Karpoori Thakur: Social Justice Pioneer

Key Points

• 1Karpoori Thakur was conferred the Bharat Ratna, recognizing his contribution to India's social justice movement.
• 2He belonged to the 'Nai' community, and became one of the first non-Congress chief ministers of Bihar.
• 3He provided separate reservation to the EBCs and created quotas in government jobs for EBCs and BCs in 1978.
• 4The Karpoori Formula also gave women a share of 3 per cent and reserved another 3 per cent seats for the poor from the upper castes.
• 5The Mandal Commission was later emulated by the Morarji Desai government in 1979 and implemented in 1990.
• 6He was a staunch supporter of regional languages and abolished malguzari, the government tax on unused land, prohibition of alcohol and free education till the matriculation level.