Shibu Soren, the towering tribal leader and founder of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), passed away at the age of 81 in New Delhi on Monday. The former Chief Minister of Jharkhand and long-time parliamentarian had been undergoing treatment for kidney-related complications at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. His demise was confirmed by his son and current Jharkhand Chief Minister, Hemant Soren.
“Respected Guru Dishom has left us all. Today, I have become empty…,” wrote Hemant Soren on social media, announcing the death of the man widely known as “Guruji” in political and tribal circles.
According to the official statement from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Shibu Soren passed away at 8.56 a.m. after prolonged illness. The hospital noted that he had suffered a stroke about six weeks ago and had been on life support for the past month. He was under the care of Dr. A.K. Bhalla, Chairman of Nephrology, alongside specialists from neurology and intensive care.
Born on January 11, 1944, in Nemra village (now in Jharkhand), Soren emerged from the Santal tribal community to become a central figure in the tribal rights movement in eastern India. At the young age of 18, he founded the Santhal Navyuvak Sangh, an organisation dedicated to tribal empowerment and land rights, a cause that remained at the heart of his political career.
In 1972, he co-founded the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha alongside A.K. Roy and Binod Bihari Mahato, laying the foundation for what would eventually become the separate state of Jharkhand in 2000. Soren played a decisive role in the movement for statehood, often mobilising tribal populations across the Chotanagpur plateau.
He served as Jharkhand’s Chief Minister on three occasions, in 2005, 2008-09, and 2009-10, though each tenure was marked by political instability and short duration. Despite the challenges, his position as a tribal voice in Indian politics remained firm.
In Parliament, Soren was elected to the Lok Sabha eight times, representing the Dumka constituency. He also served two terms in the Rajya Sabha, the second of which was ongoing at the time of his passing.
His decades-long political journey was not without controversy, but his stature as a tribal leader and community mobiliser earned him reverence far beyond his home state.
The news of his passing has triggered an outpouring of grief and tributes across political lines. His death marks the end of an era in Jharkhand’s political history, especially for those who regarded him as the spiritual and ideological anchor of tribal assertion and land rights.
As tributes pour in, the legacy of Shibu Soren, Guruji, Dishom Guru, or simply the voice of the hills and forests, remains etched in the memory of a region he helped shape from the grassroots.
