Karpoori Thakur's granddaughter thanks PM Modi, Amit Shah for Bharat Ratna

Karpoori Thakur, the two-time Bihar chief minister, is known for championing OBC rights.

Updated on: Jan 24, 2024, 15:43:24 IST

By HT News Desk

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The granddaughter of former Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur, who has been awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously, on Wednesday said that it is a proud moment for her family.

Former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur. (Narendra Modi/ X)

Dr Jagriti also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for bestowing the honour on her late grandfather.

“It is a proud moment that I cannot express in words,” Dr Jagriti told PTI. “The respect and honour granted by PM Modi and Amit Shah to my late grandfather have not been given before; it is a matter of pride.”

Two-time Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur, known for championing reservation benefits for OBCs, has been awarded India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna. The BJP-led Central government made the announcement on Tuesday.

The move is seen as an outreach by the BJP ahead of upcoming general elections, where caste is expected to play a major role. The announcement comes as Bihar's government plans to celebrate Thakur's legacy and as the state emerges as a battleground for social justice politics and also ahead of Thakur’s 100th birth centenary.

After the announcement, the Congress party renewed the call for a nationwide caste census as it welcomed the decision of the Narendra Modi government to confer Bharat Ratna. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, in charge of communications, alleged that the decision reflects the Modi government's “desperation and hypocrisy”.

Who was Karpoori Thakur

Born in 1924 in the village of Pitaunjhia, now known as Karpoori Gram in Samastipur, Thakur belonged to the Nai or barber community that constituted around 1.6% of the state’s population in the 1970s.

He first won an election to the state assembly from the Tajpur seat in 1952 and never lost over the next 33 years.

Also Read | Simplicity, social justice pillars of Karpoori Thakur's life, says PM Modi

Karpoori Thakur was chief minister of Bihar for two terms — first for about six months in 1970 as the leader of the Socialist Party, and then again for just short of two years between June 1977 and April 1979 as head of the Janata Party government.

But he is better known for consolidating the backward castes into a potent bloc and pushing for sub-divisions within the OBC quota for the upliftment of the most backward groups. A dedicated socialist, Thakur was among the first leaders to feel the need to segregate the most deprived among the backward classes but often faced stiff resistance from within his own party.

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