Opinion Karpoori Thakur’s revolutionary ideas gave new direction to Bihar politics, notion of social justice
Thakur introduced historic reforms in education, reservation — including bringing in quotas for women and economically weaker sections of the general category for the first time in independent India
Former Bihar chief minister and Bharat Ratna recipient Karpoori Thakur. (Express archive) The 101st birth anniversary of former Bihar chief minister and Bharat Ratna recipient Karpoori Thakur on Friday has sparked discussions on his contributions and ideology. Born into an impoverished barber family, he was a committed socialist who played a pivotal role in Bihar’s politics for over four decades, from 1950 to 1988. During his lifetime, however, he could not maintain widespread acceptance across communities. His political career had three phases: In the first phase, he garnered support from all communities. In the second phase, he emerged as a prominent leader of the OBCs. In the third phase, he sought to consolidate support based on his individual identity. The third phase commenced after 1978, when he was removed from the CM’s position through a vote of no confidence.
Thakur faced humiliation from feudal castes throughout his career. It was due to his caste identity that, shortly before his death, he was removed from the position of leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, a role that was subsequently taken over by Anup Lal Yadav. His detractors mockingly referred to him as kapati (foxy) Thakur, a term that reflected the deep-rooted prejudice against him. Thakur lamented, “I would not have faced such humiliation if I were born a Yadav.”
In 1967, Thakur — then with the Samyukta Socialist Party (SSP) — was elected to the assembly for the fourth time. The Congress failed to secure a majority in that election, and Thakur’s party came together with others including the Jana Sangh, CPI, the Jan Kranti Dal and the Praja Socialist Party to form a government. Although the SSP was the largest party after the Congress and Thakur was a strong contender for the CM’s post, the other parties didn’t support him, arguing that the person who had defeated the former CM should get the post.
Thus, all the allies agreed to endorse Mahamaya Prasad Sinha of the Jan Kranti Dal, who had defeated former CM K B Sahay in his constituency. Thakur became deputy CM for the first time in Sinha’s government, and was the first leader from the Extremely Backward Classes to hold this post — and later that of CM — in the country. But this didn’t sit well with a section of prominent Backward-Class legislators, especially among the Yadavs.
During his tenure, Thakur implemented several revolutionary changes in education. He abolished the requirement of English in the matriculation exam, which had a positive long-term impact, providing the underprivileged with an opportunity to pursue higher education. However, his move was also criticised, with opponents sarcastically referring to it as the “Karpoori Division”.
But within six months, his government fell, with a significant role played by his health minister, B P Mandal. Alleging incompetence in the administration, Mandal resigned from the SSP on 26 August 1967 and, along with Babu Jagdev Prasad, formed the Shoshit Dal, which consisted of 25 MLAs, 18 of whom were from the Yadav caste. With the support of the Congress and the assistance of Yadav leader R L Chandapuri, Mandal conspired in January 1968 to overthrow the government. The Shoshit Dal formed the new government with the Congress’s backing and Mandal became CM. Following this, the Mandal government set up the J R Mudholkar Commission to investigate allegations of corruption against Thakur and his ministers, although no concrete evidence was found, and Mandal’s tenure as CM lasted only for 50 days.
Thakur became the CM for the first time on December 22, 1970, at the head of a coalition government. His government lasted only for six months, from December 22, 1970, to June 2, 1971. However, on June 1, 1971, he created a significant stir in Bihar’s politics by forming a commission to address the issue of reservation for backward classes. The next CM, Bhola Paswan Shastri, annulled this commission and established a new one under the chairmanship of Mungeri Lal.
Due to his short tenure in office, Thakur was unable to implement substantial reforms. The primary reasons for this were the internal instability of the coalition government and the opposition posed by influential leaders such as Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav.
After the Emergency, he became CM of Bihar for the second time in 1977. During this tenure, he took historic steps towards affirmative action by implementing the recommendations of the Mungeri Lal Commission, with 12 per cent reservation for the Extremely Backward Classes, 8 per cent for the Backward Classes, 3 per cent for women from all classes, and 3 per cent for economically weaker sections. For the first time in independent India, he introduced affirmative action for women and economically weaker sections of the general category.
This decision led to intense criticism of Thakur. The upper castes opposed the widespread implementation of affirmative action, while the feudal OBCs were dissatisfied with the sub-categorisation of OBC reservation, which was perceived as a fragmentation of “backward unity.” As a result, a vote of no-confidence was passed against his government, and he was removed from the position of chief minister.
Nevertheless, his decision gave a new direction to Bihar’s politics, the impact of which is still visible today. The foresight of his policies was not limited to Bihar; it was also felt in other states and at the national level, culminating in the introduction of 10 percent reservation for economically weaker sections in 2019 and the 106th Amendment, which will bring in 33 percent reservation for women in legislative bodies. Furthermore, the most marginalised communities within the OBC category are now demanding sub-categorisation in reservation.
In his last days, Thakur was solitary, yet he was determined to maintain his role in the politics of the backward classes. Six days before his death, the Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly, Shivchandra Jha, issued a notification removing him from the position of leader of the Opposition. Thakur passed away on February 17, 1988.
Thakur’s policies provided opportunities to those sections of society that were the most marginalised, invisible, and fragmented within the social structure. Today, when we engage in debates over the reservation policy, it becomes evident that at its core lies a profound idea of social justice. This idea asserts that not only redistribution of resources but also respect and equality are essential.
Tyagi is a former Rajya Sabha MP and Chaurasia is research fellow at Department of Sociology, Jamia Millia Islamia University
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