TRIBAL MESSIAH WITH ‘MAGICAL' POWERS
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Among tribal people, mainly Santhals, he was a cult figure with 'magical' powers. During the 70s, when tribals were subjected to ruthless exploitation by greedy moneylenders and landlords, he emerged like a messiah for them.
He started attacking moneylenders and forcibly started harvesting crops on lands of tribals usurped by "Dikus (outsiders)". The saviour of tribals made them realize that their exploiters were not invincible. The Shibu juggernaut rolled on in Jharkhand and the tribals started believing that their saviour had some supernatural powers and was omnipresent.
"Guruji is addressing a rally in Dumka today and he is also addressing rallies at Palajori, Kathikund, Litti Para and other places at the same time...
Santhals from rural areas used to say during Jharkhand Diwas rallies on February 2 in Dumka way back in 70s and early 80s. He used to start his address around 7-8pm and continued it till the wee hours of the morning. The tribals listened to his fiery speeches throughout the night," Godai Swarnkar, an old-timer, said.
Guruji, as JMM supremo Shibu Soren is affectionately called, had acquired an image like Phantom, the ghost who walks.
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He had himself admitted this once while talking to this reporter. "During my fight against moneylenders, several cases were lodged against me and police had launched massive hunt for me. Suraj and I used to hide in remote villages. I had a motorcycle then and Suraj was my constant companion. When we used to enter villages in the dead of night, people used to think two ghosts had arrived," he had said.
He later gifted the bike to his secretay Vinod Pandey.
However, he retained his jeep he had used during Jharkhand movement.
Suraj Mandal. then a JMM leader who later became a JMM MP, was Shibu's right-hand man during those days. Later, he parted ways with Shibu and slowly faded into oblivion.
Soren's life witnessed vicissitudes of fortunes. JMM bribery case, Shashikant Jha murder case, Chirudih massacre case kept haunting him for a long time. But his popularity among tribals remained undiminished.
The tribal hero led a spartan lifestyle. He was a teetotaller and a strict vegetarian. "I love sleeping on the floor," he had once said.
When asked how he maintains such a mop of wavy hair and a flowing beard, he had said: "I use 'multani mitti' and you people use shampoo. Here lies the difference." He even suggested this reporter to go to nearby Sainthia in West Bengal. "There is a mound of multani mitti just outside Sainthia.
Go and collect it," he had said.
Guruji had rustic sense of humour and had once made fun of death also. While going for a chopper ride to Masalia, about 40 km from Dumka, to address a poll rally during 2009 assembly polls, Vinod Pandey had suggested this reporter to accompany Guruji on chopper and interview him. Guruji had jokingly said: "The condition of this chopper is bad and it can crash on the way. I am old now and it doesn't matter if I perish in a crash.
He is a young man and he should not take the risk."
The autumn of the patriarch began in 1995 when his eldest son Durga Soren won the Jama assembly seat. He started calling the shots within the party. He died in 2009. After Durga's death, his younger brother Hemant Soren took over as the successor of Guruji. This led to family feud as Durga's widow Sita Soren was unhappy with Hemant's move. She later joined BJP, but lost Jama assembly polls to JMM Candidate Lois Marandi in 2024 assembly polls.
Guruji slowly started to keep himself out of the limelight. On April 15, 2025, Hemant became party president, replacing Shibu. It can be said to be the end of Shibu era in JMM.
But Guruji was and will remain the biggest crowd-puller for JMM in days to come. He did not actively campaigned for the party in 2024 assembly polls, but JMM flags with his familiar face and bow and arrow party symbol, kept fluttering in remote areas of the state. JMM formed government in the state later, reminding people that his charisma remained intact.
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