'A Continent As Big As Europe'

Exclusive Extracts from Olympics: The India Story by Boria Majumdarand Nalin Mehta
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‘A Continent As Big As Europe’: 
The YMCA, India And The Global Olympic Movement 

To make sense of how the Olympic ideal progressed in India through the 1920s,it is imperative to see it in the context of global trends about Olympism in thesame period and the ‘Olympic explosion’ that took place in anotherunder-developed region, Latin America. In both regions, the Young Men’sChristian Association (YMCA) played a pivotal role in stimulating Olympism. TheOlympic movement needed a vehicle of organization in every new country ittargeted. The YMCA, a global body with finely organized national tentacles inmany under-developed countries, provided a ready option. As we shall see,Dorabji Tata’s association with both bodies proved a pivotal fulcrum. 

The Latin American ‘Olympic explosion’ in the 1920s, as Cesar Torrescalls it, was largely possible because of a partnership between the IOC and theYMCA. According to Torres’ masterful study, the ‘explosion’ occurred dueto a confluence of three factors: ‘Latin American sporting cultures at the endof the First World War; an appreciation of Coubertin’s new strategies ofglobalization developed during the war; and a recognition of the crucial rolethat an alliance between the IOC and the Young Men’s Christian Association(YMCA)…’ 

During the First World War, de Coubertin was gravely concerned that the Gamesmight be exterminated by the tumultuous political conditions created by thecontinuing violence. This anxiety made it essential to seek newer pastures forhis Olympic ideology and he began to see this expansion as the key to thesurvival of the Olympic Games. The emphasis was to spread the Olympic gospel toareas unaffected by the war. If he could globalize Olympic affairs, de Coubertinthought, he would ensure that if not in Europe the Games would at least continuein other corners of the world. He was simultaneously growing more and moreanxious about the potential of the Inter-Allied Games being organized in the US.These Games, designated as the ‘Military Olympics’, were being planned incollaboration with the YMCA.

Nervous about its bearing on the Olympic endeavour, de Coubertin, as Torresmentions, wrote to Elwood S. Brown, the international director of the YMCA on 25January 1919 objecting against the ‘action of the YMCA in deciding to holdOlympics in France in 1919’. Brown immediately wrote back allaying deCoubertin’s fears, declaring that the Inter-Allied Games ‘is not a rival ofthe Olympic Games in any sense’. His assurance had a comforting effect on deCoubertin and this started a long association between the two that lastedseveral years and transformed the fundamental nature of the Olympic movement. Itwas at Brown’s insistence that De Coubertin agreed to utilize the wide reachof the YMCA to spread the message of Olympism across Latin America. Stressingthe role of the YMCA, Brown declared: "a most unusual opportunity now existedto give a great impulse to physical training throughout the world, to developbackward areas along the lines of Olympic ideas and ideals, and to contributedefinitely to the extension of your Committee’s influence." 

Assured of Coubertin’s support, Brown officially presented his proposal tothe IOC at Antwerp in August 1920. It is of great importance that Sir DorabjiTata, representing British India, was present in this session and followed theentire deliberation with keen interest. The proposal stressed the idea that theYMCA and the IOC had similar goals and drew attention to the YMCA’s globalstructure. All its branches played key roles in promoting physical education and‘manly sporting activity’ and its organizational strength, Brown noted, wasexpected to add manifold to the IOC’s global potency. 

The YMCA had already held regional games like the Far Eastern Games in 1913that helped in stimulating popularity of Olympic sports across the world. IOCrecognition, Brown insisted and de Coubertin concurred, would impart legitimacyto these efforts and this was the primary reason why the IOC unanimouslyaccepted the scheme proposed by Brown. ‘With the partnership fully endorsedand Brown named South American charge-de mission, the IOC and the YMCA embarkedon the first project the YMCA had in store, the 1922 Latin American Games.’ 

Dorabji Tata had already learnt his lessons at Antwerp and soon after hisreturn to India insisted on enlisting the support of Dr A.G. Noehren of theMadras YMCA for India’s Olympic cause. It was no accident that the selectiontrials in Delhi for the 1924 team were conducted under the expert supervision ofH.C. Buck, staff of the Madras YMCA College of Physical Education.

On the IOC’s part, it did everything possible to encourage British India tojoin the Olympic family. The YMCA presence did much to boost the IOC’sconfidence and even though there was no permanent Indian Olympic institution in1920 or 1924, the IOC allowed the Indian delegation to participate in the Gamesas part of its vision to globalize the movement. While Tata acted as a bridge,the IOC was also independently in touch with the Indian YMCA. 

There is evidence for this in a letter from Dr J. Henry Gray, nationalphysical director for the YMCA for India, Burma and Ceylon to Count Latour on 28December 1928. The letter was primarily meant to update the IOC president on theprogress of Olympism in India. To start with, Dr Gray thanked the IOC presidentfor sending him back issues of the ‘International Olympic Bulletin’ and alsofor including him in the IOC’s mailing list. He then suggested that Olympicorganization in India had begun on a positive note in 1922 and the power behindthis, as in Latin America, was the YMCA.  

Though the involvement of the YMCA had lost sheen with the resignation of DrNoehren in 1927, YMCA cadres were still carrying on the bulk of the work in theprovinces to promote Olympic sports and were instrumental in maintaining thefabric of the provincial sports organizations. In a country the size of India,this was no small concern. As Tata noted: "India is such a vast continent, asbig as Europe without Russia. When I went to Calcutta to see the Olympic Gameslast month, for the eight days that I was away from Bombay five of those werespent in the train." 

The YMCA’s early role in the Indian Olympic movement cannot be emphasizedenough. Its national network provided a lifeline for those who wanted to set upa national sporting movement.