Latest news with #Jharkhandi
News18
2 days ago
- Business
- News18
Jharkhands Jamshedpur to soon get modern interstate bus terminal
Ranchi, Aug 10 (PTI) A state-of-the-art interstate bus terminal with modern transportation facilities will soon come up in Jharkhand's industrial city Jamshedpur, an official said on Sunday. The bus terminal will be built on 13 acres of land near Mango Dimna Chowk at an estimated cost of Rs 145.24 crore, he said. Urban Development Minister Sudivya Kumar has given in-principle approval for the project to be developed under the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM), according to an official release. The proposal will soon be submitted for administrative approval, it said. The Jharkhand Urban Infrastructure Development Company (JUIDCO) has been tasked with implementing the project, a blueprint of which was prepared by a Karnataka-based agency, it said. The five-storey terminal building will have two basements and three floors, while the commercial building will feature one basement and three floors, the release said. The complex will include 50 parking spaces, 23 alighting bus bays, parking for 300 cars and 350 bikes, an office and warehouse for the water resources department, sewage treatment plant, water treatment plant, effluent treatment plant and internal road arrangements, it said. The first floor will feature an air-conditioned waiting hall with 80 seats, a 120-bed passenger dormitory, a 60-bed driver dormitory, a food court, shops, a security office, a travel admin office and toilets, the release said. The ground floor will have 23 bus bays, 18 ticket counters, a cloakroom, a logistics centre, a restaurant, public toilets and a food court. The complex will also be adorned with Jharkhandi art and paintings, it added. PTI SAN RBT view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Indian Express
7 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
From delivering summary justice against landlords to fighting for Jharkhand statehood: political journey of Shibu Soren
Shibu Soren, who passed away on Monday, is widely recognised as the most influential leader of the Jharkhand movement. His radical politics in the 1970s reconceptualised the Jharkhandi identity, giving second wind to the faltering movement for statehood. But in the decades that followed, Soren would choose the path of moderation and compromise, often in the face of criticism, to help make the state of Jharkhand a reality. Here's a brief history. A new mobilisation The early movement for Jharkhand, helmed in the post-Independence years by Jaipal Singh Munda and his Jharkhand Party, ran out of steam by the late 1950s. There were a few fundamental reasons for this. The Jharkhand Party's support base was largely urban, and its leadership was drawn from a relatively small class of educated tribal elite. The conception of a Jharkhand state at this time was solely based on an assertion of adivasi identity and indigeneity that stood against the exploitative 'dikus' (outsiders). British geographer Stuart Corbridge argued that economic differentiation among adivasis and the changing demography of Chhotanagpur following the industrial development of the 20th century (Scheduled Tribes were only 26.21% of the state's population in the 2011 Census) meant that such a narrow conception of Jharkhand was unmaintainable ('Industrialisation, internal colonialism and ethnoregionalism: the Jharkhand, India, 1880-1980, 1987). It was in this context that Soren became an important player. Along with the Bengali Marxist trade unionist A K Roy and Kurmi-Mahato leader Binod Bihari Mahato, the Santal leader formed the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in late 1972. Its vision was to create a 'red-green movement' that would fundamentally reconceptualise Jharkhandi identity, sociologist Gail Omvedt wrote in 'Ecology and Social Movements'. 'The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha was born with a green and red flag, and with the concrete practice of the alliance that this symbolised — Dhanbad mine workers, lower caste peasants, adivasis. 'Lalkhand-Jharkhand' was the slogan of early marches,' Omvedt wrote in 1984. The question of land The deliberate appeal to non-tribal workers would help the JMM introduce 'new forms of mobilisation around socio economic issues', political scientist Louise Tillin wrote in Remapping India: New States and their Political Origins (2023). 'Land was a major issue for the JMM,' Tillin wrote. 'The Chotanagpur Tenancy Act 1908 had made the sale of tribal lands to non-tribals illegal, but considerable tribal land had changed hands nonetheless.' This created an increasingly alienated peasantry, which was being squeezed further by exploitative moneylenders. 'We must eat all year round. So far, the Santhal has worked for twelve months and starved for twelve months, and the moneylender has reaped the harvest. This must change,' Soren said (quoted in the Economic and Political Weekly article 'Material Base of Santhal Movement', 1975). Even before the JMM came into being, Soren would travel from village to village on his motorcycle, encouraging adivasis and other landless tillers to harvest standing crops on land that was illegally acquired by the 'outsiders'. The so-called dhan katao andolan would peak with the harvests of 1974-75. In the late 1970s, the JMM took a leading role in protests against state forestry policies in Singhbhum, backing the so-called jungle katao andolan in which government-planted teak trees were cut down to reclaim land for cultivation. Soren's challenge to the status quo was often 'violent'. 'The JMM, and Shibu Soren in particular, became known for delivering summary justice against landlords and moneylenders, even holding their own courts,' Tillin wrote. But his charisma and candour made him a cult-like figure among the adivasis. In mainstream politics Till the early 1980s, the demand for statehood was simply a tool for Soren and the JMM to mobilise support for their primary fight. 'Even if Jharkhand does not come into being in my lifetime, why should I be bothered? Our first concern is to chase away the bloodsuckers and help the people lead a respectable, quiet and fraternal life,' he said (quoted in EPW, 'Containing the Jharkhand Movement', 1979). But it was an important tool nonetheless. In a 2007 interview with Tillin, Soren described it as a 'bridging mechanism' between the Marxist social ideals of the JMM and the sphere of reference of the locals. 'I used to tell Roy-ji (A K Roy)… that the people in Jharkhand understand the language of Birsa Munda, Tilka Manjhi, Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu and Shekh Bhikhari (leaders of 18th and 19th century revolts). They don't understand the language of Lenin. People here have a right to land, forest and water,' he told Tillin (quoted in Remapping India). After he was elected to Lok Sabha in 1980, however, Soren is said to have struck a deal with Indira Gandhi in exchange for immunity for his activities in the 1970s, which significantly tempered his politics. From a tool to galvanise support, statehood became the primary end of JMM's politics. In 1983, the JMM dropped the red from its flag. For the next two decades, Soren championed the cause of a Jharkhand state in Parliament. Along with a number of other players who entered the political scene in the 1980s — most notably the BJP, which supported the creation of Jharkhand but for very different reasons — the JMM helped build mainstream political consensus on statehood by taking the path of moderation, often in the face of criticism from the ground. Jharkhand officially became a state on November 15, 2000.
Time of India
04-08-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Shibu's second home Bokaro in mourning
Bokaro: As the news of former chief minister Shibu Soren's death trickled in, quarter no. 14 in Sector 1-C of BSL Township, where Shibu lived with his wife and children for many years, saw a steady stream of visitors . Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Tribal communities mourned the passing of their beloved 'Guruji'. Emotions ran high as people remembered the man they saw as a symbol of hope and their identity of jal, jungle, jameen. JMM city president Mantu Yadav said, "Bokaro and Jharkhand lost not just a leader, but a guardian. Guruji was like a lighthouse in our darkest political storms. His presence gave strength to our fight for identity and justice." JMM central committee member Santosh Rajwar said, "He was not only our leader but our 'Dishom Guru' in the truest sense. From village to the power corridors of New Delhi, his journey was the pride of every Jharkhandi. " Birendra Kumar Tiwari, the director in-charge of BSL, said, "On behalf of the entire BSL family, I offer my deep condolences and tributes on the sad demise of Jharkhand's Yug Purush, pioneer of tribal consciousness, and public leader Shri Shibu Soren ji. His demise is the loss of not Jharkhand but nation."
Hindustan Times
04-08-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Speaking for Jharkhand
Not always do people who emerge as leaders from the grassroots successfully translate their popularity into electoral success. This is especially the case when the leaders belong to marginalised communities that lack the economic resources and legacy advantage to build and sustain a political party. Shibu Soren was an exception. His public life, which spanned over six decades, saw many ups and downs, but it stands for his remarkable endurance as a politician who straddled the complex worlds of Adivasi identity in Jharkhand and coalition politics at the Centre. He was thrice the chief minister of Jharkhand and multiple times a Union minister. But his political legacy extends beyond the short tenures he had in office: In fact, his political biography is synonymous with the history of the rise of the Jharkhandi identity and the Jharkhand state. Shibu Soren's political biography is synonymous with the history of the rise of the Jharkhandi identity and the Jharkhand state. (ANI Photo) The movement for a separate state for the native residents of the Chhotta Nagpur plateau, divided into many tribes and speaking numerous tongues, goes back to the 1950s. But the early decades after Independence, a period that marked the consolidation of an umbrella Indian identity, sought to delegitimise the identity concerns of marginalised communities. Leaders such as Soren challenged this narrative and fearlessly organised at the grassroots on social and economic agendas. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), established in the 1970s with Soren as one of the founders, brought together identity concerns and working-class agendas, which enabled the movement to build solidarities beyond Adivasis. It fought the liquor mafia, instituted direct action to end land alienation among locals, ran literacy campaigns and advocated the establishment of schools, and worked to create parallel credit networks. The statehood demand was revived in the 1980s, which culminated in the formation of a separate state in 2000. The JMM in office embraced the vices of the establishment and abandoned the lofty ideals of the movement. This is perhaps the fate of all movement-centric outfits — the Congress, CPI and CPI-M, the Dravidian parties, Bahujan Samaj Party, among others — as they transition to parties of office. That said, Soren will be remembered as a leader from an underprivileged community who fought for his people, established their political agency, and enabled the founding of a state centred on the Jharkhandi identity. The allegations that continued to dog Soren through the course of his political career — they ranged from murder to corruption — are a reflection of the political economy of the resource-rich region he emerged from. His party may have failed in transforming how politics is played, but the very fact that it was a player made it, and him, unique among tribal mobilisations.
The Hindu
04-08-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Shibu Soren: From a social reformer to an iconic tribal leader
Shibu Soren's political journey started with being a social reformer to a politician. He made many sacrifices for a separate Jharkhand State and that's the reason the people from all parties of Jharkhand respect him. Born on January 11, 1944, in united Bihar in Nemra village, currently in Jharkhand's Ramgarh district, Shibu Soren was the person who raised voice against the money lending system, which was at its peak to such an extent that people used to get only one-third of their produce and the moneylenders would take away the rest. The tribal leader protested the money lending system and challenged the social structure at that time. He had his influence in the neighbouring Odisha and West Bengal as well. He is also given the credit of fighting for the separate State. Hailing from the Santhal tribal group, Soren got the nickname Guru ji because he used to organise night school for the children who could not afford to go to school. Shibu Soren death: PM Modi, political leaders condole his demise Describing his fight against the money lenders, Dr. Tanuj Khatri, spokesperson and central committee member of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), told The Hindu that Soren had started a campaign to cut paddy on those lands which were occupied by the moneylenders in lieu of loans. He added that during this campaign, tribal women used to harvest paddy from the land and during the harvesting, tribal men used to remain on guard with bows and arrows. Dr. Khatri further emphasised that 'Dishom Guru' was not just a political leader but a revolutionary spirit who united fragmented struggles. He brought together diverse communities, bonded by a shared pain and common cause, to fight exploitation, social injustice, and land alienation. 'He was a pioneer of grassroots mobilization, who inspired an entire generation to rise against feudal structures, oppressive landlords, and exploitative systems. From the forests to the legislative assemblies, he gave voice to the voiceless. Shibu Soren played a crucial role in the creation of the separate State of Jharkhand, turning a long-standing dream into reality. Also Read | Rajya Sabha adjourns for the day as a mark of respect to Shibu Soren's death 'His vision for a just, equitable society rooted in cultural identity and self-respect continues to guide the Jharkhandi movement. He was a symbol of resistance, resilience, and rooted leadership whose legacy will continue to inspire struggles for justice across the nation,' Mr. Khatri said. According to the book 'Jharkhand Andolan Ka Dastavej: Soshan, Sangharsh Aur Sahadat' written by Anuj Kumar Sinha, the then executive editor of Prabhat Khabar newspaper, A.K. Rai, Vinod Bihari Mahato and Shibu Soren were running movements under different banners. On February 4, 1972, the three sat together and decided to merge different banners to form a new organisation called Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. With the formation of JMM, Vinod Bihari Mahato became its first president and Shibu Soren was made the general secretary. Later, after the death of Nirmal Mahato, who was serving as party's president in 1987, the command of JMM came into the hands of Shibu Soren. Also Read | Shibu Soren's death: Jharkhand Assembly Monsoon Session adjourned sine die He became the Chief Minister of Jharkhand three times. However, he could never complete his term neither as a Union Minister nor as a Chief Minister. Every time he had to resign in the middle of his term. He was also associated with many controversies and serious allegations; despite that, he remained the tallest and biggest tribal leader in Jharkhand. Mr. Soren dreamt of a separate state of Jharkhand so that the region and its people could develop through a mass movement, when Jharkhand was formed as a separate State on November 15, 2000. Shibu Soren served at the party's top post till April 2025 and due to deteriorating health, his son Hemant Soren was elected as JMM national president. He first contested the Lok Sabha election in 1977 but lost, however in 1980, he contested and won the Lok Sabha elections from Dumka seat. He again won Lok Sabha for seven more terms — 1989, 1991, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2009 and 2014. Shibu Soren took charge of the State as the third Chief Minister of Jharkhand. On March 2, 2005, he took charge as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand for the first time, but he had to resign after 10 days. He became the Chief Minister for the second time in 2008, this time his tenure lasted for 4 months and 22 days, while his third tenure as Chief Minister lasted from 30 December 2009 to 31 May 2010. In 2009, Shibu Soren who gave a tough fight to many candidates had once lost the Assembly by-polls while being the CM. He had to contest the by-election on the Tamar seat which was dominated by Munda tribals. He was pitted against Raja Peter of Jharkhand Party who defeated him by a margin of 8,972 votes. Shibu Soren was also a member of the Rajya Sabha for a short time in 2002 and also worked as the Union Coal Minister in Manmohan Singh's government in 2004. He had a strong influence in national politics and the matter of Jharkhand did not reach Delhi without him.
