Veteran politician who served as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Shibu Soren, died at the age of 81 on Monday morning in Delhi at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. The former politician was affectionately called Dishom Guru and had been undergoing health complications in the past few months, where he had been under life support in the final stages. Since then, his health got further worse, and he died due to a brain stroke around 8.56 am, leaving behind quite a legacy in Indian politics, particularly those tribal communities of eastern India.
Soren was not just a colossal political leader; he was a revolutionary leader too and had to play a major role in the struggle to have a separate state of Jharkhand. He was a founding member of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), and his political career was closely associated with the tribal people. He was now a three-time Chief Minister of Jharkhand and a Member of Parliament, a position he held now in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha after several terms. This is because Shibu Soren was a grassroots activist who would always get his voice heard in the fight for tribal rights, and his role went beyond electoral politics because he was a cultural, political identity of millions in the area.
The end of his life is the end of the era in the life of Jharkhand politics. Soren was born on January 11, 1944, in Nemra village, and his childhood life was poor and negatively influenced by the sufferings inflicted on tribal communities. His father supposedly was killed by moneylenders, prompting him to dedicate his entire life towards the struggle against injustice and exploitation. He fought for land rights, the displaced and economic equality over the decades and moulded the identity of the Jharkhand movement in the 1970s and 80s.
Soren also made a big impact as a political leader. His Chief Ministerial term was indeed too fractious to fulfil, and it suffered at the cost of a lack of generosity by the coalition partners and rotating alliances, but at a political level, his hand in the JMM and the state was untouched. Still, Shibu Soren remained in a position of respect by both his party and the population even after he had stepped down as an active leader earlier this year, transferring his authority to his son Hemant Soren, who is the current Chief Minister of Jharkhand state.
His death has brought forth sorrow among the political circles. The leaders of different parties, including the Prime Minister, paid their tributes to him, acknowledging his lifetime efforts in uplifting the marginalized communities. A state funeral has been declared in Jharkhand, where thousands are expected to attend the final ceremony of the deceased.
To the residents in Jharkhand, Shibu Soren was not only a politician, but a figure of defiance, pride and tribal supremacy. It stands as testimony of his unfading strength that he has come a long way up the political ladder, creating a significant role in regional and national politics after being a grassroots activist. His legacy will go on as accolades continue to be thrown his way as a way of honouring him. He will indeed encourage future generations to strive towards attaining justice, dignity and equality. Although Shibu Soren is no longer alive, the ideals that he held dear will be forever engraved in the heart of Jharkhand.
