ABSTRACT
Indian immigrants arrived in South Africa in two waves; approximately 150,000 indentured labourers imported between 1860 and 1911 were followed by traders from the west coast of India. Use of the term ‘Indian’ suggested that the attribute ‘Indianness’ united them as a group in opposition to Whites, Coloureds and Africans. 1 Indians were seen by Africans, Coloureds and successive white Natal governments as a distinct group on the basis of skin colour, ‘strange’ culture and foreign origin. This study of Indian cricket questions the notion of a homogeneous and self-contained community prevalent in early literature, and probes the true nature of Indian identity in South Africa. 2 While Swan demystified Gandhi, 3 and Padayachee and Vawda gave voice to Indian workers, 4 this study will explore race, class, caste, ethnic, religious and linguistic differences among Indians, 5 and how these were negotiated and articulated. 6 This survey will also consider the role of sport and popular culture in defining ethnic, racial and class identities. Did sport reinforce differential identities in a highly stratified society, or serve as a link between whites, Africans and Indians, as well as between working and middle classes? Did sport become the commonality between these divergent groups, based on merit rather than status, to break down barriers and forge a truly unique South African culture, or did sport reinforce and cement differences?
