Football Culture in Princely State of Cooch Behar

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Author:

Amrita Kumar Shil

Assistant Professor
Department of History
Ghoksadanga Birendra Mahavidyalaya
Ghoksadanga, Cooch Behar, West Bengal
Email: amritakshil@gmail.com

Abstract:One of the most striking facts about the social life in late colonial Princely state of Cooch Behar was the adoption, growth and popularisation of football. After the Revolt of 1857 a new relationship between the princes and the British was established, which guaranteed the former certain privileges in return for loyalty to the Crown. The princes were to inculcate western values with ‘a distinctively British sense of priorities’. In this way, the princes were expected to promote British hegemony in India by playing the role of honorary English gentlemen. Sports in the subcontinent came to seen as an integral part of a wider process of incorporating the indigenous rulers into the Raj. In Bengal, the royal dynasty of Cooch Behar played an important role in patronising the western sports culture after acknowledging the supremacy of the British. This paper intends to explore the popularisation of football culture in princely state of Cooch Behar.

Key Words:Anglicize, Football, Kolkata, Patronage, Team, Tournament, Royal.