St John's welcomes the Honourable Chief Minister of Jharkhand
The Chief Minister and his delegation’s visit to St John’s formed part of a wider official tour of the United Kingdom and Europe, following the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. A quarter-century after Jharkhand achieved statehood, 2026 marked the first WEF Annual Meeting in which the state had participated. Notably, Hemant Soren also became the first tribal elected leader from India to take part in the prestigious summit. The Jharkhand delegation included Mrs Kalpana Murmu Soren, the Honourable Member of the Legislative Assembly in Jharkhand & Honourable Chairperson of the Women and Child Development Committee, and Mr Sudivya Kumar, the Honourable Minister for Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs of Jharkhand.
The Chief Minister’s decision to visit St John’s while in Oxford was occasioned by a remarkable historical connection between the College and the state of Jharkhand. A century earlier, the College was home to an exceptional Adivasi (Indigenous people of eastern India) student from the Chotanagpur region of present-day Jharkhand. Jaipal Singh Munda (1903–1970) matriculated at St John’s in 1922, reading PPE and graduating with a BA in 1926. During this time, Jaipal Singh served successively as Secretary and President of the College Debating Society and as a standout member of various St John’s sports teams, most notably the hockey team, which he captained. He is pictured below (centre) in the hockey team’s 1924/25 photograph. (More information about Jaipal Singh Munda and his time in College can be found on the pages of our website relating to the ‘St John’s and the Colonial Past’ project.)
After leaving Oxford — and having captained the Indian hockey team to a gold medal at the 1928 Olympic Games — Jaipal Singh Munda became a powerful advocate for the rights of the country’s Adivasi communities. In December 1946, during debates in the Constituent Assembly on India’s new Constitution, Jaipal Singh spoke passionately on behalf of Adivasis; a recording of his speech is still available via YouTube. It was therefore fitting that the Chief Minister and the Jharkhand delegation returned to the College at which one of the state’s most prominent sons and a champion of India’s indigenous communities was educated.
The visit from Jharkhand
During their visit, the delegation examined the College’s archival records relating to Jaipal Singh Munda and reflected on his time in Oxford. They met Professor Lady Sue Black, the College President; Professor Philip K. Maini, Professorial Fellow in Mathematical Biology and Vice-President of the College; as well as a small group of Indian students studying at St John’s. The delegation presented the College with a portrait of Jaipal Singh Munda and a special memento from their visit to the WEF Annual Meeting.
" We were honoured to receive the Honourable Chief Minister and the Jharkhand delegation at St John’s. It was a particular pleasure to share our archival materials relating to Jaipal Singh Munda and to reflect together on the enduring significance of his advocacy for India’s indigenous and tribal communities. Together, we are committed to promoting Jaipal Singh Munda’s remarkable legacy, so that it might inspire future generations of young scholars from across the world to similarly find a home at St John’s. " Professor Lady Sue Black, President of St John's College, Oxford
Following his visit to St John’s, the Chief Minister participated in a special ‘in-conversation’ event at the Blavatnik School of Government, in which he discussed sustainable growth and infrastructure expansion in Jharkhand, one of India’s most mineral-rich and industrially-strategic states. His interlocutors were Maya Tudor, the Professor of Politics and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and Fellow at St Hilda’s College, and Alpa Shah, Professor of Social Anthropology at the University and a Fellow of All Souls College. Professor Shah, whose research focuses on Indigenous communities in eastern India, has recently published an article on the legacy of Jaipal Singh Munda in the Indian magazine, Outlook. It is available to read here.