Patna, March 6: Socialist doyen and former chief minister Ram Sundar Das (95) passed away on Friday, sending shock waves in the state's political and social circles on the day of Holi.
Das is survived by two sons and a daughter. He was suffering from age related ailments.
Das breathed his last at 4am at Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH). He was admitted there two days ago following complaints about uneasiness. His body was subsequently taken to his Cooperative Colony house at Kankerbagh, where a large number of people gathered to have his last glimpse.
Cancelling the pre-scheduled Holi celebration functions, chief minister Nitish Kumar rushed to Das's home to share grief with the departed leader's sons - Mritunjay Kumar and Sanjay Kumar - and daughter Kusum. Das's wife, Savita Devi, had passed away earlier.
Nitish declared state mourning for two days and cremation of Das's body at the Bansghat on Saturday with full state honour. His body would be taken to the state's legislature premises and the JDU office (Das was a JDU leader).
"Das, the seniormost leader of our party, was the pioneer of the socialist movement. The world has lost a big champion of socialism. It is the end of an era. He will be missed. He kept on serving the society till his last breath," a sombre Nitish said. "We have lost a guardian," he added.
All the political parties - the RJD, BJP, Congress and the Left - joined Nitish in mourning Das's death.
Born on January 9, 1921 at Gangajal village near Sonepur on the confluence of the Ganga and Gandak in Saran district of north Bihar, Das - hailing from a Dalit community - played an active role in the 1942 Quit India Movement. He drew the attention of the top socialist leaders Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia and Acharya Narendra Dev by becoming the secretary of the Sonepur unit of the Congress Socialist Party way back in 1945.
Das had a long career as a lawmaker. He was a member of Bihar Legislative Council from 1968 to 1977.
Das had a rare distinction of winning a general seat of Sonepur despite being a Dalit. He was also a member of the Lok Sabha from Hajipur twice in 1991 and in 2009.
He was believed to be "moderate" among the socialists. Against Karpoori Thakur, who through his fierce championing of the backward classes and Dalit movement emerged the "hero" of downtrodden sections, Das was an acceptable and accommodative face among Karpoori's rivals in the socialist stream.
When the Janata Party split in late 1970s, Das replaced Karpoori as the chief minister in April 1979. He continued as the chief minister till February 1980, after which the Congress came back to power in the state.
When the socialists got united under VP Singh-led Janata Dal in 1989-90, Das emerged as a favourite of Singh. He was projected the chief ministerial candidate during the 1990 poll campaigns. But Lalu Prasad - backed by Nitish and other "friends" enjoying bonhomie on account of their emergence from the JP-led Sampoorna Kranti movement - defeated Das in the Janata Dal legislature party polls in 1990 and became the chief minister.
Das remained a committed socialist all through. He got elected as the Janata Dal MP from Hajipur in 1991. Das was virtually living a retired life till Nitish approached him in 2009 and fielded him as the JDU nominee against Ram Vilas Paswan, who had formed his LJP and was contesting in alliance with Lalu's RJD. Das trounced Paswan that time but lost to Paswan in 2014.
The state RJD chief, Ram Chandra Purbey, Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ashok Choudhary and state BJP chief Mangal Pandey paid rich tributes to Das. "The RJD and the entire socialist family are aggrieved at Das's demise," Purbey said.
