Ram Dayal Munda (1939–2011), a Munda Visionary, was a scholar, educationist, linguist, writer, musician, tribal activist and a key actor in the creation of the Jharkhand state. He was born in a village in Jharkhand, India and was educated at the universities of Ranchi and Chicago, USA. He taught at the universities of Chicago, Minnesota, Ranchi, Australian National University and Syracuse.

He served as Vice-Chancellor of Ranchi University (1985–1988) and was an active member of several national and international committees on the issues of tribal and indigenous peoples.

He was the Chief President of the Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, New Delhi and in that capacity was a regular participant at the UN Working Group on Indigenous Population, Geneva.

He was bestowed with the Sangeet Natak Akademy award in 2007 and the Padma Shri in 2010 by the government of India to recognize his social, cultural, literary and political contributions. 

His publications include research on languages and cultures with particular reference to the Jharkhand region, fiction and poetry in Mundari, Hindi and Nagpuri, and translations from Hindi, Sanskrit and English.