Hockey is not our national game: Ministry

Neha Shukla

LUCKNOW: India won six consecutive hockey gold medals at Olympics between 1928 and 1956. It is our national game and that’s why whenever the men in blue show their dribbling skill on the green turf at a Games venue, out heart goes out to them. Not just the sport buffs but students in every school have at some point of time learnt these facts. Now, it’s time, however for some unlearning.

Hockey is not the national game of the country! And the revelation has come straight from the Union ministry of youth affairs. The ministry says that country does not have a national game as no game has been notified as such.

The response from the ministry has come on an RTI query from a ten-year-old girl, Aishwarya Parashar, who has grown learning in school books that hockey is the national game of the country and was the first non-European team to be a part of the Indian Hockey Federation. The Indian men’s field hockey team is the most successful team in Olympic history with 8 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals.

“I wanted to know when did the government issue an order to announce the country’s national game,” Aishwarya told TOI. And, the candid response from the ministry has already left everybody – she herself, her parents and teachers confused.

“I learnt it from my text books that hockey is our national game,” she added. The ministry, on the other hand, said it has not found any official order or notification which calls hockey the national game.” I haven’t come across any order or notification in the ministry saying hockey is the national game,” said SPS Tomar, under secretary, Union ministry of youth affairs and sports, while responding to the query. “It’s known to be a national game in general parlance,” Tomar had added.

The ministry has sports disciplines put into different categories. Hockey is one of the priority disciplines but it is not a national game. The response, however, contradicts GoI’s own announcement, made on its official website (india.gov.in).

The website does not only call hockey the national game but also talks about India’s glorious `hockey’ history. Not only this, the response has left hockey players fuming. “They should then tell us which is the national game and show us the notification which says hockey is not a national game,” says Olympian Sujit Kumar.

Since 1928, when India played hockey in Olympics in Amsterdam under the Union Jack, it has been the country’s national game. “Instead of talking nonsense, they (govt) should do something to improve the game and work for betterment of hockey players,” said another Olympian Syed Ali.

It was when the performance of the hockey team deteriorated, in 1990s, that ministry did consider taking away from hockey the status of the national game but it never happened. “I have played three Olympics and given 14 years to the game, I have always known it to be a national game,” says Mohammad Shahid, former Indian captain and one of the greatest dribblers the country has produced.