Playing off the field : explorations in the history of sport / Kausik Bandyopadhyay.

September 2007—(p. xiii).

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Kolkata—title page.

Includes bibliographical references.

Contents: Section I : Sport, social history, contemporary history – Section II : The academic, the popular and the widening horizon.

The history of sport is only in its infancy in Indian academia. To establish its credibility as a viable academic discipline has proved something of a struggle of those Indian historians engaged in its research for the past few years. The struggle is overcome elsewhere in the world. To overcome it in India, the teaching of sports history within the broader discipline of history must go hand in hand with serious research. This book, which comprises a collection of essays and book reviews by the author published in national and international journals over the past five years, using sport as a lens, consider some relevant themes of social history, and brings forth some important issues of contemporary history—cover page.