Former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur will be awarded Bharat Ratna posthumously, the Rashtrapati Bhavan announced on the eve of his birth anniversary. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a post, described the leader as a beacon of social justice.
5 Facts On Karpoori Thakur:
Karpoori Thakur served as Chief Minister of Bihar twice in the 1970s - From December 1970 to June 1971 and from December 1977 to April 1979.
He had been a mentor to many current generation leaders of the state, including Nitish Kumar and his ally Lalu Prasad Yadav, the RJD president.
During his short stint as the Chief Minister, Karpoori Thakur imposed a total ban on alcohol in Bihar but this was resisted by Dalits whose employment was dependent on the toddy trade.
He was popularly known as Jan Nayak (people's leader) - someone who devoted his life to socially backward communities in Bihar.
His tenure is also best remembered for implementation of the recommendations of Mungeri Lal Commission, whereby quotas for backward classes were introduced in the state, much before the 1990s' Mandal Commission changed the national political contours.
