Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, looking at the wicket along with Jaipal Singh (near the stumps) before the start of the MPs trial cricket game at the National Stadium, Delhi on September 05, 1953.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu archives
The Olympic winning hockey captain of the 1928 Amsterdam Games and a stalwart of the Adivasi movement organised several sporting events as a parliamentarian. In his memoir, Lo Bir Sendra: A Hunter in the Burning Forest, Jaipal Singh recalls setting up a cricket match for MPs. Jawaharlal Nehru, S. Radhakrishnan and a host of politicians took the field. The editors of the memoir note that it was written during a long sea voyage to Europe in 1969, a year before Singh’s death. It was first published by ‘Prabhat Khabar’ with a foreword by Stan Swamy, but soon went out of print. With its republication, a new generation of readers will learn of Singh’s life and times. An edited excerpt:
Jaipal Singh
| Photo Credit:
PIB
There were also occasions when sporting events had to be organised for MPs. The first one I took charge of happened in September 1953, in the wake of the floods that besieged Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. I found there were enough cricketers in Parliament, some of them top class, like the maharaja of Dungarpur and Sardar Surjit Singh Majithia. The Parliamentary Sports Club was formed with Nehru as chairman, the president of the republic as patron, and I, manager. I appointed the maharajadhiraj of Darbhanga as treasurer. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur was a keen member of the executive committee.
I decided that there should be a match between the Prime Minister’s XI and the Vice-President’s (Dr. Radhakrishnan). The press took all this as a joke to ridicule the MPs. I arranged net practice and gave press communiques. Special blazers and caps with the parliamentary badge were also issued for the participating players. Even the Prime Minister had to pay for his blazer and cap.
Bata shoes for Gopalan
Characteristic ‘native’ problems cropped up. Kaka Gadgil, a Cabinet minister, insisted on playing in his dhoti. Gopalan, the communist leader, had never worn boots. Rajkumari Kaur and Begum Aizaz Rasul insisted on their inclusion. A deputation of Nehru’s admirers demanded he should not play. Although I had taken the decision without consulting anybody, Nehru wanted to play so I included him. No dhotis in cricket, I decided. I bought Bata shoes for Gopalan. I promised the women I would not leave them out if I couldn’t get twenty-two male players. I said they could even umpire.
The brochure was a big job. Anthony de Mello, fomer president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, took charge of this task. I got a letter of support from the Prime Minister, and this got ‘Tony’ hundreds of advertisements. We made nearly ₹50,000 on this one item. Tony, who was also honorary general secretary of the National Sports Club of India, organised a Parliament-like seating arrangement in the National Stadium Gallery for distinguished visitors, the Speaker’s guests, in the officers’ box and the President’s box. Seating also had to be arranged for the players. Lala Sir Sri Ram, a big businessman, undertook to lunch us. Beer, I got free from Dyer Meakin.
Printing the tickets was also a problem. In Delhi, and perhaps elsewhere, it quickly becomes a money-making business, with black markets emerging almost immediately after tickets are printed. Tony connected me with one of his many stooges. Twenty-five thousand one-rupee tickets were printed for the hoi polloi. Then, ten- and five-rupee tickets for the Bhavnagar Pavilion. I arranged for one row of thousand-rupee tickets just behind the teams. Every ticket sold out. Maharajas were keen to sit near the Prime Minister. I had no difficulty with the twenty-five thousand one-rupee tickets. I gave them to P.L. Mehta, the Delhi police chief, and got ₹25,000!
The President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, a great lover of sports, arrived by the front lane. I presented the two teams to him. Dr. Radhakrishnan put on the cricket cap for a change. The two captains had to go out to the field for the toss. Nehru, the Harrovian, inspected the pitch and Tony commentated on the ongoings. A gold sovereign donated by [Ramnath] Podar, the left-hand bowler, decided in Nehru’s favour. Majithia and M.K. Krishna thrashed the bowling. An Indian crowd is not interested in the finer points of cricket. They want boundaries. Majithia gave them the boundaries. The spectators weren’t really interested in cricket. They only wanted to see the national hero in action. I put him in with Gopalan, who had never played cricket in his life.
Shah Nawaz bowled to Nehru. The first ball he completely missed. The second narrowly contacted his bat and he scored two. The third ball whizzed past him and went to gully. He ran, Gopalan didn’t. When the ball was thrown back to the wicket keeper, Barrow, he would not stump Nehru and threw the ball to the boundary. I declared the innings.
Caught by Nehru
The maharaja of Dungarpur Maharawal Sir Lakshman Singh captained the Vice President’s XI. He opened the innings. General Maharaja Ajit Singh bowled from the NSCI end. Lakshman Singh hit the very first ball up into the air straight in my direction. It was an easy catch, but I dropped it. Keshav Malaviya came in third. He was a left-hander and was caught by Nehru. The crowd went rapturous with applause. For months, Nehru talked of the catch.
The women insisted on playing. Begum Aizaz Rasul had turned up in trousers. I disappointed them. Instead of playing, I asked them to sell the brochures. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and Renu Chakravarty brought in the most sales.
The match was broadcast by All-India Radio. The Speaker, Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, was introduced by the maharajkumar of Vizianagram, Vijay Ananda Gajapathi Raju, an old Test player. Nehru also spoke. I too had to make my comments. Hirendranath Chattopadhyay amused us all with his topical limericks. The umpires were General Rajendra Singhji and Anthony de Mello.
One incident annoyed me. The home minister, Dr. Kailash Nath Katju, turned up without a ticket. At the main gate the police didn’t dare stop his car. But when it approached the main stadium entrance, he wasn’t allowed in. A senior policeman rushed to me. I went down and told Dr. Katju he couldn’t possibly be let in without a ticket. His private secretary produced the money.
The Prime Minister threw a dinner for all the players, organisers and attending dignitaries. His catch was the talk of the evening. The whole event had a great effect on the political atmosphere. It brought together all political parties and a friendly atmosphere developed in both Houses of Parliament.
The cover artwork by Venkat Raman Singh Shyam is based on a photo of Jaipal Singh receiving an honour in Oklahoma when on a U.S. tour in 1959. Singh was presented with Native American headgear and made Honorary Pelichi (chief) of the Chickasaw Nation. In Jharkhand too, he is known as Marang Gomke, the Big Chief.
| Photo Credit:
Courtesy: Navayana
Lo Bir Sendra — A Hunter in the Burning Forest; Jaipal Singh, Navayana, ₹399.
Excerpted with permission from Navayana.
Published – April 11, 2025 09:01 am IST
