Jaipal Singh
Encyclopedia
Jaipal Singh Munda was a Munda
tribal man, who captained the India
n field hockey
team to clinch gold in the 1928 Summer Olympics
in Amsterdam. He is well known for his sportsmanship and political skills.
Later he emerged as a sole leader of Adivasi
cause and creation of a separate home land for adivasis of central India. As a member of the Constituent Assembly of India
he actively campaigned for the rights of the scheduled tribes.
His dream came true on November 15, 2000, when Jharkhand
was carved out of Bihar
.
He formed Adivasi Mahasabha in 1938, himself as its president. After independence the name of the party was changed to Jharkhand Party
to accommodate non-tribal people to achieve long term goals. He is popularly known as "Marang Gomke" (meaning Great Leader) by the tribals of Chotanagpur.
Today, "Marang Gomke" (Great Leader) Jaipal Singh Munda is remembered primarily for his able stewardship of 'Adivasi Mahasabha' and then of 'Jharkhand Party' which spearheaded the movement for a separate tribal majority state of Jharkhand and for his active contribution to the cause of tribes of India as a member of the Constituent Assembly of India. Very few, however, know that Jaipal Singh was one of the world's finest field hockey player of the period.
Jaipal Singh Munda was born on 3 January 1903 in remote Tapkara village of what was then Khunti Sub-division of the then District of Ranchi in the state of Bihar (now Jharkhand),India. Majority of the inhabitants of Tapkara village are from 'Munda' tribe. Jaipal Singh too was from a Munda family that had embraced Christianity. After initial schooling at the village church school, Jaipal Singh shifted to St.Paul's School, Ranchi run by the Christian Missionaries of the SPG Mission of the Church of England. A keen and gifted field hockey player, Jaipal Singh was a brilliant student and exhibited exceptional leadership qualities from a very young age, which was noticed by the missionaries, who took him to England for higher studies at the University of Oxford. Jaipal Singh was a member of the Oxford University Hockey Team. The hallmark 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 "Oxford Blue" in Hockey.
In 1928, while he was in England, Jaipal Singh was asked to captain the Indian Hockey Team for the Amsterdam Olympics, 1928. Under Jaipal Singh's captaincy the Indian team played 17 matches in the League Stage of which 16 were won and one drawn. Due,however, to an unfortunate incident of tiff with the English Team Manager A.B.Rossier, Jaipal 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, Jaipal Singh was associated with Mohan Bagan Club of Calcutta, where he started the Hockey Team of the Club in 1929. He led its hockey team in various tournaments. After retirement from active hockey, Jaipal Singh served as Secretary of Bengal Hockey Association and as a member of Indian Sports Council.
Jaipal Singh died on 20 March 1970 in Delhi. At that time, foundation of a sports stadium was being laid in Ranchi City by the District Administration of Ranchi. Birsa Seva Dal submitted a proposal to the District Administration to honour Late Jaipal Singh by naming the new upcoming stadium as 'Jaipal Singh Stadium'. This was accepted and the Stadium was named 'Jaipal Singh Stadium'. Recently, the State Government of Jharkhand has named the grand games complex and games village built at Ranchi for the next National Games as 'Jaipal Singh Munda Games Complex'.
Munda people
The Munda are tribal people of the Chota Nagpur Plateau region.They are found across Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Assam states of India, and into parts of Bangladesh...
tribal man, who captained the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n field hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
team to clinch gold in the 1928 Summer Olympics
1928 Summer Olympics
The 1928 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam had bid for the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, but had to give way to war-victim Antwerp, Belgium, and Pierre de...
in Amsterdam. He is well known for his sportsmanship and political skills.
Later he emerged as a sole leader of Adivasi
Adivasi
Adivasi is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups claimed to be the aboriginal population of India. They comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India...
cause and creation of a separate home land for adivasis of central India. As a member of the Constituent Assembly of India
Constituent Assembly of India
The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to write the Constitution of India, and following independence served as the nation's first Parliament.-Nature of the Assembly:...
he actively campaigned for the rights of the scheduled tribes.
His dream came true on November 15, 2000, when Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
was carved out of Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
.
He formed Adivasi Mahasabha in 1938, himself as its president. After independence the name of the party was changed to Jharkhand Party
Jharkhand Party
Jharkhand Party, a political party in India. The party was founded on March 5, 1949 at a large conference in Ranchi. Jaipal Singh was elected president and Idsen Deba general secretary. JKP grew out of the demand for a separate Jharkhand state....
to accommodate non-tribal people to achieve long term goals. He is popularly known as "Marang Gomke" (meaning Great Leader) by the tribals of Chotanagpur.
External links
Today, "Marang Gomke" (Great Leader) Jaipal Singh Munda is remembered primarily for his able stewardship of 'Adivasi Mahasabha' and then of 'Jharkhand Party' which spearheaded the movement for a separate tribal majority state of Jharkhand and for his active contribution to the cause of tribes of India as a member of the Constituent Assembly of India. Very few, however, know that Jaipal Singh was one of the world's finest field hockey player of the period.
Jaipal Singh Munda was born on 3 January 1903 in remote Tapkara village of what was then Khunti Sub-division of the then District of Ranchi in the state of Bihar (now Jharkhand),India. Majority of the inhabitants of Tapkara village are from 'Munda' tribe. Jaipal Singh too was from a Munda family that had embraced Christianity. After initial schooling at the village church school, Jaipal Singh shifted to St.Paul's School, Ranchi run by the Christian Missionaries of the SPG Mission of the Church of England. A keen and gifted field hockey player, Jaipal Singh was a brilliant student and exhibited exceptional leadership qualities from a very young age, which was noticed by the missionaries, who took him to England for higher studies at the University of Oxford. Jaipal Singh was a member of the Oxford University Hockey Team. The hallmark 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 "Oxford Blue" in Hockey.
In 1928, while he was in England, Jaipal Singh was asked to captain the Indian Hockey Team for the Amsterdam Olympics, 1928. Under Jaipal Singh's captaincy the Indian team played 17 matches in the League Stage of which 16 were won and one drawn. Due,however, to an unfortunate incident of tiff with the English Team Manager A.B.Rossier, Jaipal 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, Jaipal Singh was associated with Mohan Bagan Club of Calcutta, where he started the Hockey Team of the Club in 1929. He led its hockey team in various tournaments. After retirement from active hockey, Jaipal Singh served as Secretary of Bengal Hockey Association and as a member of Indian Sports Council.
Jaipal Singh died on 20 March 1970 in Delhi. At that time, foundation of a sports stadium was being laid in Ranchi City by the District Administration of Ranchi. Birsa Seva Dal submitted a proposal to the District Administration to honour Late Jaipal Singh by naming the new upcoming stadium as 'Jaipal Singh Stadium'. This was accepted and the Stadium was named 'Jaipal Singh Stadium'. Recently, the State Government of Jharkhand has named the grand games complex and games village built at Ranchi for the next National Games as 'Jaipal Singh Munda Games Complex'.