On 23rd January, the President of India, on the recommendations of the Modi government, conferred Bharat Ratna on the late former Chief Minister of Bihar, Karpoori Thakur. Over the years, he had earned the moniker ‘Jananayak’ for his fight for social justice. Thakur was the head of the first non-Congress government in Bihar.
On the 100th birth anniversary of the late socialist leader, PM Modi penned his thoughts to pay tribute to ‘Jan Nayak’ Karpoori Thakur. In the commemorative article, PM Modi wrote, “I never had the opportunity to meet Karpoori Ji but, I heard a lot about him from Kailashpati Mishra Ji, who worked closely with him.”
Notably, Mishra had served as the Finance Minister of Bihar and later also became the Governor of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Discussing Karpoori Thakur’s simple lifestyle and humble nature, PM Narendra Modi shared a few anecdotes that highlight the simplicity of the socialist leader.
PM Modi recalled how Karpoori Thakur preferred to spend his own money on any personal matter including his daughter’s wedding rather than drawing even a single penny from the government’s coffers.
Describing another incident to highlight Thakur’s simplicity, PM Modi wrote, “During his tenure as Chief Minister of Bihar, a decision was taken to build a colony for political leaders but he himself did not take any land or money for the same. When he passed away in 1988, several leaders went to his village to pay tributes. When they saw the condition of his house, they were moved to tears- how can someone so towering have a house so simple!”
PM Modi added that Karpoori Thakur was a proponent of education in local languages so that people from villages and small towns could also get a good quality education.
Meanwhile, when the decision to confer Bharat Ratna posthumously on Karpoori Thakur was announced, a race began with opportunistic leaders of Bihar trying to steal the credit for it. RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, who is part of the coalition government of Bihar, was at the forefront of this. Lalu Yadav, who had vehemently opposed Karpoori Thakur throughout his life, projected himself as the one fighting for Thakur. We will unmask the face of Lalu Yadav who pushed Bihar into ‘Jungle Raj’, but before that let us know who Karpoori Thakur was.
Karpoori Thakur – the recipient of ‘Bharat Ratna’
The date of birth of Karpoori Thakur is a matter of some uncertainty, but it is generally believed that he was born on 24th January 1924 in Pitaunjia, Samastipur district. He was the son of Gokul Thakur and Ramdulari Devi. His native village is now known as ‘Karpoori Gram’. He hailed from a ‘Nai’ family which falls under backward community.
Thakur pursued his higher education at CM College in Darbhanga, but could not complete it as in 1942, he actively participated in Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘Quit India’ movement and played a role in India’s struggle for independence.
About Karpoori Thakur’s family, his grandfather’s name was Pyare Thakur. Karpoori Thakur had 2 brothers and 6 sisters. The name of one of his brothers was – Ramswarath Thakur. His sisters were Galho, Siya, Rajo, Sita, Parvati and Shail. In the name of property, there was a thatched house and 3 acres of agricultural field. In 1938, he established ‘Navyuvak Sangh’ in his native village. He passed matriculation in 1940. Before independence, he was a member of JP-Lohia’s ‘Congress Socialist Party’.
Mahatma Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose had a major influence on him. Thakur started his political life as a disciple of the prominent socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia. From 1952 until his death, Thakur was consistently elected to either the Legislative Assembly or the Lok Sabha. As the Education Minister of Bihar, he removed the mandatory status of English in the matriculation exam. This provided an opportunity for many poor students who were lagging behind due to their lack of proficiency in English.
Karpoori Thakur was a supporter of the Panchayati Raj system. When he became the Chief Minister in 1971 and again in 1978, he conducted Panchayat elections in Bihar. After that, for two decades, there were no Panchayat elections in the state.
Thakur implemented reservations within reservations, providing 8% reservation for the backward classes and 12% for the extremely backward classes. He also included a provision for 3% reservation for economically weaker sections of upper castes and women as well.
In 1952, Karpoori Thakur won his first legislative assembly election from Tajpur. In 1957, he defeated the Congress candidate as a Praja Socialist Party nominee from the same constituency. In the 1950s, he toured several countries in Western Asia and Europe. He won again from the same constituency in 1962. In 1967, he won on the ticket of the ‘Samyukta Socialist Party.’ In 1967, when the government was formed under the leadership of Mahamaya Prasad, Karpoori Thakur became the Deputy Chief Minister. He was assigned important departments like Education and Finance.
In 1969, midterm elections were held in Bihar, and Karpoori Thakur once again won from Tajpur. Before becoming the Chief Minister of Bihar on 22nd December 1970, he went on a 28-day hunger strike in Jamshedpur for the laborers. The demands of the Tata Factory workers were accepted, after which the workers considered Karpoori Thakur as their leader. He also went on a hunger strike for the workers of the Gomia Explosive Factory. In 1972, he again registered a victory from Tajpur. However, by then, the student movement under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan had intensified, and following the resignations of opposition leaders, he also resigned as a legislator in May 1974.
Then the Emergency was imposed. During the authoritarian rule of Indira Gandhi, Thakur initiated many anti-Emergency activities, mainly coordinating them from Nepal. In the 1977 Lok Sabha elections, Karpoori Thakur secured a significant victory from Samastipur on the ticket of the Janata Party. In June 1977, he once again became the Chief Minister of Bihar. He defeated Congress’s Ramjayapal Singh Yadav from Phulparas in Madhubani, securing a legislative seat because it is mandatory for the CM to become an MLA within 6 months. When the Tajpur area was divided in 1980, he contested from Samastipur and won.
He became the opposition leader when the Congress government was formed in Bihar. After differences with Chaudhary Charan Singh, Karpoori Thakur formed the Lok Dal (K). In the 1985 parliamentary elections, Karpoori Thakur faced defeat amid the sympathy wave following Indira Gandhi’s demise. However, despite this being his first electoral loss, he achieved a significant victory just two months later in the assembly elections from Sonbarsa in Sitamarhi. While the merger of Lok Dal and Janata Party did not happen, in that election, Karpoori Thakur won 47 seats, making his Lok Dal the largest opposition party.
Lalu Yadav had called Karpoori Thakur a ‘Kapti’
Now, let’s talk about Lalu Yadav. During the Emergency, the student movement led by Jayaprakash Narayan also made Lalu Yadav a significant leader. Born in Fulwariya, Gopalganj, Lalu Yadav was adept at drama from his childhood and used to perform in small programs in the village. Even though he is now 75 years old, the playful drama of sitting on a buffalo from childhood is still a game he enjoys, albeit in a different form. Now, he is taking credit for the ‘Bharat Ratna’ award bestowed on Karpoori Thakur.
After the announcement of Bharat Ratna, Lalu Yadav tweeted, “My political and ideological guru Karpoori Thakur ji should have received Bharat Ratna long ago. We raised this voice from the House to the streets, but the central government woke up when the current Bihar government, in the present context of social concerns, conducted a caste-based census and increased the scope of reservation for the benefit of the Bahujans. The fear is real, politics will have to focus on the concerns of Dalit Bahujan.” Lalu Yadav not only labeled the Modi government ‘scared’, but also declared Karpoori Thakur as his ‘Guru’.
Can a person call his Guru a ‘Kapti’? In Hindi, Kapti is used as an insult for someone who does ‘Kapat’ (deceit) or one who is cunning.
Lalu Yadav, who is now presenting Karpoori Thakur as his guru and is accusing the Modi government of giving respect to him ‘out of fear’, had once referred to Karpoori Thakur as ‘Kapati’. Sankarshan Thakur explicitly mentions this in his book ‘The Brothers Bihari,’ and it also finds mention in Arun Sinha’s book ‘Nitish Kumar and Ubharta Bihar.’ Yadav took advantage of Karpoori Thakur’s demise in February 1988 to elevate himself as one of the biggest opposition leaders in Bihar.
Even though Lalu Yadav was a student leader and had also gone to jail during the Emergency, the credit for bringing him into mainstream politics goes to Karpoori Thakur. In 1977, it was Karpoori Thakur because of whom 29-year-old Lalu Yadav got a Lok Sabha candidacy from Chapra on ‘Bharatiya Lok Dal’. Lalu Yadav got 85% votes in this election and the victory margin was 77%. After this, Karpoori Thakur also got him the assembly election ticket from the party.
In spite of the significant victory of the Congress in 1980, Karpoori Thakur kept socialist politics alive in Bihar. He encouraged many youths during that era. Even though Lalu Yadav declared himself as Karpoori Thakur’s successor after his demise, Karpoori Thakur himself never wanted this. Journalist Sankarshan Thakur writes in his book that Karpoori Thakur often referred to Lalu as ‘Lampat’ (vagabond). The same book also mentions how Lalu Yadav used to privately call Karpoori Thakur ‘Kapti’.
Lohiawadi Lakshmi Sahu, who was the lifelong private secretary of Karpoori Thakur, narrated an incident. At that time, Karpoori Thakur was an opposition leader and was quite unwell. He was resting at home. However, a crucial discussion on a matter in the assembly came up, and he had to attend. He asked Shivanandan Paswan to arrange for a vehicle. During that time, Lalu Yadav used a second-hand Willys Jeep, which he used to drive himself.
The story goes that when Shivanandan Paswan asked Lalu Yadav to bring Karpoori Thakur from his home to the assembly, Lalu Yadav said, “There is no oil in my car. Why don’t you ask Karpoori Ji to buy a car? He is such a big leader!” Lakshmi Sahu mentions that after becoming the Chief Minister, Lalu Yadav had stopped mentioning Karpoori Thakur’s name because he felt that if he did, he would always remain in Karpoori Thakur’s shadow. He also did not fulfill his promise to build a memorial in memory of Karpoori Thakur.
Lalu Yadav only built a wall outside the house on Deshratna Marg where Karpoori Thakur died, nothing else. He always kept postponing the demand for the construction of the Karpoori Thakur Memorial. During those days, Lalu Yadav used to be close to VP Singh and Devi Lal, and perhaps, that’s why he saw no benefit in staying close to the ailing Karpoori Thakur in Patna or helping him. Ultimately, with the blessings of these two leaders, Lalu Yadav assumed the post of Karpoori Thakur in March 1989, the year following Karpoori Thakur’s demise. He became the leader of the opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly.
Arun Sinha writes in his book that Lalu Yadav disliked the fact that Karpoori Thakur wanted to give a share to all castes of the backward society and that he did not openly disclose his plans with others. Lalu then started calling Karpoori Thakur ‘Kapti Thakur’.
At the same time, another young leader, Nitish Kumar, convinced non-Yadav legislators to support Lalu Yadav, and Lalu Yadav became the leader of the opposition. Today, the opportunistic Lalu Yadav is declaring himself a disciple of Karpoori Thakur.
What did opportunist Lalu Yadav do for ‘Samajwad‘
While Lalu Yadav’s supporters may present him as a proponent of ‘social justice’ and socialism, counting him in the lineage of Ram Manohar Lohia and Karpoori Thakur, what has Lalu Yadav done beyond chanting slogans like ‘Bhurabal Saaf Karo‘ (for the cleansing of certain castes) and discussing caste-based census to divide Hindus?
Notably, Bhurabal (Bhu-Ra-Ba-La) was an acronym for Bhumihar-Rajput-Brahmin-Lala (Kayastha) used by the RJD to incite other castes to rally behind its banner.
In the pursuit of taking credit, the way Lalu is acting, it embodies the proverb ‘Jiyati Na Dihin Kaura, Mare Dolavay Chauran‘ (one who lives without dignity is as good as dead).
Opportunist Lalu Yadav used to say that Nitish Kumar has teeth in his stomach (pet me dant) and today, his party is a part of Nitish Kumar’s government. Reason? The reason is that Lalu Yadav’s son Tejashwi is the Deputy Chief Minister in this government, and his other son Tej Pratap is also a minister.
Meanwhile, amid the credit race in Bihar, CM Nitish Kumar also got involved to appropriate credit for the Bharat Ratna awarded to Karpoori Thakur terming it as his long-standing demand. Some are claiming that the decision was made for electoral gains, while others are boasting about bringing down the Modi government.
Now, it remains to be seen how Karpoori Thakur’s name becomes relevant again in Bihar in the Lok Sabha elections of 2024 and the Assembly elections of 2025, 36-37 years after his demise. Lalu-Nitish will showcase this as a mark of respect to their ‘Guru’ and talk about bringing down the Modi government, while the BJP will talk about honouring a proponent of socialism. However, Bihar’s politics is different from traditional politics and politics in other parts of the country; one cannot predict what might happen here.
