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Shibu Soren
Indian politician (1944–2025) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Shibu Soren (Hindi pronunciation: [ʃɪbuː soːɾeːn̪]; 11 January 1944 – 4 August 2025), popularly known as the Dishom Guru, was an Indian social reformer and politician who was a founder and longtime president of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).[2] He played a crucial role in the formation of the separate state of Jharkhand from Bihar[3] and later served as the 3rd Chief Minister of Jharkhand, first for 10 days in March 2005, then from 2008 to 2009, and again from 2009 to 2010.
Soren was a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Dumka from 1980 to 1984, 1989 to 1998, and 2002 to 2019. He was also a member of the Rajya Sabha, representing Jharkhand from 2020 until his death in 2025. He also served as the Minister for Coal in the Union Cabinet three times: in 2004, from 2004 to 2005, and in 2006. However, he was convicted by a Delhi district court of his involvement in the 1994 murder of his private secretary, Shashi Nath Jha.[4] He had also been indicted in the past on other criminal charges.
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Political career
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Soren entered activism following the murder of his father, Shobaran Soren, on 27 November 1957. His father was a teacher and tribal activist who worked on tribal land rights issues.[5] At the age of eighteen, Soren founded the Santhal Navyuvak Sangh.[6] In 1972, Bengali Marxist trade union leader A. K. Roy, Kurmi-Mahato leader Binod Bihari Mahato and Santal leader Shibu Soren formed Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. Soren became the general secretary of JMM. JMM organised agitations to reclaim the tribal lands which were alienated. They started forcibly harvesting in the lands. Shibu Soren was known for delivering summary justice against landlords and money lenders, sometimes by holding own courts.[7] On 23 January 1975, he allegedly incited a campaign to drive away "outsiders", or the 'non-tribal' people. At least eleven people were killed. Soren and numerous others were charged with various crimes related to this incident. After extended legal proceedings, Soren was acquitted on 6 March 2008.[8] However, possibly related incitement charges—dating from two earlier deaths in 1974—remain pending.[9][10]
He entered to electoral politics as an Independent candidate to the Bihar assembly elections in 1977 but lost to Janata Party candidate.[citation needed] Then, he was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980 from Dumka.[citation needed] An arrest warrant was issued against him. He was subsequently elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989, 1991 and 1996 as well.[citation needed]
In 2002, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha.[citation needed] He won the Dumka Lok Sabha seat in a by-election the same year and resigned his Rajya Sabha seat. He was re-elected in 2004.[citation needed]
He became the Union Coal Minister in the Manmohan Singh government, but was asked to resign following an arrest warrant in his name in the thirty-year-old Chirudih case. He was one of the main accused amongst 69, with allegations to kill 10 people (including 9 Muslims) on 23 January 1975, in a clash between tribals and Muslims.[11] After the warrant was issued, he initially went underground. He resigned on 24 July 2004. He was able to secure bail after spending over a month in judicial custody; released on bail on 8 September, he was re-inducted into the Union Cabinet and given back the coal ministry on 27 November 2004, as part of a deal for a Congress-JMM alliance before assembly elections in Jharkhand in February/March 2005.[12]
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Chief Minister of Jharkhand (2005–2010)
On 2 March 2005, after much political bargaining and quid pro quo he was invited to form the government in Jharkhand by the Governor of Jharkhand.[citation needed] He resigned as Chief Minister nine days later, on 11 March, following his failure to obtain a vote of confidence in the assembly.[citation needed]
Later career
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he lost to Sunil Soren of the BJP from Dumka constituency.[13] He didn't contested 2024 Indian Lok Sabha elections.
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Electoral history
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Lok Sabha
Assembly
Life imprisonment and acquittal
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On 28 November 2006, Soren was found guilty in a twelve-year-old case involving the kidnapping and murder of his former personal secretary Shashinath Jha. It was claimed that Jha was abducted from the Dhaula Kuan area in Delhi on 22 May 1994 and taken to Piska Nagari near Ranchi where he was killed. The CBI chargesheet stated that Jha's knowledge of the reported deal between the Congress and the JMM to save the Narasimha Rao government during the July 1993 no-confidence motion and an act of sodomy was the motive behind the murder. The charge-sheet asserted that: "Jha was aware of the illegal transactions and also expected and demanded a substantial share out of this amount from Soren."[15]
Soren resigned from his post of Union Minister for Coal after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanded that he should do so in the wake of the verdict. This is the first case of a Union Minister of the Government of India being found guilty of involvement in a murder. On 5 December 2006, Shibu Soren was sentenced to life imprisonment. A Delhi court rejected his bail plea, stating: 'We cannot overlook the fact that the appellant (Soren) has been convicted after a detailed and elaborate trial only in November 2006 and sentenced in December 2006.[16]
The bench also noted that he was also being tried in a number of other cases, including the case of mass murder in Jharkhand.[17]
On 25 June 2007, Shibu Soren was being escorted to his jail in Dumka, Jharkhand when his convoy was attacked by bombs,[18] but no one was hurt.[19]
The Delhi High Court on 23 August 2007 overruled the District Court and acquitted Soren, stating that "The trial court's analysis is far from convincing and not sustainable."[20]
The five men convicted by the Tis Hazari court were held guilty of criminal conspiracy, abduction and murder primarily on the basis of forensic evidence provided by a post-mortem report of a body discovered in Jharkhand, namely a skull superimposition test and skull injury report. This was in addition to eyewitness accounts and some circumstantial evidence.[21]
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Personal life
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Soren was born on 11 January 1944 into a Santal family to Shobaran Soren and Sonamuni Soren in Nemra village of Ramgarh district, then part of Bihar Province in British India. Shibu Soren was elder among his four brothers namely 1.Raja Ram Soren 2.Shankar Soren 3. Lalu Soren and youngest 4.Ramu Soren.He completed his matriculation at Gola High School.[22] He completed his schooling in the same district.[23]
Soren was married to Roopi Kisku in 1962. He had three sons Durga Soren, Hemant Soren, and Basant Soren and a daughter, Anjali Soren. His son, Hemant Soren is the Chief Minister of Jharkhand currently and was the CM previously from July 2013 to December 2014.[24] His elder son Durga Soren was MLA from Jama from 1995 to 2005.[25] Durga's wife, Sita Soren is former MLA from Jama, but is now in BJP.[26] Basant Soren is president of the Jharkhand Yuva Morcha, a youth wing of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and current MLA from Dumka.[27] [28]
Soren died at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi, on 4 August 2025, at the age of 81.[29][30] He had been admitted in late June 2025 for chronic kidney disease, and reportedly suffered a stroke during his treatment. After about a month on life support, he died with his family by his bedside.[31][32]
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See also
References
External links
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