Palwankar Baloo was an Indian cricketer and political activist. In 1896, he was selected by Parmanandas Jivandas Hindu Gymkhana and played in the Bombay Quadrangular tournaments. He was employed by the Bombay Berar and Central Indian Railways, and also played for the latter's corporate cricket team. He played in the all-Indian team led by the Maharaja of Patiala during their tour of England in 1911 where Baloo's outstanding performance was praised.

Early life

Palwankar Baloo was born in Dharwad, Bombay Presidency,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

on 19 March 1876 to a

Chamar Chamar is a Dalit community classified as a Scheduled Caste under modern India's system of affirmative action. Historically subject to untouchability, they were traditionally outside the Hindu ritual ranking system of castes known as varna ...

family. Palwankar Baloo was an Indian cricketer. His family name comes from his native place 'Palwani' in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. His father was a sepoy in the 112th Infantry Regiment of British Indian Army. Baloo played cricket with equipment left behind by officers stationed in Pune. Baloo had three brothers, Palwankar Shivram,

Vithal Palwankar Vithal Palwankar (1884 or 1886 – 26 November 1971) was an Indian cricketer and a captain of the Hindus team. Vithal led the team to victories over the Mohammedan and European teams, where his captaincy and personal performance were praise ...

and Palwankar Ganpat, who also became first-class cricketers.

Cricket career

He started working as a groundsman maintaining the pitch for the Parsis in Pune and later at the British Poona Gymkhana where he occasionally bowled to J. G. Greig, an English batsman. He learned spin bowling.and because of Greig's influence he began to play for the Pune Hindu club. In 1896, he moved to Bombay and was selected by Parmanandas Jivandas Hindu Gymkhana and played both

Bombay Quadrangular The Bombay Quadrangular was an influential cricket tournament held in Bombay, British India between 1892–93 and 1945–46. At other times it was known variously as the Presidency Match, Bombay Triangular, and the Bombay Pentangular. Presidency ...

tournaments. He was employed by the Bombay Berar and Central Indian Railways, and also played for the latter's corporate cricket team. He played in the all-Indian team led by the

Maharaja of Patiala The Maharaja of Patiala was a maharaja in India and the ruler of the princely state of Patiala, a state in British India. The first Maharaja of Patiala was Baba Ala Singh (1695–1765). Yadavindra Singh became the maharaja on 23 March 1938. ...

during their tour of England in 1911. The tour was a failure, but Baloo's outstanding performance was well praised. A left-handed spin bowler he took 114 wickets during the tour. He was known as the Rhodes of India. Throughout his career in cricket, Baloo was not perceived as equal due to his lower caste background. He faced much discrimination because of this. Whilst he played at Pune, during the tea interval at matches his tea was brought outside to him in a disposable cup. He could not drink it in the pavilion. His lunch was served at a separate table. If he wanted to wash his face a fellow so-called lower caste attendant would bring him water in a corner. Things seem to have improved when he moved to Bombay and afterward but he was denied the captaincy of the Hindu team in the Quadrangular Tournament. He is considered to be one of the greatest cricketers in Indian cricket history.

Politics

He was greatly influenced by Gandhian ideology and worked to bring Home Rule to India. In the 1910s, Palwankar Baloo met Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and became his close friend. They admired each other and worked to improve the oppressed communities. However, in 1932, Baloo opposed Dr. Ambedkar's demand for separate electorates for the depressed classes. Later, he also signed the "Rajah-Moonje Pact" in opposition. He described the conversion of oppressed communities to other religions as 'suicidal' when Ambedkar expressed his intention to convert to Buddhism. In 1933, Baloo unsuccessfully contested the Bombay Municipality constituency on Hindu Mahasabha ticket. Four years later he joined Congress and contested the Bombay Legislative Assembly elections against Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, but lost. He died in 1955. His funeral was attended by many national leaders as well as cricketers.

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baloo, Palwankar Marathi people Indian cricketers Hindus cricketers People from Dharwad 1876 births 1955 deaths Cricketers from Karnataka Indian social reformers Indian human rights activists Dalit activists Dalit politicians Dalit sportspeople Members of the first Indian cricket team to tour England in 1911

Early life

Cricket career

Politics

See also

References

Further reading

External links