Sport, Society, and Resistance: The Murshidabad District Sports Association and the Politics of Institutional Nationalism in Late Colonial Bengal (1941-1947)

This study examines the socio-cultural significance and institutional evolution of the Murshidabad District Sports Association (MDSA) during the final decade of British rule in India. Established in 1941, the MDSA emerged at a critical historical juncture when sport was transforming from an elite colonial pastime into an organized medium of nationalist expression and collective identity formation. By analysing the association’s formative years, the study explores how the institutionalization of football and cricket in Murshidabad functioned as a platform for subtle resistance to colonial hegemony. The paper further interrogates the role of the “elite public sphere” in Murshidabad, highlighting how regional intelligentsia utilized the MDSA to articulate a distinct regional identity amidst the political turbulence of the 1940s, including the impact of the Second World War and the rise of communal tensions. Adopting a historical perspective, the study argues that the MDSA contributed to the democratization of sport by extending participation beyond exclusive European clubs and fostering an organized sporting culture among the indigenous population. Moreover, the paper contends that the MDSA functioned not merely as a sporting institution but as a socio-political instrument reflecting broader aspirations for self-determination within the colonial framework. It also examines how the association facilitated social mobilization across religious and class boundaries in a district with a significant Hindu–Muslim demographic composition. The institutional linkages of the MDSA with bodies such as the Indian Football Association (IFA) and the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) further integrated district-level sporting culture with the wider anti-colonial imagination associated with Calcutta. By situating district-level sports administration within the broader discourse of colonial resistance and institution-building, this study contributes to the expanding historiography on sport, nationalism, and identity in British India.