Karpoori Thakur, a prominent socialist leader and former Bihar chief minister will be awarded Bharat Ratna posthumously, the Rashtrapati Bhavan announced on Monday. The announcement to honour Thakur with India’s highest civilian award comes a day before his 100th birth anniversary. Born in Bihar’s Samastipur, Thakur served as chief minister for two terms. Also known as ‘jannayak’, he championed the causes of backward castes. He was the first to mobilise the backward castes, paving the way for 26 per cent reservation for them in government services in Bihar in November 1978.
