Remembering ‘Wizard’ Dhyan Chand, Indian hockey’s ‘Bharat Ratna’

In India, sporting icons are often not given the recognition they so richly deserve, either during their lifetimes or posthumously. Among the personalities whom successive governments have never fittingly recognised and decorated is hockey wizard Dhyan Chand, the winner of three Olympic gold medals. Ideally, he should have been among the first athletes to be honoured with the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of the country. But the honour hasn’t come his way so far.

Indian hockey fans observed Chand’s 45th death anniversary on December 3, 2024, with a traditional function held in Jhansi, the legend’s home town in Uttar Pradesh. Hockey greats – particularly Chand’s son and former India hockey captain Ashok Kumar – once again pointed out that fans of the crack centre-forward were still awaiting the honour to be bestowed on him.

Chand had a close connection with Delhi, too. He joined the First Brahmin Regiment as a sepoy in Delhi in 1922. It was at the Delhi Cantonment that he fell in love with hockey, after Bale Tiwari, his “guru”, introduced him to the sport. Chand’s first tournament of note was the annual military tournament, also played in Delhi. The First Brahmin Regiment won the title, and he sealed his place as the regiment’s centre-forward with his superb performance. The Indian Army granted him the King’s Commission and the rank of Major in 1943.

The first time Chand captained India was also in Delhi, at the 1934 Western Asiatic Games. And it was in Delhi that he passed away, at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, aged 74 in 1979, though the government cared little for the legend when he was ailing. The lackadaisical attitude of the government towards the ‘Wizard’ was also exposed when a special commemorative stamp was brought out on his first death anniversary in 1980. The first day cover bore the year of his birth incorrectly. He was born on August 29, 1905, in Allahabad, before settling down with his family in Jhansi. However, the first day cover printed 1906.

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Awaiting Bharat Ratna

Chand’s on-field records and achievements are second to none in global hockey. He not only led India’s goal-scoring spree for several years, but also starred at the three Olympic Games he played in – 1928, 1932, and 1936. He was India captain at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Although the government bestowed the Padma Bhushan on him in 1956 and his birthday on August 29 is celebrated as the National Sports Day, he fully deserves the Bharat Ratna for his unprecedented achievements.

For more than 10 years, Chand’s fans across the world have been demanding that the legend be honoured with the Bharat Ratna. His son Kumar, an Olympic bronze medallist, along with other hockey legends, has made several representations to various ministers and sports administrators over the years, but to no avail.

This call was intensified after the Manmohan Singh government honoured cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar with the Bharat Ratna in 2014 — the first athlete to be presented with the honour. Following that, a group of former hockey stars, led by Kumar, submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking the same recognition for Chand. The recommendations for the Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the President of India.

Following the presentation of that memorandum, in a written reply to a question, then Minister of State (Home) Kiren Rijiju, in the BJP-led government, told the Rajya Sabha in July 2014 that the former Minister of State (Sports) in the Congress-led government had in July 2013 suggested Chand’s name for the Bharat Ratna. Rijiju also said that there was no such recommendation during 2013-14. That position of the BJP-led government apparently hasn’t changed since.

However, in a clever move, the government renamed the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s highest sports honour named after the late Prime Minister, as Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2021.

The call for Bharat Ratna for the prolific goal scorer hasn’t been quelled, though. “Dhyan Chand deserves the Bharat Ratna. It is overdue; he should have been honoured with it long ago. Let us hope for the best,” former India centre-forward Harbinder, winner of 1964 Olympic and 1966 Asian Games gold medals, told Patriot.

Kumar sounds a bit despondent, though. “It all depends on the government,” was all he said when asked about the issue.

Varied honours

While the Bharat Ratna has eluded Chand, he has been honoured in a variety of ways worldwide. In 2013, well-known children’s publication Amar Chitra Katha, for the first time in its 46-year-old existence, launched a special issue on his 108th birth anniversary. The 64-page graphic biography of arguably India’s greatest ever hockey player — possibly in the game’s history — was launched quite aptly at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi.

Chand has also been featured in a documentary film made on Bundelkhand. Ahead of the 2012 London Olympics, Watford Junction was renamed after the Indian hockey magician. In Vienna, the locals were so mesmerised by his skill that they built a statue showing Chand with four hands holding four sticks, depicting his versatility and ball control.

In August 2016, the Indian Embassy in Berlin organised a photo exhibition to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Chand’s magical display at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. The final match of the Games was played on August 15, a date that 11 years later came to be known as India’s Independence Day and has been celebrated every year since 1947. India defeated hosts Germany 8-1 in the title clash, with Chand scoring three and his brother Roop Singh one, watched by Hitler.

Earlier, in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics final against the Netherlands, Chand scored two goals in India’s 3-0 win. And in the three-nation competition at the 1932 Olympics, he scored 13 goals in two matches. In the encounter with the USA, India won by a 24-1 world-record margin (since broken), with Chand scoring eight goals and Roop Singh 10.

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Biopic on the magician

A biopic on Dhyan Chand is also in the making. Directed by well-known Abhishek Chaubey and produced by Ronnie Screwvala, its opening shot was filmed in Jhansi. “It was shot about one and a half years ago to launch the film. The locations were the Jhansi Heroes Club, of which my father was a co-founder, and our home in Jhansi. I was also present,” Kumar told Patriot.

“They had initially selected Ishan Khattar to play the lead role of the hockey wizard. But I am now told that they are searching for a new hero for the film. I have recommended former India captain Mervyn Fernandes to train the hero in Mumbai,” he informed.

Meanwhile, like previous years, an exhibition match was played in Jhansi on Chand’s death anniversary on December 3. And, as usual, Kumar, the moving spirit behind all Chand-related events, reached Jhansi for the solemn occasion.

“An exhibition match was played between the boys’ teams of local clubs, besides a religious ceremony. The chief guest at the match was former player Ishrat Hussain, who also happens to be a student of Dhyan Chand,” he informed.

(The writer is a senior journalist based in Delhi and has covered sports for over three decades.)