Who Was Shibu Soren? ‘Dishom Guru’ Of Adivasis And Tribal Icon Behind Jharkhand’s Statehood Battle News24 –

By Correspondent On Aug 4, 2025

Shibu Soren, the revered founder of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and affectionately called “Dishom Guru” (Guru of the Nation in Santhali), has passed away. He had been under treatment for over a month, battling kidney-related illness since his hospitalisation in late June. His condition deteriorated critically in recent days, and he was placed on ventilator support on August 2. A towering figure in Jharkhand’s political and tribal landscape, he dedicated his life to uplifting Adivasi communities. His activism began with the Santhal Sudhar Samaj and an ashram in Tundi, Dhanbad, where he mobilised tribals against exploitative moneylenders and landlords under the Mahajani system, sparking a transformative movement for Jharkhand’s indigenous people. While his leadership brought new hope and progress to tribal communities, Soren’s career was also marked by controversies. Below is an overview of his remarkable political journey and the setbacks.

Early Life And Activism

Shibu Soren was born on January 11, 1944, in Nemhra village, Hazaribagh (now in Jharkhand), into a Santhal tribal family. His father, Shobaran Soren, a schoolteacher, was tragically murdered in the 1960s, an event that ignited Shibu’s lifelong commitment to activism for tribal rights and justice.

By the late 1960s, he founded the Santhal Sudhar Samaj and established an ashram at Tundi block in Dhanbad to mobilise tribals. He also fought against institutional neglect and discrimination faced by Adivasis.

He led various campaigns to reclaim tribal lands, which even led to violent confrontations. He faced allegations of inciting violence, including a 1974 incident involving two deaths and a 1975 mob attack on a Muslim-majority village, though he was acquitted of these charges in 2008 and 2010, respectively.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) And Formation Of Jharkhand

In 1972, Shibu Soren, Binod Bihari Mahato, and A.K. Roy, founded The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha(JMM). It later emerged from the Jharkhand movement to create a separate state from Bihar. The goal was attained in 2000. Initially an alliance of Santhal, Kurmi, and Marxist groups, JMM focused on tribal land rights, cultural preservation, and ending exploitation by landlords and moneylenders.

Soren’s Political Career

Soren formally entered politics in 1971, when he was appointed general secretary of the newly-formed Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). Since then, he tasted success in most of the elections he contested. He held cabinet positions and went on to serve as Chief Minister of Jharkhand for three terms.

JMM began contesting elections in 1980, aligning with parties like Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). It always won modest seats in Bihar’s assembly polls (1980–2000) and, after Jharkhand’s formation, secured 17 seats in the 2005 state elections, forming a brief coalition government with Shibu Soren as Chief Minister.

Shibu Soren’s Political Graph: Key Milestones

1980: Elected to the 7th Lok Sabha from Dumka (first term)
1986: Became JMM president
1989–1996: Re-elected to 9th, 10th, and 11th Lok Sabha
1998–2001: Rajya Sabha MP
2002–2004: Re-elected to the 13th and 14th Lok Sabha, appointed Union Minister for Coal and Mines in May 2004
March 2005: Jharkhand CM, but resigned within 10 days due to lack of majority
2006: Re-inducted into the Union Cabinet, resigned again as he was convicted in a 1994 murder case
2007: Assassination attempt on Soren in Dumka while being escorted to jail, Survives
Aug 2008 – Jan 2009: Becomes CM again; resigns after failing to get elected to Assembly
2009–2014: Wins 15th Lok Sabha term; appointed to key parliamentary committees
2010: Jharkhand CM for the third time, resigns after BJP pulls support
2014: Wins 16th Lok Sabha seat from Dumka
2019: Loses to BJP’s Sunil Soren
2020: Takes oath as Rajya Sabha member

Shibu Soren’s Family

Shibu Soren was born to Sobran Soren, a farmer and schoolteacher. He was married to Rupi Soren, a JMM vice president. They had four children: Hemant Soren, Jharkhand’s current Chief Minister and JMM president; Durga Soren, a former JMM leader who died in 2009; Basant Soren, a JMM MLA; and Anjali Soren, involved in social causes and JMM’s Odisha unit.

Controversies

Soren won many elections during his political career, but there were also downturns in his career. He was accused of encouraging violence in two serious incidents — one in 1974 where two people died, and another mob attack in 1975. Later, he was cleared of both cases in 2008 and 2010.

The other incident that was a setback for him was in 2006, when he was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering his personal secretary, Shashinath Jha. In 1994, Jha was taken from Delhi and killed in Ranchi. Soren was accused of being the mastermind behind his kidnapping and murder. This forced him to leave the Union Cabinet and go to jail. But later, the Delhi High Court gave him a clean chit. These court cases and political instability often interrupted his time in power.