Every Indian schoolchild is taught that the peacock is India’s national bird, Jana Gana Mana the national anthem and hockey the national sport. However, hockey is not the national sport of India, as schoolgirl Aishwarya Parashar discovered in 2012.
This revelation came to light in 2012 when a 10-year-old girl named Aishwarya Parashar filed a Right to Information (RTI) request with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to get official declarations on the national anthem, sport, song, bird, animal, flower and the country’s symbol. The PMO forwarded the query to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. In response to the RTI, the ministry confirmed that it had not declared any sport or game as India’s national game.
So, what is the national sport of India? With so many people and cultures, it’s impossible and impractical to choose one game that will appeal to the entire nation. Until India figures out what its national sport is, people will obsess over cricket, play football and kabaddi and read about the glory days of hockey in history books.