Jharkhand Bids Farewell to ‘Dishom Guru’

• Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren was laid to rest with full state honours in his ancestral village of Nemra.
• The funeral was attended by thousands of people, including his son and current CM Hemant Soren, as well as top leaders from various political parties.
• Hemant Soren and his wife, Kalpana Soren, posted emotional tributes, with the chief minister vowing to carry on his father’s legacy of fighting for the oppressed.

GG News Bureau
Nemra, 5th Aug: A wave of grief swept across Jharkhand on Tuesday as former chief minister and JMM co-founder Shibu Soren, fondly known as “Dishom Guru,” was laid to rest with full state honours in his ancestral village of Nemra. A massive crowd of supporters, political leaders, and common people gathered to pay their final respects to the towering tribal leader who passed away on Monday at the age of 81.

The funeral procession, which began in Ranchi and wound its way to Nemra, was met with a sombre atmosphere as people lined the roadsides to catch a last glimpse of the departed leader. Chants of “Guruji amar rahe” (long live Guruji) filled the air as the hearse, carrying his body, proceeded towards the village, located about 75 km from the state capital.

Shibu Soren’s son and current Chief Minister, Hemant Soren, was seen seated on the vehicle, his hands folded in grief. In an emotional tribute on X, Hemant Soren vowed to continue his father’s lifelong fight against injustice. “I am passing through the most difficult phase of my life, a pillar of Jharkhand’s soul is gone,” he wrote, promising to realize his father’s dreams for the oppressed and the poor. His wife, Kalpana Soren, also shared her grief, remarking that “everything has become desolate” and that she would never forget his struggle and convictions.

Earlier in the day, the body was brought to the state assembly in Ranchi, where Governor Santosh Gangwar, Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato, Union Ministers Jual Oram and Annapurna Devi, and a host of other dignitaries paid their tributes. As a mark of respect, most shops and schools in Ranchi were closed, and the Jharkhand government declared a three-day state mourning.

Political leaders from across the country arrived in Ranchi to attend the funeral. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, who had paid their tributes to the family at a Delhi hospital on Monday, were among those expected to attend the final rites in Nemra. Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh and TMC MP Shatabdi Roy were also present.

The body was laid to rest according to tribal customs, concluding a day of mourning for a leader who was instrumental in the movement for a separate Jharkhand state and a revered figure for tribal communities nationwide.