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Sunday morning brought an extremely sad and shocking news for the political and social scenario of Jharkhand. Sudivya Kumar Sonu, a strong minister of the School Education and Literacy Department in the Hemant Soren government and a flamboyant MLA from Giridih Assembly constituency, died untimely due to cardiac arrest at the young age of 56. According to the information received, he suddenly felt severe chest pain and severe difficulty in breathing late in the night, after which his family members and security personnel immediately took him to the nearest super specialty hospital. However, despite the best efforts of the doctors and CPR, his pulse failed to return and the panel of doctors declared him dead. As soon as the news of the sudden demise of this energetic, sociable and struggling leader at the age of just 56 was received, there was a deep silence in the entire administrative, political and general public of Jharkhand. From the capital Ranchi to his home area Giridih, every eye became moist and no one could suddenly believe this unexpected loss.
The news of Sudivya Kumar Sonu’s demise has come as an unbearable shock to the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) family and the state government. Chief Minister Hemant Soren expressed deep condolences and termed it as his personal and irreparable loss. Becoming emotional, the Chief Minister said that he has not only lost a capable and hardworking Education Minister of his cabinet, but has also lost a true brother, guide and most trusted commander of his student life. Hemant Soren said that Sudivya Kumar Sonu stood by the party and him like a rock in adverse political circumstances. The Governor of Jharkhand, the Assembly Speaker and all the cabinet ministers expressed deep grief and prayed for the peace of the departed soul. Along with the ruling party, leaders of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), former Chief Ministers and stalwarts of other political parties have also crossed party boundaries and expressed condolences on the untimely demise of Sudivya Kumar. The state government has initiated the process of declaring state mourning in his honour, under which the national flag will be flown at half-mast on government buildings and all official celebrations have been postponed.
The political journey of Sudivya Kumar, popularly known as ‘Sonu Da’ in the hearts of the people of Giridih, the coal and mining area of Jharkhand, has been an example of a true grassroots leader. He was born and brought up in a prestigious family of Giridih, but he was always known as a leader who struggled on the ground among the common people. Right from his student days, he had actively jumped into the separate Jharkhand state creation movement and student politics during the era of undivided Bihar. Deeply influenced by the thoughts of Dishom Guru Shibu Soren, he chose Jharkhand Mukti Morcha as his field of work and spent his entire youth in strengthening the organization at the grassroots level. In the 2019 assembly elections, he proved his political strength by registering a historic victory on the Giridih assembly seat. The biggest specialty of his working style was that he used to reach the public directly at their doorsteps without worrying about administrative protocols. Delivering development schemes in the remote rural areas of Giridih, expanding electricity, roads, water and health facilities remained top of his priorities, due to which he remained a favorite of people of every class and community.
After taking charge of the School Education and Literacy Department, Sudivya Kumar Sonu had resolved to breathe new life into the poor primary and secondary education system of Jharkhand. He believed that providing quality modern education to the poor, tribal and backward class children of the state is the real path to the development of Jharkhand. During his tenure, the expansion of ‘CM School of Excellence’ in the state got a new impetus, so that children of government schools can also get free education in English medium on CBSE pattern on the lines of convents. He chaired several high-level meetings for a permanent solution to the honorarium, service conditions and pending demands of para teachers (assistant teachers) and tried to end the decades-old deadlock through dialogue. Apart from this, his role in improving the quality of mid-day meals in government schools, strengthening the security of Kasturba Gandhi Girls Schools and implementing the rules for transparent posting and promotion of teachers was highly commendable. Education department officials and employees say that he was strictly against hanging any file unnecessarily and was known for quick decisions.
As soon as the news of the demise of Minister Sudivya Kumar Sonu spread in Giridih city and rural areas, thousands of people rushed towards his ancestral home. Markets, shops and business establishments closed spontaneously and the entire city was plunged into mourning. A huge crowd of administrative officials, party workers and common citizens gathered at his residence to console the mourning family members. After the post-mortem and other formalities in Ranchi, his body will be kept for viewing in the Jharkhand Assembly complex, where the Chief Minister, Assembly Speaker, MLAs of all parties and senior bureaucrats will pay homage to him. After this, his mortal remains will be taken to Giridih by road with full state honours, so that the people of his home area can have the last glimpse of their beloved leader. The administration has made tight security and traffic management arrangements to control the huge crowd during the last journey and cremation. His last rites will be performed with full state honors at Mokshadham in Giridih, where he will be given a guard of honor by the police force.
Sudivya Kumar Sonu’s sudden demise due to cardiac arrest at the age of just 56 once again points towards the serious health problem that is plaguing Indian men these days, especially those who are highly active in public life. Senior cardiologists say that people in politics and public life face immense pressure due to mental stress, frequent travelling, sleep irregularities and imbalance in eating habits. Often people ignore slight burning sensation in the chest, heaviness, pain in the jaw or left hand, considering it as a normal gastric problem, which later takes the form of ‘Massive Heart Attack’ or ‘Sudden Cardiac Arrest’. Doctors recommend that every person after crossing the age of 40 should get regular lipid profile, ECG, TMT and cardiac checkup done and ensure adequate sleep of 7 to 8 hours along with stress management. The untimely demise of Sudivya Kumar Sonu is an irreparable loss not only for the politics of Jharkhand but for the entire society, which will be very difficult to compensate in the coming years.