The year is 1987. Jharkhand’s statehood movement is at its peak. Step out of the house and you will hear slogans like ‘Jai Jharkhand’, ‘Kaise lenge Jharkhand, lad ke lenge Jharkhand (we will fight to get Jharkhand)’, and many more. Shibu Soren is the undisputed leader who is leading the movement from the front. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has announced a Jharkhand bandh and Soren is addressing a press conference in Ranchi.As a young journalist for a national daily, I am there, obviously with a lot of questions. Guruji, as he was known all over Jharkhand and elsewhere too, appears articulate and determined. At the end of the press conference, he asks me to join the JMM.I did not join the JMM, but through my work which was published in newspapers, I was taking readers through the statehood movement every day, covering every event and development that unfolded under Shibu Soren’s leadership.As a journalist, I had the opportunity to meet Guruji often, and discuss with him the ideas and strategies of the movement. Meeting him with my fellow journalists and colleagues – Faisal Anurag, Dr V.P. Sharan, Barbie Dutt, and Hari Anshan, among them – had become part of routine. In 2003, when I wrote a book, Taben Jome, he chaired the release ceremony.In his last days, Guruji had been restricted to his home in Ranchi, though he received a steady flow of visitors until very recently. When I met him last, he recognised me and gave me his blessings.As Jharkhand bids farewell to its Guruji, I am left with many fond memories – of struggle, fight, hope, desperation, hope again, and eventually a victory in the year 2000 when Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar. All of this happened under Shibu Soren’s leadership.Shibu Soren. Photo: PTI/File.Shibu Soren was born on January 11, 1944 in Nemra village beside Ramgarh near Ranchi. His father Sobren Majhi was a dedicated teacher at a school in Gola. Sobren Majhi had been associated with Mahatma Gandhi’s freedom movement and as a true Gandhian, did not tolerate any oppression and exploitation. Apart from inspiring his fellow Adivasi brethren to give up social ills and take to education, Sobren Majhi opposed the exploitation of Adivasis by the money-lenders. Then, a group of money-lenders murdered him.Shivcharan Majhi, as young Shibu Soren had been named, was a child. His father’s murder made him into an adult overnight. Soren decided to end the very money-lending system that had killed his father, and started to raise a group of young Santal men who would fight the oppression and exploitation of money-lenders. The money-lenders were infamous for collecting exorbitant interests from the poor tribal families on whom they would force loans. Often, these loans lasted for many generations. In many cases, the money-lenders grabbed the lands of the poor tribal peasants, who were made to work on their own lands only to have the harvest taken away by the money-lender.Soren’s Dhan Katni movement encouraged the Adivasi villagers to harvest the standing crops that they had grown on the land grabbed by the money-lenders. Soren came in direct conflict with a community that was involved in the exploitation and oppression of the Adivasis, and attracted first information reports. The police often took the side of the oppressors. However, Soren’s name and reputation spread far and wide among his people. For a section of the society, Soren was a villain, but for his people he was a messiah.A young officer, K.B. Saxena, who had been sent to Dhanbad as the deputy commissioner guided Soren towards the mainstream. Saxena had initially been fed government reports that portrayed Soren as someone who needed to be brought under control. Indira Gandhi, who was then the prime minister, also came to learn of Soren and his movement, and was worried. Saxena found that there was more to it than what was in the police reports. He was convinced that Soren’s movement was against the exploitation and oppression of the poor Adivasis by money-lenders, but that he needed to change his method of operation. Saxena convinced Soren to surrender before the law and carry on the movement in a lawful way. In 1975, Soren surrendered. The cases against him were dealt with kindly and he was soon in mainstream politics.When the election of 1980 came, Soren was elected to the Lok Sabha as a Member of Parliament from Dumka. Ever since, Dumka has been his second home.In 1972, Soren along with Binod Bihari Mahto and A.K. Roy founded the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, a front to fight for Jharkhand statehood. What began as a movement against the money-lenders’ exploitation had now been converted into a movement for political self-determination for the people of Jharkhand. Right from day one of his movement, Soren had been with the grassroots. His is a story of turning the fight against oppression into a political struggle, and this is what set him apart. Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda began the statehood movement, but it was for Shibu Soren who got to see its eventual win.జార్ఖండ్ మాజీ ముఖ్యమంత్రి శిబూ సోరెన్ గారి కుమారుడు, ప్రస్తుత సీఎం హేమంత్ సోరెన్ ను ఫోన్లో పరామర్శించిన బీఆర్ఎస్ అధినేత కేసీఆర్ గారు.తెలంగాణ ఉద్యమ సందర్భంగా శిబూ సోరెన్ గారితో తనకున్న ఆత్మీయ అనుబంధాన్ని హేమంత్ సోరెన్తో పంచుకున్న కేసీఆర్ గారు.ప్రత్యేక తెలంగాణ రాష్ట్ర సాధన… pic.twitter.com/MbUTKOo90E— BRS Party (@BRSparty) August 4, 2025Many FIRs were filed against Shibu Soren in the course of the movement, including over the 1975 Chirudih massacre. He has been acquitted since. Soren has had his own share of controversy, even in politics, notably the time his party voted to save the government of prime minister Narasimha Rao during a no-confidence motion. However, Soren and his other fellow MPs were acquitted in the bribery case.The passing away of Soren ends an era in the life of Adivasis in Jharkhand. In fact, it is the end of a chapter in the political life of the tribal people of India. Despite ups and downs and controversies, many Adivasis loved Soren, and saw him as a messiah who fought for their rights and self-respect. The story of the Adivasi community in the country has been one of suffering. Soren’s life tells a story of glorious struggle against oppression, come what may.सब विरान सा हो गया है…अंतिम जोहार आदरणीय बाबा…आपका संघर्ष, आपका स्नेह, आपका दृढ़ विश्वास – आपकी यह बेटी कभी नहीं भूलेगी।— Kalpana Murmu Soren (@JMMKalpanaSoren) August 4, 2025Soren leaves behind a legacy of struggle, determination and hope. This was perhaps pre-ordained, arriving as he did on the scene of Adivasi suffering in Jharkhand and then leading it into statehood.The passing away of Soren has left a void not just in the political life of Jharkhand, but in the day-to-day struggle of the Adivasis. However, his life will continue to instil hope in national tribal consciousness. He will continue to live. Basavi Kido is an Adivasi rights activist and former Jharkhand Women’s Commission member.