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{{short description|Indian politician}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Karpoori Thakur
| image = Karpoori Thakur 1991 stamp of India.jpg
| caption = Karpoori Thakur, 1991 stamp of India
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1924|01|24}}
| birth_place = [[Samastipur District|Pitaunjhia]], [[Bihar and Orissa Province]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1988|02|17|1924|01|24}}
| death_place =[[Patna]], [[Bihar]], [[India]]
| party = [[Socialist Party (India)|Socialist Party]], [[Bharatiya Kranti Dal]], [[Janata Party]], [[Lok Dal]]
| order1 = 11th
| office1 = Chief Minister of Bihar
| term_start1 = 22 December 1970
| term_end1 = 2 June 1971
| predecessor1 = [[Daroga Prasad Rai]]
| successor1 = [[Bhola Paswan Shashtri]]
| term_start2 = 24 June 1977
| term_end2 = 21 April 1979
| predecessor2 = [[Jagannath Mishra]]
| successor2 = [[Ram Sunder Das]]
| office3 = 2 <sup> nd </sup>[[Deputy Chief Ministers of Bihar|Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar]]
| term_start3 = 5 March 1967
| term_end3 = 31 January 1968
| 1blankname3 = Chief Minister
| 1namedata3 = [[Mahamaya Prasad Sinha]]
| predecessor3 = [[Anugrah Narayan Sinha]]
| successor3 = [[Sushil Kumar Modi]]
| office4 = [http://education.nic.in/cd50years/g/12/1L/121L0101.htm Education Minister of Bihar]
| term_start4 = 5 March 1967
| term_end4 = 31 January 1968
| predecessor4 =[[Satyendra Narayan Sinha]]
| successor4 =Satish Prasad Singh
| occupation = Freedom Fighter, Teacher, Politician
|}}
'''Karpoori Thakur''' (24 January 1924 – 17 February 1988) was an Indian politician from the [[Bihar]] state. He was popularly known as '''Jan Nayak''' (Hindi for people's hero).{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}} He served as the [[List of Chief Ministers of Bihar|Chief Minister of Bihar]] from December 1970 to June 1971 ([[Socialist Party (India)|Socialist Party]]/[[Bharatiya Kranti Dal]]), and from December 1977 to April 1979 ([[Janata Party]]).{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}

== Biography ==
Karpoori Thakur was born in the [[Nai (caste)|Nai caste]] to Gokul Thakur and Ramdulari Devi at Pitaunjhia (now Karpuri Gram) village in [[Samastipur District]] of [[Bihar]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Singh|first=Aastha|date=2019-01-24|title=Karpoori Thakur, the other Bihar CM who banned alcohol|url=https://theprint.in/theprint-profile/karpoori-thakur-the-other-bihar-cm-who-banned-alcohol/182593/|access-date=2020-06-15|website=ThePrint|language=en-US}}</ref> He was influenced by nationalistic ideas as a student, and joined the [[All India Students Federation]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forwardpress.in/2016/08/karpoori-thakur-a-socialist-leader-in-the-hindi-belt/?amp|title=Karpoori Thakur: A Socialist Leader in the Hindi Belt|date=15 August 2016}}</ref> As a student activist, he left his graduate college to join the [[Quit India Movement]]. For his participation in the [[Indian independence movement]], he spent 26 months in prison.<ref name="freeindia">{{cite web
| url = http://www.freeindia.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=517
| title = Karpoori Thakur
| publisher = FreeIndia.Org
| access-date = 14 January 2008
}}</ref>

After India gained independence, Thakur worked as a teacher in his village's school. He became a member of the Bihar [[Vidhan Sabha]] in 1952 from Tajpur constituency as a Socialist Party candidate. He was arrested for leading P & T employees during the general strike of the Central Government employees in 1960. In 1970, he undertook a [[fasting|fast]] unto death for 28 days to promote the cause of [[TATA Engineering and Locomotive Company|Telco]] labourers.<ref name="freeindia" />

Thakur was a votary of [[Hindi]] language, and as the education minister of Bihar, he removed English as the compulsory subject for the [[matriculation]] curriculum. It is alleged that the Bihari students suffered due to the resulting low standards of English-medium education in the state.<ref name="freeindia" /> Thakur served as a minister and [[Deputy Chief Ministers of Bihar|Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar]], before becoming the first non-[[Indian National Congress|Congress]] socialist Chief Minister of Bihar in 1970. He also enforced total [[prohibition of alcohol]] in Bihar. During his reign, many schools and colleges were established in his name<ref name="freeindia" /> in the backward areas of Bihar.

Academic S N Malakar, who belongs to one of the MBCs
of Bihar and had participated in the agitation supporting
Karpoori Thakur’s reservation policy in the 1970s as a student
activist belonging to the [[All India Students Federation]] (AISF)
contends that the subaltern classes of Bihar – MBCs, dalits and upper OBCs had already gained confidence during the time of
the Janata Party government.{{Citation needed paragraph|date=November 2021}}

Chet Ram Tomar of Bulandshahr was his close ally.
A socialist leader, Thakur was close to [[Jaya Prakash Narayan]].<ref name="ibnlive_bharat_ratna">{{cite web
| url = http://www.ibnlive.com/news/bihar-wants-bharat-ratna-for-karpoori-thakur/56466-3.html
| title = Bihar wants Bharat Ratna for Karpoori Thakur
| publisher = [[CNN-IBN]]
| date = 14 January 2008
| access-date = 14 January 2008
}}</ref> During [[The Emergency (India)|the emergency in India]] (1975–77), he and other prominent leaders of Janata Party led the "Total Revolution" movement aimed at non-violent transformation of the Indian society.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

In the [[1977 Bihar Legislative Assembly election]], the ruling Indian National Congress suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of [[Janata Party]]. Janata Party was a recent amalgam of disparate groups including [[Indian National Congress (Organisation)]], [[Charan Singh]]'s [[Bharatiya Lok Dal]] (BLD), Socialists and Hindu Nationalists of Jana Sangh. The sole purpose of these groups joining together was to defeat Prime Minister [[Indira Gandhi]], who had imposed a nationwide [[The Emergency (India)|emergency]] and curtailed many freedoms. There were also social cleavages with Socialists and BLD representing backward castes and Congress(O) and Jana Sangh the upper castes.<ref name="Parl">{{cite web|url=http://loksabhaph.nic.in/Members/MemberBioprofile.aspx?mpsno=3489&lastls=15| title=Members Bioprofile|publisher=[[Parliament of India]]|access-date= April 8, 2020}}</ref><ref name="sk">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IVxODwAAQBAJ&pg=PT48|title=Post-Mandal Politics in Bihar: Changing Electoral Patterns
|author=Sanjay Kumar|year=2018|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn= 9789352805860}}</ref>

After the Janata Party came to power, Thakur became Chief Minister of Bihar for the second time by winning the legislative party election against Bihar Janata Party President [[Satyendra Narayan Sinha]], formerly of Congress [O], by a vote of 144 to 84.<ref>{{cite book
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5xj0g8euumQC&q=satyendra+narayan+sinha&pg=PA211| title =Bihar chief ministership battle 1977| author = G.G. Mirchandani| publisher = Abhinav Publications| work = 320 Million Judges| year = 2003 | access-date = 4 June 2007|page=211| isbn =9788170170617}}</ref> Infighting in the party broke over the question of Thakur's decision to implement the Mungeri Lal Commission report, that recommended the institution of reservations for Backward Castes in government jobs. Upper caste members of the Janata Party tried to water down the reservation policy by unseating Thakur as Chief Minister. To wean away Dalit MLAs, [[Ram Sundar Das]], a Dalit himself, was nominated as the candidate. Though both Das and Thakur were socialists, Das was considered more moderate and accommodating than the Chief Minister. Thakur resigned and Das became the Chief Minister of Bihar on 21 April 1979. The reservation law was weakened by allowing upper castes to obtain a greater percentage of government jobs. The internal tensions in the Janata Party caused it to split into multiple factions which led to Congress to return to power in 1980.<ref name="sk"/><ref name="dt">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/state-mourns-death-of-ex-cm-on-festival-day/cid/1474245|title=State mourns death of ex-CM on festival day|date=March 7, 2015|publisher=Daily Telegraph}}</ref> However, he could not last his full term because he lost the leadership battle in 1979 from Ram Sundar Das whom his adversaries placed against him and was replaced as chief minister.<ref>[http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/index.php?option=com_registration&task=home_30yearsinit&issueid=91&assignedid=5&home=1 30 years ago in India Today] (slide 3). India Today.</ref>

When Janata Party split in July 1979, Karpoori Thakur sided with the outgoing Charan Singh faction. He was elected from [[Samastipur (Vidhan Sabha constituency)]] to Bihar Vidhan Sabha as Janata Party (Secular) candidate in 1980 elections. His party changed its name to Bharatiya Lok Dal later, and Thakur was elected to Bihar Vidhan Sabha as its candidate in 1985 election from Sonbarsa constituency.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elections.in/bihar/assembly-constituencies/1985-election-results.html|title=Bihar Assembly Election Results in 1985}}</ref> He passed away before this Vidhan Sabha could complete its term.

Thakur was known as the champion of the poor.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020602/spectrum/main1.htm
| title = The depth of Opulence
| author = Santosh Jha
| publisher = [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]
| work = Spectrum
| date = 2 June 2002
| access-date = 14 January 2008
}}</ref> He introduced [[reservation in India|reservation]] for the backward classes in the Government jobs, in 1978. In 1977; [[Devendra Prasad Yadav]] resigned from the Bihar Vidhan Sabha and paved the way for Thakur to contest the [[Phulparas (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Phulparas]] Vidhan Sabha constituency by-election. Thakur won by the margin of 65000 votes, defeating Ram Jaipal Singh Yadav of INC.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19780115-bihar-cm-karpoori-thakur-wins-crucial-by-election-from-phulpuras-822744-2014-09-20|title=Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur wins crucial by-election from Phulpuras|website=India Today|accessdate=27 April 2021}}</ref>

Thakur served as the President of [[Samyukta Socialist Party]]. He is called a mentor to the prominent Bihari leaders such as [[Lalu Prasad Yadav]], [[Ram Vilas Paswan]], [[Devendra Prasad Yadav]] and [[Nitish Kumar]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TD9uAAAAMAAJ&q=karpoori+thakur+president+of+ssp|title=Agrarian Struggles in India After Independence|year=1986|
editor1=Akshayakumar|editor2=Ramanlal Desai|
publisher=Oxford University Press, 1986|isbn=0195616812|accessdate=2 April 2021|page=87}}</ref>

== In Memory ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2021}}
*Karpoori Thakur's birthplace, Pitaunjhia, was renamed to Karpuri Gram (Hindi for "Karpuri village") after his death in 1988.
*The [https://web.archive.org/web/20071228054146/http://jktlawcollege.org/ Jan Nayak Karpuri Thakur Vidhi Mahavidyalaya] (Law College) in [[Buxar]] is also named after him.
*Bihar Government opened Jannayak Karpoori Thakur Medical College in [[Madhepura]].
*The Department of Posts released a [[commemorative stamp]] in his memory.
*[[Jan Nayak Express]] Train running Between [[Darbhanga]] & [[Amritsar]] by Indian Railway.
*The government has taken immense commemorative measures that includes naming several stadiums after Jan Nayak Karpuri Thakur in the state, establishment of scores of colleges and statues in most of the districts, Karpuri Thakur Museum, Jan Nayak Karpuri Thakur hospitals in Samastipur and Darbhanga, publication of ''Karpuri Thakur's speeches in legislative'' and documentary formation on Karpuri Thakur.

== See also ==
* [[Karpoori Thakur ministry (1977–79)]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Karpoori Thakur}}
* [http://www.indianpost.com/viewstamp.php/Alpha/K/KARPOORI%20THAKUR Karpoori Thakur-COMMEMORATIVE STAMP]
* [http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl2010/stories/20030523006101000.htm Jayaprakash Narayan:Another Rally another day]

{{Chief Ministers of Bihar}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thakur, Karpoori}}
[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:1988 deaths]]
[[Category:Chief Ministers of Bihar]]
[[Category:Deputy Chief Ministers of Bihar]]
[[Category:Finance Ministers of Bihar]]
[[Category:Indian socialists]]
[[Category:State cabinet ministers of Bihar]]
[[Category:People from Samastipur district]]
[[Category:Lok Sabha members from Bihar]]
[[Category:Samyukta Socialist Party politicians]]
[[Category:Janata Party politicians]]
[[Category:Bharatiya Lok Dal politicians]]
[[Category:Leaders of the Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly]]
[[Category:Chief ministers from Janata Party]]
[[Category:Bihar MLAs 1952–1957]]
[[Category:6th Lok Sabha members]]
[[Category:Janata Party (Secular) politicians]]
[[Category:Lok Dal politicians]]

Karpoori Thakur - Revision history

->SdkbBot at 11:50, 4 January 2022