical culture and martial arts,[25] [26] [27] with organizations such as the Hindu Mela contributing.[28]

Influences from Western physical culture became prevalent in India, as mediated through influences from groups such as the YMCA,[29] as Indians sought to benefit from the scientific nature and European nationalistic vigor present in Western schools of thought surrounding physical culture at the time.[30] [31] The British sought to impose their standards of physical discipline onto Indians, while discouraging traditional Indian games and negatively depicting Indian physiques.[32] The British also used hunting as a way to establish imperial dominance and protect Indians from attacks by wild animals.[33] [34] [35]

Indians used victory in sport as a method of proving themselves against the colonizer.[36] Indians also sought to standardize and revitalize their native physical culture during this time period, with institutions such as the akharas and vyayamshalas playing a role.[37] [38]

Post-colonial era

Cricket, a British sport introduced into India during the colonial era,[39] has emerged as a major aspect of modern-day India, with success in World Cups and the emergence of the Indian Premier League influencing society.[40]

Relationship with various movements

Hindu nationalism

See also: Muscular Hinduism and Kreeda Bharati.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has encouraged loyalty to India as a Hindu country in its followers through the practice of traditional Indian physical culture.[41]

Militancy

See also: Anushilan Samiti.

In the colonial era, gyms and other physical culture institutions helped freedom fighters build their strength towards anti-colonial resistance.[42] In the modern era, some communal violence has been linked to Hindu movements that use physical culture to become more organized and strong.[43]

Influence on the world

Yoga and Indian clubs are among the most globally widespread elements of physical culture originating from India.[44] [45]

Combat sports

Wrestling

Physical exercises

Baithak

A baithak, also known as a Hindu squat or a deep knee bend on toes, is performed without additional weight and body weight placed on the forefeet and toes with the heels raised throughout; during the movement, the knees track far past the toes. The baithak was a staple exercise of ancient Indian wrestlers. It was also used by Bruce Lee in his training regime.[46] It may also be performed with the hands resting on an upturned club or the back of a chair.

Yoga

Exercise equipment

Indian club

See also

Sources

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. https://www.sssutms.co.in/cms/Areas/Website/Files/Link/EContent/Foundation_physical_edcation.pdf HISTORY, PRINCIPLES AND FOUNDATION OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION
  2. News: The story behind India's sporting history . Sportskeeda.
  3. Web site: India has a sports history going back a thousand years . 2024-03-23 . businessindia.co . en.
  4. CRITICAL REVIEW ON HISTORY OF SPORTS AND GAMES IN INDIAN CONTEXT WITH SPECIAL FOCUS TO WEST BENGAL . International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education.
  5. Ijsrc . iJOURNALS PUBLICATIONS IJSHRE . Historical Analysis of Physical Education . Academia.
  6. A JOURNEY OF INDIAN SPORTS CULTURE . International Journal of Researches in Social Sciences and Information Studies.
  7. Book: Shephard, Roy J. . An Illustrated History of Health and Fitness, from Pre-History to our Post-Modern World . 2014-11-27 . Springer . 978-3-319-11671-6 . en.
  8. Journals . Best . ANCIENT INDIAN SPORTS A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS . Academia.
  9. HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES AND SPORTS IN ANCIENT INDIA . Purva Mimaansa.
  10. Vyayama culture in ancient India . International Journal of Physical Education, Sports and Health.
  11. Mondal . Samiran . 2013 . Science of exercise: ancient Indian origin . The Journal of the Association of Physicians of India . 61 . 8 . 560–562 . 0004-5772 . 24818341.
  12. Development of gymnastics in ancient India . International Journal of Physiology, Nutrition and Physical Education.
  13. Web site: 2023-03-03 . The history of hunting, and its role in wildlife conservation . 2023-10-08 . The Indian Express . en.
  14. News: Pattanaik . Devdutt . 2020-12-11 . Of thrill seekers and deer hunters . 2023-10-08 . The Economic Times . 0013-0389.
  15. Web site: Singh . Upinder . 2017-10-23 . Even in ancient India, the state was usually at war with the forest and its inhabitants . 2023-10-08 . Scroll.in . en-US.
  16. Web site: What Political Violence in Ancient India Tells Us About Our Past and Present . 2023-10-08 . The Wire.
  17. Sinha . Kanad . Envisioning a No-Man's Land: Hermitage as a Site of Exemption in Ancient and Early Medieval Indian Literature . Medieval Worlds . 2017 . 6 . 20–39 . 10.1553/medievalworlds_no6_2017s20 . free.
  18. Lodh . Sayan . Portrayal of 'Hunting' in Environmental History of India . ALTRALANG Journal . 31 December 2020 . 2 . 02 . 190–206 . 10.52919/altralang.v2i02.84 . free .
  19. Book: Encyclopedia of Indian Physical Culture: A Comprehensive Survey of the Physical Education in India, Profusely Illustrating Various Activities of Physical Culture, Games, Exercises, Etc., as Handed Over to Us from Our Fore-fathers and Practised in India . 1950 . Good Companions . Mujumdar . Dattatraya Chintaman . 296 . 14652803.
  20. https://www.progressiveconnexions.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Parul-Lau-Gaur-sportwebpaper.pdf Physical Culture as Site of Power Play in Mughal Court
  21. Book: Brownstok, Willem . Islam: de l'empire moghol au conflit arabo-israélien . Cambridge Stanford Books . fr.
  22. Indigenous Physical Culture of Bengal During the British Regime . Language in India.
  23. Book: 10.1017/CCOL9780521761291.015 . Hero, celebrity and icon: Sachin Tendulkar and Indian public culture . The Cambridge Companion to Cricket . 2011 . Kidambi . Prashant . 187–202 . 978-0-521-76129-1 .
  24. Book: Encyclopedia of Indian Physical Culture: A Comprehensive Survey of the Physical Education in India, Profusely Illustrating Various Activities of Physical Culture, Games, Exercises, Etc., as Handed Over to Us from Our Fore-fathers and Practised in India . 1950 . Good Companions . Mujumdar . Dattatraya Chintaman . 22 . 14652803.
  25. Rosselli . John . 1980 . The Self-Image of Effeteness: Physical Education and Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century Bengal . Past & Present . 86 . 121–148 . 10.1093/past/86.1.121 . 650742 . 11615074 .
  26. Topdar . Sudipa . The Corporeal Empire: Physical Education and Politicising Children's Bodies in Late Colonial Bengal . Gender & History . April 2017 . 29 . 1 . 176–197 . 10.1111/1468-0424.12259 .
  27. Manna . Agnidev . 2023-03-09 . INDIGENOUS SPORTS AND PHYSICAL CULTURE IN THE FOLK DANCES OF COLONIAL BENGAL . Agpe the Royal Gondwana Research Journal of History, Science, Economic, Political and Social Science . 4 . 3 . 14–21 .
  28. Chowdhury Sengupta . Indira . Colonialism and cultural identity : The making of a Hindu discourse, Bengal 1867-1905 . 1993 . 10.25501/SOAS.00028888 .
  29. Fischer-Tiné . Harald . Fitness for Modernity? The YMCA and physical-education schemes in late-colonial South Asia (circa 1900–40) . Modern Asian Studies . March 2019 . 53 . 2 . 512–559 . 10.1017/S0026749X17000300 .
  30. Book: 10.4324/9780429431012-33 . Physical culture and the body in colonial India, c.1800–1947 . Routledge Handbook of the History of Colonialism in South Asia . 2021 . Watt . Carey . 345–358 . 978-0-429-43101-2 .
  31. Book: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195395358.003.0005 . India and the International Physical Culture Movement . Yoga Body . 2010 . Singleton . Mark . 81–94 . 978-0-19-539535-8 .
  32. Book: Mills, James H. . Confronting the Body: The Politics of Physicality in Colonial and Post-Colonial India . 2004 . Anthem Press . 978-1-84331-365-6 . en.
  33. Book: 10.1093/oso/9780199489381.003.0002 . Imperial Culture and Hunting in Colonial India . Shooting a Tiger . 2018 . Mandala . Vijaya Ramadas . 38–78 . 978-0-19-948938-1 .
  34. Mani . Fiona . Guns and shikaris: The rise of the sahib's hunting ethos and the fall of the subaltern poacher in British India, 1750-1947 . May 2012 . 10.33915/etd.594 . free .
  35. Mandala . Vijaya Ramadas . Hunting as 'Sport' in Colonial India: Codes of Sportsmanship, Firearms, Race, and Class in Hunting . Shooting a Tiger . 13 December 2018 . 161–219 . 10.1093/oso/9780199489381.003.0004 .
  36. Mukerji . Prof Sumit . SPORTS THE CATALYST OF NATIONALISM IN COLONIAL INDIA . Academia.
  37. Book: Singleton, Mark . Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice . 2010-02-10 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-974598-2 . en.
  38. Ganneri . Namrata R. . Notes on Vyayam: a vernacular sports journal in western India . The Newsletter . The International Institute for Asian Studies . Autumn 2014 . 69 . 8 .
  39. Web site: Love . Adam . Dzikus . Lars . 2020-02-26 . How India came to love cricket, favored sport of its colonial British rulers . 2024-03-24 . The Conversation . en-US.
  40. . Maddox . Callie Elizabeth . 2012 . Postcolonial play: Encounters with sport and physical culture in contemporary India .
  41. McDonald . Ian . 'PHYSIOLOGICAL PATRIOTS'?: The Politics of Physical Culture and Hindu Nationalism in India . International Review for the Sociology of Sport . December 1999 . 34 . 4 . 343–358 . 10.1177/101269099034004003 .
  42. Web site: Armstrong . Jerome . 2020-02-02 . For India's revolutionaries in freedom struggle, gyms, & akharas were a cover for political work . 2024-03-23 . ThePrint . en-US.
  43. Book: 10.1057/9780230370630 . Militant Publics in India . 2011 . Valiani . Arafaat A. . 978-1-349-29455-8 .
  44. Book: Heffernan . Conor . The History of Physical Culture . 2022 . Common Ground Research Networks . 978-1-957792-23-1 .
  45. Heffernan . Conor . Indian club swinging in nineteenth and twentieth-century India and England . 5 July 2016 . Faculty of History, University of Cambridge . 10.17863/CAM.7166 .
  46. Lee, Bruce, 'Preliminaries' in The Tao of Jeet Kune Do, California: Ohara Publications, 1975, p.29

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