Ranchi: A day after veteran tribal leader Shibu Soren, fondly known as ‘Dishom Guru’, died, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that his father’s fight against injustice would continue.
The CM also said he was passing through the most difficult phase of his life after the demise of his father.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) co-founder breathed his last at a Delhi hospital at the age of 81 after battling illness.
“I am passing through the most difficult phase of my life, a pillar of Jharkhand’s soul gone. No book can explain Baba’s struggle, but I vow to continue his fight against injustice,” the Jharkhand CM posted on X.
Soren promised not to let Jharkhand “bow down” and vowed to work to realise his father’s dreams by working for the oppressed and the poor.
The chief minister said he will put his foot in his father’s shoes to wage a war against injustice.
“My father’s shadow has disappeared…He was my guide, the root of my thoughts. He inspired thousands and millions of Jharkhandis, like a forest protecting them from sunlight,” Soren asserted in the long social media post written in Hindi.
The chief minister also reminded that his father’s beginning was “very simple”.
Born in a small house in Nemra village, where there was poverty and hunger, but there was courage.
“He (elder Soren) lost his father in his childhood, but exploitation of the landlords ignited a fire that made him a fighter throughout his life,” Soren posted.
“When I was a child, I used to ask him: Baba, why do people call you Dishom Guru? Then he used to smile and reply: Because I just understood their pain and made their fight my own,” Soren penned.
The title was neither written in any book, nor provided by Parliament – it came from the hearts of the people of Jharkhand, the CM mentioned, adding that ‘Dishom’ means society and ‘Guru’ means the one who shows the path.
“And to tell the truth, Baba didn’t just show us the path, he taught us to walk on this,” he added.
The CM recounted that he saw his father only struggling and never afraid to wage a war against injustice.
“If standing up against injustice is a crime, then I will be guilty again and again. He used to say,” Soren said in the social media post.
“No book can explain Baba’s struggle. It was in his sweat, in his voice, and it was in his cracked heels covered by slippers.” Hemant Soren said, adding that “when the Jharkhand state was formed, his dream came true, but he never considered power as an achievement”.
“This state is not a chair for me…This is the identity of my people,” Hemant Soren quoted Shibu Soren as saying.
“Baba (father) is not here today, but his voice echoes within me. I learnt to fight from you, Baba. I learnt to love Jharkhand from you without any selfish motive. Now you are no longer amongst us, but you are there in every path of Jharkhand. At every beat of the drum, in the soil of every field, you look through the eyes of every poor person. what you dreamt it is my promise to fulfil,” Hemant Soren wrote on X.
The chief minister asserted that he will “not let Guruji’s name be erased or his struggle remain incomplete”.
“Baba, now you take rest. You have done your duty. Now we have to follow in your footsteps. Jharkhand will remain indebted to you. I, your son, will keep your promise. Long live the brave Shibu – Long live, Long live Dishom Guru!,” the CM concluded.
In another post, the CM mentioned that Shibu Soren has embarked on an infinite journey.
