‘Before leaving this world,I want to see some young boy or girl from India pick up the medal that I lost in the Olympics…’

No Indian has earned his name the way you have. Every Indian wants to be Milkha Singh.
But I’m saddened to note that it has been nearly 50-60 years since,with a population of 100 crore,we could not produce another Milkha Singh. I want to see that happen before I die,because I’m now nearing 80 years of age.

You are the youngest 80-year-old. At 80,you are fitter than all of us.
Thank you. But before I leave this world,I want to see India win,because if Milkha Singh can win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 1958,then why is there no Indian winning now?

Neither before nor after that time have we ever won an athletics gold in the Commonwealth Games.
The world wonders that if India produced one Milkha Singh,it should have managed to nurture nearly a hundred by now.

You have given us another Milkha Singh,he’s a golfer and he’s also a champion.
Yes,he is. I am happy that my son has been responsible for putting India on the world map in golf.

Milkha sir,you should watch cricket. Dhoni is such a fine cricketer because he can run the fastest 100 yards.
Yes. If Dhoni didn’t have the speed,he wouldn’t have been able to score so many runs. But look at what bad shape hockey in our country is in. Because the other teams run really fast.

And they do so for 70 minutes. Their speed in the first five minutes is the same as that in the last five minutes.
You are right. They have stamina,speed and they convert the penalty corners they get,something our team is unable to do. So we have slipped to the bottom.

Today there are many facilities,but when you started running,there weren’t even running shoes.
When I started running in 1951,running shoes weren’t even produced in India.

You ran barefoot.
Yes,I started by running barefoot. My feet used to slip in canvas shoes. So we put them aside and ran barefoot. At that time there were neither coaches,nor track suits,money,stadiums. But look at the difference in results between then and now.

Your record is more or less intact. However,there was talk of one Paramjit Singh having equalled it or broken it. You didn’t recognise it.

I told Paramjit that if you want to break the record,break it in the Olympics,because that is where it was made in 1960.

In an international meet.
Yes. Whether it is the Commonwealth Games or the Asian Games,if you break my record there,I will recognise it. What’s there in breaking it in India,here these things are managed. So I didn’t recognise it,although I had set aside two lakh rupees for whoever broke it.

Our athletic records are the most long-lasting in the world. That means our performances are declining. In fact,now,the world over,women are doing timings which are almost as good as our men’s timings.
You are absolutely right. And we cannot lift the standard without putting in a certain amount of work. In the Commonwealth Games there are 50 gold medals up for grabs. If we can get even one gold medal,I will be happy.

Will you give a reward to those who win a gold medal?
Yes. The Rs 2 lakh that I had set aside,even if I’m no more,I have told my son to give the money to whoever wins a gold.

These days there is TV,so many newspapers,so one gains a name fast. Today every school-going child knows Jeev Milkha Singh. During your time it was different. But you were a star even then.
Cricket has driven down the standard of every other sport. And I blame the media as well. I want to be frank with you. The media hardly gives coverage to athletics or hockey or volleyball,or any game apart from cricket.

Your wife Nirmal was the captain of the Indian women’s volleyball team. I heard that you met in 1951 in Sri Lanka. Was it love at first sight?
Absolutely. At that time,meeting a girl was a very big thing. She had come as the captain of the Indian women’s volleyball team. We met at the house of an Indian who had invited us for dinner. We got married in 1961.

You were a bigger hero than any cricketer in 1958.
The credit for it goes to the media.

I know you have relived that moment a million times.
I was coming from the Rome Olympics. I had won 77 of the 80 races,and the whole world was sure that if anyone won the 400 metres race,it’ll be Singh from India. But it was sheer bad luck,mine and India’s,that I couldn’t win a medal there.

Maybe if you had won,people would not have remembered it as fondly as they do,because of the heartbreak. You lost the medal in a photo finish.
Yes,I did. And I should have won it. I was leading the race. The whole world had thought Milkha Singh would win the 400 metres. That was tough luck. Before leaving this world,I want to see some young boy or girl from India pick up the medal that I lost in the Olympics,and our national anthem be played and the Tricolour unfurled.

One person from your city did make that happen,albeit in shooting.
Chandigarh has earned a name. Kapil Dev is from Chandigarh. That boy Yuvraj is from Chandigarh. Nek Chandji,who built the Rock Garden,is from Chandigarh.

What do you want for athletics?
The coaches must keep testing their students. My coach used to test me every 15 days,checking whether my timing had improved. The programme he had set had to be followed no matter what. I would like to tell the coaches to be strict with their students and make them stick to the training schedule.

But is there a decline in Indian athletics? Or is it just that the Asians are rising much faster?
All over the world,athletes are runninbg the 100m in 9.3-9.5 seconds. But our boys are still going over 10. Look at what (Usain) Bolt has achieved. Jamaica is so proud that he has broken the 100m record,the 200m record. There are 200 countries concerned about their performance in athletics.

Bolt first failed at cricket.
Yes,and look at what an amazing feat he pulled off.

You were the object of so much adulation in the 1960s. Take us back a little. Now there is even a film being made on you. A very good director is making it.
Yes. Rakeysh Mehraji had come to see me a few days ago. Prasoon Joshi is going to write the screenplay and dialogues.

I believe you are giving the rights free to them,for just Re 1.
I am doing that so that the coming generation will see the movie and get inspired. I was offered crores,but I said that my son Jeev had decided we didn’t want the money. But the film should be made in a way that it inspires the coming generation — that if a boy from a small village could become a known name,they can too.

You don’t have any profit-sharing in the film?
I have specified in the agreement that if the film makes a profit,then 10-20 per cent of it should go to the Milkha Singh Foundation. I set up the foundation for poor sportsmen — some of them die,some become handicapped,some need money for their children’s education. When Pardaman Singh,the Asia gold medalist,was on his death bed,I sent him money. I also sent money to Makhan Singh,who used to run with me. He was a world-class athlete. But then he used to drive a truck and his leg was amputated in an accident. Then there was Daljit Singh,who won a gold in 800m at the Asian Games. And then he won a gold in the relay. I got both his kneecaps replaced,and that took Rs 1.5-2 lakh. Hawaldar Malkiat Singh,who was a top boxer,died in Kargil. I adopted his son and told my son that after me,take care of his education. He is very good in studies and doing very good work. You had a very tough childhood in what is now Lailpur in Pakistan. Your parents were murdered in front of you.

You are plumbing the depths of my heart. That night when my parents were beheaded,my brothers and sisters were killed in front of my eyes,I can never forget that night.

You were in Lailpur?
No,I was in district Muzaffargarh,near Multan. The tehsil was Kot Adu. Our village was in a remote area,where people knew of nothing but their daily bread,knew nothing of politics. They had never set eyes on a plane,a bus,a car,even a bicycle. Yet they were witness to such a carnage because some people made the Partition decision. At night,close to our house,members of the Muslim community gathered and said: “Leave this village or we will kill you,or convert to Islam and we will spare you.” When swords were taken out,some people ran towards the forest,some jumped into the river. We ran and I got on the night train,got into the ladies compartment,because even then these men were searching.

Did you carry the bitterness?
To a great extent. I still remember,you have made me remember,that when I got an invitation from Pakistan in 1960…

You had become a hero in Pakistan as well.
Yes,because I had beaten their athlete Abdul Khaleq in Tokyo,at the Asian Games in 1958. He was Asia’s No. 1. When I beat him,I had pulled a muscle and my right leg hit my left leg and I lost my balance. So he was standing and I was falling. So Pakistan thought I had won by fluke.

So they challenged you to come and run in Pakistan. Yes,they said,come and compete against Abdul Khaleq once more. I refused.

Were you angry?
I used to be filled with anger thinking of that night. And I said that I would never go to Pakistan. But then Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru called me. (He was very fond of me. When I won the gold at the Commonwealth Games,he sent me a message: “Milkhaji tell me what you want.” Had I wanted,Shekharji,I could have asked for 200 acres in UP,200 acres in Punjab. A few bungalows in Delhi. But in our time we did not know how to ask for something. So I said,declare a day’s holiday.) When I refused to go to Pakistan,it was splashed across the newspapers. Panditji read it and called for me.

Panditji said that one should not persist with such an enmity.
He said,“Milkhaji,it is our neighbour. Forget what happened in 1947.” When I went to Pakistan,they gave me such a hearty welcome. I was made to stand in a flower-decked jeep and both sides of the road were lined with rows of children for nearly 15-20 km — on one side were flags of Pakistan and on the other were those of India.

Is it true that you were christened the ‘Flying Sikh’ by Ayub Khan?
Yes,that’s true. The papers said: “A clash between Milkha Singh and Abdul Khaleq,a clash between India and Pakistan.” This was the first thing I came across in my room in Lahore. We found that the same thing on banners in the bazaars. When we reached the stadium,there were at least 40,000-50,000 people,but there was pin-drop silence. Field Marshal Ayub was the President. At the starting point,some maulvis told Khaleq,“May God grant you victory over the enemy.” That pinched me and when they were returning,I told them,“Maulviji,hum bhi Khuda ke bande hain. (We too are God’s children.)” Then they said,“Khuda aapko bhi taaqat de. (May God give you strength as well.)”

Then Nehruji was not wrong.
No,he was not. When I started the race,Khaleq was ahead of me by 2-4 metres in the first 100m,but in the last 100m stretch,I started to overtake him. When I started catching up,he stiffened,and I beat him by 10 gaj. Makhan Singh was behind me,the second Indian. The stadium was silent. Then they asked me to run a small lap around the stadium. I ran slowly and waved. At the victory stand,the Tricolour was unfurled and our national anthem was playing. Ayub told me: “Milkhaji,tussi itthe aake daude nahi,tussi iththe aake udde ho. Main twanu ‘Flying Sikh’ da kitab dena Pakistan wa.” (You didn’t come here and run,you came here and flew. So I christen you the Flying Sikh on behalf of Pakistan.”

In that one moment,you lost your bitterness.
My eyes welled up. If today Milkha Singh is famous all over the world as the Flying Sikh,the credit goes to Pakistan. I am aware there is enmity in every field,but we should eliminate these things from sport.

You must have come across the joke… ‘Are you relaxing?’
This has been made up,but it’s quite an amazing thing. It goes like this… Milkha Singh was stretched out on the grass after running in Rome. A lady came and said,“Are you relaxing?” He says,“No no,I am Milkha Singh!”

You don’t mind it?
You haven’t heard the other one. Thieves landed up at Milkha Singh’s house. So his wife woke him up and said: “Thieves are getting away after robbing us.” He said,“Get my running shoes quickly!” And he ran faster than the thieves,leaving them behind,thinking it was a competition!

The lesson we have to take is the ability to laugh at oneself.

I will tell you the secret of my happiness and good health. First,I avoid the company of old people. They keep whining that today my daughter-in-law did this,my son did that. I say,you have played your part. Now let the children do whatever they’re doing. Also,I exercise. The third thing is I never overeat. The taste is only for the tongue but your stomach is like a store.

Thank you very much. Wonderful chatting with you.

Transcribed by Shatarupa Chakraborty
Translated from Hindi by Pallavi Singh