Gandhi Jayanti Pentangular Cricket Tournament was against: Today is the 155th birth anniversary of the Father of India, Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated in India on 02 October. On this special occasion, we will tell you how Mahatma Gandhi had opposed a cricket tournament to be held in Mumbai. Gandhiji had opposed the 'Pentangular' tournament played in Mumbai in 1940 because the teams in it were divided on the basis of religion. So let us know what the whole story is.
Let us tell you that most of the teams participating in the Pentangular Tournament were divided on the basis of religion. Teams like Hindu Club, Muslim Club and Parsi XI were included in the tournament. There was also a team named European XI in the tournament. Apart from religion, Gandhiji had also opposed this tournament because of the Second World War. The Father of the Nation had said that there is an atmosphere of mourning because of the war. Let us tell you that the Second World War lasted from 1939 to 1945.
People were liking this tournament very much. People were coming in large numbers to watch the trial matches to be held before the tournament. Meanwhile, Mahatma Gandhi had reached Wardha in December 1940, where he met Gymkhana Cricket Club President SA Shete, Vice President MM Amarsi and Management Committee member Jamnadas Pitambar. This meeting of Gandhiji took place on December 06, 1940, while the tournament was to start from December 14.
On the opinion sought by the delegation, Gandhiji said, “My sympathies are with those who want to stop these conflicts. There is an atmosphere of mourning because of the war. There is a threat to the stability of Europe and its culture, Asia is also in its grip.” I will support the ongoing movement to stop the upcoming matches.”
Apart from this, Mahatma Gandhi said on dividing teams on the basis of religion, “I want the people of Bombay to amend their sports code and remove communalism from it. I can understand the competition between colleges and institutions, but Hindu, Couldn't understand the reasons for the competition between the Muslims and Parsis? Shouldn't this kind of division be considered a part of our lives that should be protected from communalism? I want those who have to do with the movement to stop the match and consider this issue in a positive light and decide to remove communalism from the sports world.”
Read this also…
After Afghanistan, now this small team is ready to crush South Africa