The Jannayak Karpoori Thakur: Voice of the Voiceless (Socialist icon Karpoori Thakur was Awarded the Bharat Ratna in January 2024)

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Karpoori Thakur, often called Jannayak, was a legendary leader from Bihar who had a significant impact on Indian politics. In early 2024, he was posthumously honoured with the Bharat Ratna in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to society. Commemorating his birth centenary, this gripping biography brings to light the life, legacy and enduring relevance of Thakur. It focuses on his politics, which introduced 'quota within quota', and opens a window to his role in bifurcating reservation among the backward classes and women in 1978.

Deeply researched, anecdotal and unputdownable, The Jannayak Karpoori Thakur promises to be a beacon for readers seeking to understand the complex landscape of Indian politics and society.

Santosh Singh has been a Patna-based senior assistant editor with Indian Express since June 2008, covering the entire state of Bihar with a focus on politics, society, governance, and investigative and explanatory stories. He has over twenty-five years of experience in print journalism in Bihar, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. His past works include Ruled or Misruled: Story and Destiny of Bihar (Bloomsbury, 2015), JP to BJP: Bihar after Lalu and Nitish (Vitasta Sage Select, 2021) and Kitna Raaj Kitna Kaaj (Vani Prakashan, 2023).

Aditya Anmol studied at the University of Chicago. He completed his master's in public policy with honours in June 2023, with specializations in finance and policy. He has a bachelor of arts in quantitative economics with honours from New York University.

This timely book by veteran journalist and astute political analyst Santosh Singh and young researcher Aditya Anmol provides an outstanding biography and breakdown of the importance and contemporary relevance of the socialist leader Karpoori Thakur. Karpoori Thakur in many ways embodied the political vision of the great Indian socialist Dr Rammanohar Lohia. In the same way that V.P. Singh later saw Lalu Yadav as being at the forefront of the 'silent revolution' set in motion by his decision to implement the recommendations of the Mandal commission, Lohia saw Karpoori Thakur as representing his vision of socialism adapted to Indian conditions. Furthermore- as the authors analyse in great depth-the legacy of Karpoori Thakur continues to influence politics in Bihar through chief minister Nitish Kumar, who has adopted many of the political ideas and strategies of the socialist luminary. For these reasons, we all have a great deal to learn from the life and politics of Karpoori Thakur.

The most important and obvious contribution of Karpoori Thakur that continues to influence politics in Bihar is his championing of Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), listed as Annexure One within Bihar's distinctive system of reservation introduced during his short tenure as chief minister from 1977 to 1979. Dividing the OBCs into two groups and privileging the 'backward amongst the backward' was more than just a solution to the so-called 'creamy layer' problem-although it is arguably the best solution to this problem to have emerged in India. Lohia cautioned against replacing the dominance of the forward castes with a new OBC dominance. His aim was not to alter, or even invert, caste hierarchies, but to completely annihilate them. Lohia saw a politics of caste empowerment as necessary because of the central role of caste in maintaining and reproducing India's ruling class, not as an end in itself-a crucial distinction.

One can appreciate the importance of empowering non-dominant castes from the village experience of Karpoori Thakur's own life, which the authors describe in rich detail.

Karpoori Thakur came from the Nai (barber) caste, with a few households in most villages but without enjoying dominance anywhere. While collectively making up around 33 per cent of the population, only a few EBCs could be said to be a dominant caste in select regions (Sahanis in Muzaffarpur being a rare example). This means that EBCs generally cannot exert significant muscle and money power during elections, capture voting booths or strong-arm the bureaucracy or police in the ways that Bhumihars, Rajputs or Yadavs often do. In this sense, empowering EBCs reflects a deepening of democratization beyond the empowerment of the handful of numerically large castes that have dominated post-Independence politics.