The Untold Story of Jaypal Singh Munda

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A distinguished Parliamentarian, a sportsman of international repute, an educationist, a politician with great vision and courage, a powerful orator with mastery over multiple national and foreign languages, today we are here to share with you the untold story of Jaipal Singh Munda who by all means was an extraordinary figure in the history of India.

• Born on January 03, 1903, Jaypal Singh Munda belonged to Munda tribe in Ranchi, Jharkhand. Like many other people in his tribe, he had also embraced Christianity.
• Graduated from St. John’s College, Oxford with Honours in Economics, Jaypal Singh was selected to work in Indian Civil Services, from which later resigned.
• Working as a teacher in multiple schools at Ranchi and Bihar, Jaypal soon understood that he could not bring about a change in his current stature. Therefore, he entered politics to uplift the condition of Adivasis in India.
• December 16th, 1946 is an iconic day when Munda, a gifted speaker, spoke for thousands of people of his tribe in the Constituent Assembly. In his ferocious voice, he said, “I rise to speak on behalf of millions of unknown hordes – yet very important – of unrecognised warriors of freedom, the original people of India who have variously been known as backward tribes, primitive tribes, criminal tribes and everything else, Sir, I am proud to be a Jungli, that is the name by which we are known in my part of the country. As a jungli, as an Adibasi, I am not expected to understand the legal intricacies of the Resolution. You cannot teach democracy to the tribal people; you have to learn democratic ways from them. They are the most democratic people on earth.“
• Apart from being a distinguished parliamentarian, Jaypal Singh Munda was also a brilliant hockey player. A member of Oxford University Hockey Team, Jaypal was the most versatile player on the team. Playing with all the determination and hard work, he became the first Indian student to be conferred blue in Hockey.
• In 1928, he was made the captain of Indian Hockey team when the team went on to play in 1928 Olympic Games. And emerging a winner, Jaypal Singh Munda became the first Indian side to win an Olympic gold medal, in Amsterdam in 1928.

Recommended reading: Jadav Payeng – Forest Man Of India

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