Gulam (circa 1860-1901) was an Indian practitioner of

pehlwani Pehlwani, also known as Kushti, is a form of wrestling contested in the Indian subcontinent. It was developed in the Mughal Empire by combining Persian Pahlevani and zoorkhaneh rituals, Koshti pahlevani with influences from native Indian Malla- ...

. Gulam participated in early

catch wrestling Catch wrestling (also known as catch-as-catch-can) is an English wrestling style where wrestlers aim to win by Pin (sport wrestling), pinning or Submission (combat sports), submitting their opponent using any legal holds or techniques. It emph ...

tournaments in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. At 5 feet 9 inches and 280 pounds, Gulam wrestled in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1900 at the time of

1900 World's Fair The Exposition Universelle of 1900 (), better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate develop ...

. In Paris, Gulam's manager extended a challenge to

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

wrestler

Kurtdereli Mehmet Pehlivan Kurtdereli Mehmet Pehlivan (1864 in Bukurovo village near Tırnova – April 11, 1939 in Kurtdere village near Balıkesir) was a Turkish wrestler. He lived most of his life in the village of Kurtdere, 40 km from Balıkesir. He stood 6'5 ...

Pandit Motilal Nehru Motilal Nehru (6 May 1861 – 6 February 1931) was an Indian lawyer, activist, and politician affiliated with the Indian National Congress. He served as the Congress President twice, from 1919 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1929. He was a patriarch o ...

was in attendance during the wrestling bout in Paris. Edmond Desbonnet’s account of the bout was given in his 1910 book, ''Les Rois de la Lutte''. According to this account, the newcomer dominated Kurtdereli. In order to avoid harming the financial interests of those who bet on Kurtdereli, the bets on the bout were called off. Gulam was proclaimed the winner, but all bets were reimbursed. Gulam returned to India where, shortly after 1900, he died of

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

. Desbonnet referred to Gulam as one of the two "super wrestlers" of modern times (the other being

Yusuf İsmail Yusuf İsmail (1857 – July 4, 1898), also known as Youssouf Ishmaelo, was a Turkish professional wrestler who competed in Europe and the United States as Yusuf Ismail the Terrible Turk during the 1890s. During his lifetime, native Turks knew h ...

) and

Stanislaus Zbyszko Stanisław Jan Cyganiewicz (April 1, 1880 – September 23, 1967), better known by his ring name Stanislaus Zbyszko, and frequently referred to in the contemporary English-language press as Zbysco, was a Polish strongman and professional wrestle ...

told Robert W. Smith that, although he had never met Gulam himself, "I got information off one wrestler who did train with Gulam. He was the ruler of his day, of the mat, of human strength." Gulam should not be confused with Ghulam "Great Gama" Muhammed, another pehlwani practitioner.

References

External links

The Lion of the Punjab– Gama in England, 1910 by Graham Noble
* ttp://www.pahelwani.com/ghulam/4544812198br>Gandhi's Body: Sex, Diet, and the Politics of Nationalism by Joseph S. Alter
Indian male professional wrestlers Karin Bux Indian male martial artists Year of birth uncertain 1901 deaths {{India-martialart-bio-stub