SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, June 15: Political party leaders hate to hear his name, district administration hardly lost any opportunity to lodge a case against him, and media across the country painted him as mafia yet he was revered as the ‘messiah of mass’ in the coal belt. He was the four-time MLA of Jharia, Suryadeo Singh.
Suryadeo Singh was affectionately called ‘Babu Saheb’ or ‘Vidhayakjee’ by his followers. He died from a heart attack on June 15, 1991. But even after 31 years of death, he is the most popular leader in the Jharia assembly constituency where he won for the first time in 1977 and held the seat till his last breath in 1991.
Even after his death, his younger brother Bachha Singh (2000), wife Kunti Devi (2005), son Sanjiv Singh (2009, 2014) and Purnima Singh (2019) won in his name from Jharia.
After the murder of veteran trade union leader BP Sinha in 1976, Suryadeo Singh emerged as the undisputed leader in the coal belt. He shot into the limelight on the political map of Bihar as well as the national map by defeating veteran Congress leader Ram Narayan Sharma on the Jharia seat in 1977 and held it till his last breath.
Countless cases were slapped against him by the district administration most of them by the then Deputy Commissioner Madan Mohan Jha in 1988-89, giving enough evidence to the critics to call him a mafia. But there are plenty of good Samaritan works which undoubtedly made him the ‘messiah of mass.’
A senior denizen of Dhanbad recalled that in the 1980s, a Brahmin girl was abducted by the youth of Wasseypur from Bhuli Railway training Centre. Her helpless father ran pillar to post of the police administration but no avail. On the advice of people, he knocked the door of Babu Saheb (Suryadeo Singh).
After receiving the information, Babu Saheb arrived in Wasseypur early the next morning in his iconic white Ambassador car and declared via mic that if the girl did not return safely within 12 hours, the region would be wiped away. The young lady arrived safely.
In 1982-83, former MP AK Roy laid seize of FCI Sindri along with local villagers against outsider employees of then north Bihar. Singh jumped with his armed supporters loaded in coal trucks in the rescue of the outsiders and AK Roy had to retreat.
Suryadeo Singh never succumbed to administrative pressure. In 1989, an income tax team of Calcutta raided the house of his relative in the Bhowra area and seized Rs 1,92,000 to deposit it in the concerned police station. On this, Babu Saheb reached Bhowrah police station from Dhanbad and took away the cash after giving receiving it. No police officer dared to stop him.
He had a close relationship with former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar Singh but never used his name for gain.
“He was very gentle and had no pride of wealth and muscle power. Whoever went to him never returned empty hand. In 1982, a doctor Dr BK Mallick transferred to Dhanbad from north Bihar carrying a letter of the then MLA Akhlak Ahmed for the rented quarter. He immediately called someone on the telephone and provided the house,” commented Prof SKL Das, retired Dean of Social Science BBMKU who was a teacher in Sindri College.
Suryadeo Singh was considered a very tough nut but was full of humour. In 1990, when he reclaimed ‘Bihar Talkies’ Jharia from the government reportedly after the interference of the then Prime Minister, he called a press conference. On a question, Suryadeo Singh replied, “Mai aaplogo ki Draupdi hu. Jab chahey vastra utar diye. (I am your Draupadi, whenever you wanted you stripped me).”
