Sen, Ronojoy: "Nation at Play: A History of Sport in India."(Book review)

• Author: Joseph, Raphael

Sen, Ronojoy. Nation at Play: A History of Sport in India. New York: Columbia University Press, 2015.

Ronojoy Sen's Nation at Play: A History of Sport in India is a significant addition to the emerging field of sports studies in India. Sports studies in India is a maturing field as is evident from the presence of a few doctoral dissertations across universities of India and an increasing number of books published for general readers on the subject. Sen's narrative does not just weave colonial, postcolonial, and contemporary histories of sports, but dwells in length on the socio-political and cultural aspects of sports and games in India. He covers the entire range of sports and games in Indian history from the ancient period to contemporary times, writing with the flare of a cultural historian without dwelling on dull facts and figures.

The book's arguments and narrative progression ultimately boils down to the relevance of cricket in today's collective consciousness of India and the poor performance of India in...