>>16709325 (OP)There are two Indias. One is sending CEOs to Silicon Valley, grabbing the EB-2 visas, sending rockets to Mars, etc.
And the other part shits outside toilets despite having them.
In India, if you are a kid from one of those affluent families, you are discouraged from taking sports seriously, and even national level champions have horrible poor or lower middle class lives. They are pushed towards being doctors, etc.
And there is extremely negligible amount of sports played in 99% of Indian schools. Sports classes are there. Nobody takes them seriously.
In the US, the Math toppers are seen as "brain", "nerd", "freak", etc. And they are bullied to no end. The culture in India is upside down. Class toppers, Math geniuses are worshipped and revered.
Chess falls more in Math and Science and Engineering club than high jump, long jump club. So affluent families encourage their children to play chess.
And it is different because there needs to be no investment, infrastructure from the government. Governments in India only think about winning elections. They don't invest in Sports like China does.
But you need literally $2 for Chess boards and pieces and you are set. You can play Chess inside rooms. You don't need to mix with the street shitters. That's why Chess is huge in many parts of India. Government don't spend, don't care, not needed + middle class Indians feel comfortable with the Chess prestige.