Imam Baksh Pahalwan

Who is Imam Baksh Pahalwan?

Imam Baksh was a renowned wrestler and a practitioner of the Indian wrestling style of Pehlwani. Imam was also the brother of Ghulam "the great Gama" Muhammad. Imam had arrived in England by April, 1910, along with fellow wrestlers from India, including his brother Ghulam Muhammad, Ahmed Bux, and Gamu, to participate in European catch wrestling tournaments.

Health and Strength magazine announced "The Invasion of the Indian Wrestlers" in its May 14, 1910, issue. The members of the Indian group were listed as Gama, Champion of India; Imam Baksh, Champion of Lahore; Ahmed Baksh, Champion of Amritsar; and Gamu, Champion of Jalandhar.

Imam Baksh wrestled Swiss champion John Lemm during his career. The match between Baksh and Lemm ended with Baksh defeating the Swiss champion.

In 1918, Gama Ghulam Muhammad, in a major tournament at Kolhapur, passed his title of Indian Champion to Imam Bux, who had thrown Rahim Sultaniwala in 20 minutes.

Imam Baksh was reportedly a superior ground wrestler compared to Ghulam Muhammad. Henry Werner had written that letter saying that Imam Bux would have been a better opponent for Stanislaus Zbyszko than for Gama. The editor of Health and Strength wrote that, "in my opinion, he [Gama] is not quite so clever a wrestler as his brother, Imam Bux, who enjoys the advantage of a longer reach."