Jaipal Singh Munda (3 January 1903 – 20 March 1970) was an Indian politician, writer, and sportsman. He was the member of the Constituent Assembly which debated on the new Constitution of the Indian Union. He captained the Indian field hockey team to clinch gold in the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

in Amsterdam. Later, he emerged as a campaigner for the causes of

Adivasi The Adivasi refers to inhabitants of Indian subcontinent, generally tribal people. The term is a Sanskrit word coined in the 1930s by political activists to give the tribal people an indigenous identity by claiming an indigenous origin. The ter ...

s and the creation of a separate homeland for them in central India. As a member of the

Constituent Assembly of India The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the 'Provincial Assembly'. Following India's independence from the British rule in 1947, its members served as the nation's first Parliament as ...

, he campaigned for the rights of the whole tribal community.

Early life

Jaipal Singh Munda, also known as Pramod Pahan, was born in a Munda tribal family, on 3 January 1903 in Takra-Hatudami, Pahan Toli village of what was then

Khunti Khunti is the headquarter of Khunti district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is in South Chotanagpur division and one of the 24 districts in the Indian state of Jharkhand. The district of Khunti was carved out of Ranchi district on 12 Sept ...

subdivision (now declared district) of the then district of Ranchi in the

Bengal presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

of British India (in the present-day State of Jharkhand). In childhood, Singh's job was to look after the cattle herd. After initial schooling at the village, he was brought by a Rev. Kushalmai Sheetal to St Pauls Church school, and in 1910, he gained admission to St. Paul's School, Ranchi, which was run by the Christian Missionaries of the SPG Mission of the Church of England. A gifted field hockey player, Singh was a brilliant student and exhibited exceptional leadership qualities from a very young age. This was noticed by the missionaries, who took him to England for higher studies at the University of Oxford. He graduated from

St. John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pr ...

with Honours in Economics.

Hockey player

Singh was a member of the Oxford University Hockey Team. The hallmarks of his game as a deep defender were his clean tackling, sensible gameplay and well directed hard hits. He was the most versatile player in the Oxford University Hockey Team. His contribution to the University Hockey Team was recognised and he became the first Indian student to be conferred

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ob ...

in Hockey. In 1928, while he was in England, Singh was asked to captain the India hockey team for the 1928 Olympic Games. Under his captaincy the Indian team played 17 matches in the league stage, of which 16 were won and one drawn. However, due to a dispute with the English team manager, A. B. Rossier, Singh left the team after league phase and therefore could not play in the games in the knockout stage. In the final, the Indian Team defeated Holland by 3–0. On returning to India, Singh was associated with Mohan Bagan Club of Calcutta and started its hockey team in 1929. He led that team in various tournaments. After retirement from active hockey, he served as Secretary of Bengal Hockey Association and as a member of the Indian Sports Council.

Personal life

Jaipal Singh Munda married Tara Wienfried Majumdar, the daughter of P.K Mujumdar and Egnesh Mujumdar in 1931 in

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...

in a Christian marriage ceremony. He had three children with Tara, two sons Birendra and Jayant and daughter Janki. Tara Banarjee was counsin of General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri and grand daughter of Congress President Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee. His second marriage was with Jahanara Jeyaratnam, the daughter of a Sri Lankan who joined the Indian Civil service in 1954 who was srilankan Tamil. He had one son with Jahanara, Ranjit Jeyaratnam.

Career

Singh was selected to work in the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

, from which he later resigned. In 1934, he became a teacher at the Prince of Wales College at Achimota, Gold Coast, Ghana. In 1937, he returned to India as the Principal of the Rajkumar College, Raipur. In 1938, he joined the Bikaner princely state as foreign secretary. Singh thought that with his varied experience he could be more useful to the country if he worked in the sphere of education. He wrote letters to the Bihar Congress President, Rajendra Prasad, asking to be allowed to contribute to

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Ben ...

's education sector, but received no positive answers. In the last month of 1938, Singh visited Patna and Ranchi. During this visit, he decided to enter politics by seeing the poor condition of the tribal people. Singh became president of Adivasi Mahasabha in 1939. In 1940 at Ramgarh session of Congress, he discussed with Subash Chandra Bose the need to form separate state Jharkhand. Subash Chandra Bose replied that such request will affect the freedom struggle. After the independence of India, the Adivasi Mahasabha re-emerged as

Jharkhand Party The Jharkhand Party (JP) (Hindi:झापा ) is an oldest Political Party in India formed in the year of 5 March 1949 by Jaipal Singh Munda.Which grew out of the demand for a separate Jharkhand state. Jharkhand Party participated in Election ...

and it accommodated non-tribal people to achieve long-term goals. He is popularly known as "Marang Gomke (meaning Great Leader) by the Adivasis of Chhotanagpur. Jharkhand Party participated in election in 1952 and won 32 seats in Bihar legislative assembly. In 1955, Jharkhand party submitted a memorandum for creation of a separate state Jharkhand consisting of the tribal area of South Bihar to States Reorganization Commission but the demand was not conceded because the region had many languages and had no link language, Hindustani was majority language, tribal were in minority and there would be adverse effects of economy of state after separation. Jaipal Singh was disappointed due to declining popularity of his party and rejection of State demand by States Reorganization Commission. In 1962, It won 20 seats. He became a minister in

Binodanand Jha Binodanand Jha (17 April 1900 – 1971), also known as Pandit Binodanand Jha was an Indian politician originally from the district of Deoghar, Bihar (Baidyanathdham Deoghar), now in Jharkhand. He was educated at the Central Calcutta College, ( ...

's government in

. He merged his party with

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British ...

in 1963. However entire rank and file did not join the Congress.

Role in the Constituent Assembly debates

Singh was a gifted speaker and represented all the tribal people of India at the

(which was responsible for drafting the constitution of Independent India). The following is an excerpt from a famous speech made by him, where, while welcoming the Objectives Resolution, he highlighted the issues faced by the Indian tribals: Jaipal Singh was a part of 3 Committees including Advisory Committee. A seven-member delegation of Naga leaders consisting of

Angami Zapu Phizo Angami Zapu Phizo (16 May 1904 – 30 April 1990) was a Naga nationalist leader with British nationality. Under his influence, the Naga National Council asserted the right to self-determination which took the shape of armed resistance after the ...

, T. Sakhrie, Kezehol and others went to Delhi in July 1947 to declare their intention of a sovereign, independent Naga territory. There, they met Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Mahatma Gandhi, as well as Singh, who warned the Nagas against the folly of fighting a war against the Government of India forces. As a precautionary measure, 3000

Assam Rifles The Assam Rifles (AR) is a central paramilitary force responsible for border security, counter-insurgency, and maintaining law and order in Northeast India. It guards the Indo-Myanmar border. The Assam rifles is the oldest paramilitary force ...

troops were already stationed in the Naga Hills by then. During a Constituent Assembly debate, Singh rebuked the Nagas for seeking

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the st ...

. He pointed out that the situation in the Naga Hills might become very serious and dangerous soon. Along with others in the Interim Government, he had received a few telegraphs on the intention of the Nagas declaring independence. He stated,

The Naga Hills have always been part of India and have never been anything like the Indian States; but the Nagas have been led to believing that they are not part of India and that as soon as the Dominion of India comes into being, the Naga Hills could be exclusively the property of the State of the Nagas... Those of us who came into contact with them agas leaders who went to Delhi to represent their casetried to tell them the plain truth. But I think it is necessary that something should be said on the floor of this Assembly clarifying the position... n the latest telegram the Naga leaders rejectedan offer from the Assembly to come into the Union. There has been no question of any offer. No offer was necessary or called for. The Naga Hills have always been a part of India and will remain so.

Death

Jaipal Singh Munda died of

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

on 20 March 1970 at his residence in New Delhi. He was 67, and left behind four children — a daughter and three sons. One of his sons i
Jayant Jaypal Singh
He is the CEO of Calcutta cricket and football club. A stadium named after him opened in Ranchi in 2013. Jaipal Singh Munda stadium was opened in Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarakntak by VC Prof. T.V. Kattimani in 2019. "Chevening- Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda Overseas Scholarship" -Recently the state government of Jharkhand under the able leadership of Chief Minister of Jharkhand Shri Hemant Soren has announced and launched an overseas scholarship scheme for students of Jharkhand to pursue Masters degree and M.Phil course in reputed institutions in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. This scholarship is fully funded and the government of Jharkhand has also signed an MoU with the Government of England for educating the youths of Jharkhand especially from the scheduled tribes, scheduled castes, minorities and backward classes. This scholarship is named after the great leader Jaipal Singh Munda in which the government aims to uplift the students belonging to socially and economically vulnerable groups and give them opportunity for a quality education henceforth bringing hope in the lives of youths of Jharkhand and instilling in them the thought to give back to their state and being a part of Jharkhand developmental story. In the year 2022,about 20 students were selected for this prestigious scholarship and these students are currently pursuing their courses in reputed institutions of United Kingdom. Some of the meritorious students selected for this scholarship in the Year 2022 are Ajay Kumar Yadav son of Shri Ramesh Kumar Yadav(Ex-Servicemen) from Talbanna, Sahibganj district of Jharkhand state with Rank 5th in the state; Ajay Hembram, Madhuri Khalko, Pranav Kashyap, Sangeeta Kachhap and others.

Published works

*''Lo Bir Sendra : an autobiography'' : A memoir of Jaipal Singh Munda published in 2004. Edited by Rashmi Katyayan and published by Prabhat Khabar Publications, Ranchi. *'' Adivasidom'': a collection of the articles and speeches of Jaipal Singh Munda, written in the 1940-50s, published in July 2017. Edited by Ashwini Kumar Pankaj and it was published by the Pyara Kerketta Foundation, Ranchi.

References

External links

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profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Jaipal 1903 births 1970 deaths India MPs 1952–1957 India MPs 1957–1962 India MPs 1962–1967 India MPs 1967–1970 20th-century Indian writers Adivasi politicians Adivasi writers Field hockey players at the 1928 Summer Olympics Field hockey players from Jharkhand People from Khunti district Indian male field hockey players Jharkhand Party politicians Lok Sabha members from Jharkhand Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Members of the Constituent Assembly of India Munda people Olympic field hockey players of India Olympic gold medalists for India Olympic medalists in field hockey