Jaipal Singh Munda


Jaipal Singh Munda was a politician, prolific 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 in Amsterdam.
Later he emerged as a campaigner for the causes of Adivasis and the creation of a separate homeland for them in central India. As a member of the Constituent Assembly of India, 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, Pahan Toli village of what was then Khunti subdivision of the then district of Ranchi in the Bihar Province of British India.
In childhood, Singh's job was to look after the cattle herd. After initial schooling at the village church school, in 1910 he gained admission to St. Paul's College, 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 with Honours in Economics.
Singh was selected to work in the Indian Civil Service, 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'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.

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 in Hockey.
In 1928, while he was in England, Singh was asked to captain the Indian 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. Due, however, 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.

Adivasi Mahasabha

Singh became president of Adivasi Mahasabha in 1939. In 1940 at Ramgarh session of Congress, he discussed with Subash Chandra Bose for need to form separate state Jharkhand. Subash Chandra Bose replied that such request will have affect the freedom struggle. After the independence of India, the Adivasi Mahasabha re-emerged as Jharkhand Party and it accommodated non-tribal people to achieve long-term goals. He is popularly known as "Marang Gomke by the Adivasis of Chhotanagpur.
Jharkhand Party participated in election in 1952 and won 33 seats in Bihar legislative assembly. In 1962, It won 20 seats. Jharkhand party submitted memorandum for creation of separate state to States Reorganization Commission but the demand was not conceded because the region had many languages and had not any link language, tribal were not in majority and 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. He merged his party with Indian National Congress in 1963. However entire file and rank 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 Constituent Assembly of 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.

Death

Singh died of cerebral hemorrhage on 20 March 1970 at his residence in New Delhi. He was 68, and left behind four children — a daughter and three sons.
A stadium named after him opened in Ranchi in 2013.
Jaipal singh munda stadium opened in Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarakntak By VC Prof. T.V. Kattimani 2019.

Published work