Shibu Soren’s journey: From tribal defiance to 3 terms as CM; a lifetime of struggle for Jharkhand

Indian politics lost one of its more prominent tribal faces on Monday with the passing of Shibu Soren — JMM patriarch, three-time ex-CM, and among the spearheads of the decades-long statehood movement that culminated in Jharkhand being carved out of Bihar in 2000.Soren, 81, was being treated for a kidney ailment at Delhi’s Ganga Ram Hospital since June 16 and had his immediate family, including his eldest son and current Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, by his bedside when he died.With his flowing white beard, forceful oratory and finger on the tribal pulse, Shibu embraced and lived up to the epithet “Dishom Guru” — Santhali for “guru of the land” — bestowed on him by legions of adoring followers until the ravages of age slowed him down. PM Modi called him “a grassroots leader... with unwavering dedication to the people. He was particularly passionate about empowering tribal communities, the poor, and the downtrodden”.Father’s murder sparked Shibu’s war on ‘injustice’President Droupadi Murmu and PM Narendra Modi visited the hospital soon after Hemant Soren announced his father’s death around 8am. “The demise... is a big loss in the space of social justice,” Murmu posted on X.Modi also met Hemant and his MLA wife, Kalpana, before the JMM founder’s body was flown to Ranchi.Born on Jan 11, 1944, in Nemra village of undivided Bihar’s Hazaribag district, Shibu found his calling as a champion of the underprivileged, especially tribal communities, after his father was allegedly murdered by moneylenders. The tragedy ignited in Shibu, who was 15 at the time, the determination to embark on a lifelong battle against whatever he believed was exploitation or injustice.At 18, he established Santhal Navyuvak Sangh and, in the late 1960s, founded an ashram in Dhanbad’s Tundi. By now, his presence was enough to strike fear in moneylenders and landlords accused of exploiting tribals.As his influence grew, especially among the ST and SC communities, Shibu’s mission extended to chasing “dikus” (outsiders) from the tribal heartland. On Jan 23, 1975, he allegedly led a mob of tribals to Chirudih village in Jamtara district, leading to violence in which 11 lives were lost. A murder case was registered in which he was named as an accused, leading him to go underground for a while. A Jamtara district court acquitted him later, citing lack of evidence.In 1972, Shibu joined forces with A K Roy, Binod Bihari Mahato and others to form JMM and become its general secretary. He was ele-cted to Lok Sabha for the first time in 1980 as an Independent candidate from Dumka in Santhal Parganas. In 1986, he became JMM president, a position he held for 39 years until April 15 this year, when son Hemant succeeded him.Shibu contested the Lok Sabha election from Dumka 11 times, winning on eight occasions — in 1980, 1989, 1991, 1996, the 2002 bypoll, 2004, 2009 and 2014. His last electoral loss, in 2019, was to BJP’s Sunil Soren.Shibu’s first major political setback came when he, along with three other MPs, was charged with accepting bribes to vote in favour of the P V Narasimha Rao-led Congress govt during a trust vote in 1992. The JMM bribery case remains a political hot potato.In 2004, Shibu became coal minister in the then Manmohan Singh govt, only to resign soon after when a warrant linked to the Chirudih killings was issued against him. He rejoined the Union Cabinet in Oct that year, continuing till March 2005. He stepped down to take over as CM of Jharkhand, but failed to prove his majority.Shibu returned to the Union Cabinet in 2006, but the stint didn’t last long this time either. In Oct that year, he was convicted and sentenced to life for the murder of his personal secretary, Shashinath Jha.Delhi high court acquitted him in 2007, and he was also cleared in the Chirudih case for lack of evidence.Shibu’s three stints as CM were all for less than a year, with the first one in 2005 lasting a mere 10 days. The second term lasted from Aug 27, 2008, to Jan 19, 2009, and the third from Dec 30, 2009, to June 1, 2010. He was also a member of Rajya Sabha and close to RJD president Lalu Prasad, with whom he snapped political ties after the latter opposed the move to create Jharkhand.Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called JMM founder Shibu Soren a “visionary” who fought for the state of Jharkhand and for the “jal, jungle, zameen” of tribals, leading the party in paying tribute to the veteran on his passing. Kharge and Rahul Gandhi visited Hemant Soren in hospital to pay their condolences to the family.Rahul called Soren “a strong voice of tribal society” who fought for tribal rights and interests throughout his life. Venugopal said, “His departure has left behind a massive void in our fight for social justice, Adivasi empowerment and poverty upliftment.”tnn