Divided loyalty: Jaipal Singh and his many journeys

This essay looks at a sporting great and Olympian, Jaipal Singh (1903-70), who also had a lengthy political career after his playing days were over. Jaipal was India's first hockey captain in the Olympics. He led the team that won the hockey gold in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. This would mark the beginning of India's dominance of Olympic hockey for several decades. This essay is less about Jaipal's Olympic exploits than about his politics. Through Jaipal's life and writings I attempt to analyse questions of identity, nationalism and democracy both in colonial and independent India. Precious little has been written about Jaipal - who was once hailed as Marang Gomke (supreme leader) of the tribals of what is now the state of Jharkhand - and he remains a largely forgotten figure today.