Hockey India remembers the first Adivasi icon of Indian Hockey – Jaipal Singh Munda.

“While celebrating the month long campaign commemorating 100 years of Indian Hockey,

Hockey India delves into nostalgia celebrating and remembering the heroes of the sport,

who created a legacy that continues to dominate the sporting world”.

The enigmatic Jaipal Singh Munda was born as Pramod Pahan, on the 03rd January, 1903 in a Christian Munda (tribal) family in Pahan Toli Village, Kunti sub-division of Ranchi district in the then Bengal Presidency was the first true hero of Indian hockey for his team went on to win the first Olympic Gold medal in 1928. The Marang Gomke Hockey Stadium in Ranchi, Jharkhand is a befitting tribute to this iconic leader.

Jaipal Singh Munda’s early life was a struggle. He would herd cows until a missionary helped him secure admission in St Paul’s School in Ranchi, which was run by the Christian missionaries of the SPG Mission of the Church of England. It was here that Jaipal Singh Munda’s life transformed radically. He not only became exceptional in academics, but he excelled in sports, particularly in hockey. Noticing his potential, the missionaries took him to England for higher studies, where he graduated with Honours in Economics from St. John’s College, Oxford. He was in England as a student at Oxford University when he was picked to join the squad that would sail out of India.

Like most players from Odisha and Jharkhand today, who are outstanding as defenders, Jaipal was a full-back who often left his teachers awe-struck with his skills in the backline.

His on-field exploits, his immense knowledge of the sports and its playing conditions made him a natural pick to captain the Indian team at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam. In the years leading up to the Olympic Games victory, he was instrumental in organising tours across India for college and university hockey teams which further established the Indian Hockey Federation which was formed in 1925.

At the Olympics, India made a grand start, registering sweeping wins in their first three matches and eventually beat the hosts Netherlands 3-0 in the final to lift the title.

Munda went on to become a revolutionary figure in India’s history and in formative years post-Independence, he was a fierce voice for the tribals and their rights. He contested the first general assembly election of independent India from Ranchi (West) as a candidate of the Jharkhand Party and won with a 60.85% vote share. Later bolstering his demand for a separate Jharkhand State, he had joined Indian National Congress in 1963, from where he had contested from the Khunti Lok Sabha Constituency in 1967, and winning by 5277 votes.

Although he never played hockey for India again after the 1928 triumph, he established Mohun Bagan hockey club in 1929 and lead the team to several honours. He also served as the Secretary of the Bengal Hockey Association, before passing away on 20th March, 1970.

Team Maverick