The year was 1936. That was the year when Hitler had decided to conduct the Olympic Games in Berlin to show the world his might and organising ability. Hitler and his Nazi Germany were on the rise to becoming the world’s leading superpower. Perhaps Hitler already had plans of world conquest in his mind. Because three years later, World War II began and the German army, navy and air-force carried out strikes at targets throughout Europe and across the seven seas to enforce the will of the infamous dictator.
The Berlin Olympics of 1936 were planned to be the biggest and grandest Olympic Games held till then. One lakh spectators would be fitted into the stadium for the opening ceremony. Teams from fifty participating nations would march past the dais where Hitler and top ranked Nazi officials in immaculate uniforms would be seated. A day before the inauguration, the Nazi organisers visited each contingent and briefed them about the protocols that should be followed at the opening ceremony. One of the instructions was that when they marched past Hitler, they should raise their hands in the Nazi salute.
Caught up in all these arrangements was a small contingent from India. Many of them came from poor families. They had lived in their villages and never stepped out of India. For the first time they were in the midst of a world famous city, and saw awe inspiring sights. They were thunderstruck by the grand arrangements and the magnitude of the event. But at the same time they were armed with courage and common sense. When Nazi officials told them that they must accord the Nazi salute to Hitler they spoke in one voice. “No, we will not,” they said.
The next day, with blue turbans adorning their heads, they marched into the stadium like lions, refusing to be cowed down by the presence of the most powerful dictator on the planet. Ironically at the time, India was under British rule and Great Britain was following a policy of appeasement towards Hitler. The British athletes did not proffer the Nazi salute but dipped their national flag before Hitler as a mark of respect. But India neither dipped its flag nor gave the Nazi salute. With the tricolour held high, they marched past the dais as the spectators watched astounded. The faces of the Nazi officials turned red but they were helpless.
More was to follow. The strength of the Indian contingent lay in its hockey team. Already India had won gold medals at the previous two Olympics and had established itself as the King of international hockey. As expected, India continued its run of victories. It defeated Hungary 4-0, USA 7-0, Japan 9-0 and France 10-0 to enter the final. From the other side it was Germany which came to the final.
So the stage was set for an epic clash. Hitler himself decided to witness the entire final match. He believed in the supremacy of the Aryan race and nothing would give him more pleasure than to see his fair skinned countrymen thrash the brown skinned players from India who had dared to defy his orders during the opening ceremony. But as soon as the match began, a different picture began to emerge. The mercurial Dhyan Chand began to unfold his magic on the field with his ball control, deceptive stickwork and body dodges. Time and again he cut through the German defence like a knife through butter.
Dhyan Chand scored three goals, Ali Dara scored two and Roop Singh, Carlyle Tapsell and Syed Jaffer scored one each as India emerged winner over Germany by a margin of 8-1 goals. Hitler was left astonished. All his dreams had crumbled against the onslaught of the rampaging Dhyan Chand and his men from India. By the end of the match, he was convinced of the superiority of the Indians and highly impressed by Dhyan Chand. Reportedly he asked Dhyan Chand to join the German army. But the wizard of Indian hockey was a proud soldier of the Indian army. “Indians are not for sale,” he told the dictator.
That was an example of the commitment and courage of one of India’s greatest sportsmen. On the hockey field, his goal scoring rate was about three goals per match. It was far higher than the scoring rate of Pele, Maradona, Messi and Ronaldo. He died in 1979 but his legend lives on and continues to inspire modern day players who have followed in his footsteps.
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