The underrated journey of Jitan Ram Manjhi: A politician's tale of humility and recognition

Gaya: A couple of months ago, during a casual exchange at a social event, former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi made a remark that revealed his inner hurt. “Though I am a member of the Union cabinet, people in Gaya continue to regard me as an ordinary MLA and come to me for petty works,” he said.

The words carried both pain and resignation, a sense that despite his long career, Manjhi remains unrecognised in his own land.Some of his partymen say Manjhi has only himself to blame. Ever approachable and always available, he visits Gaya frequently, attends countless social gatherings and greets people without ceremony — qualities that, ironically, have led many to take him for granted.Observers said despite 45 years in public life — he was first elected MLA in 1980 — Manjhi remains the most underrated politician of the Magadh region, even though he is its only chief minister to date.

“He may be politically smart, but mannerism and snobbery are not part of his persona,” said activist Brajnandan Pathak, a long-time associate. His simplicity, Pathak added, often becomes a source of embarrassment.Now in his eighties, Manjhi’s journey is punctuated with incidents of humiliation. In the mid-eighties, while serving as a minister in the Congress govt, he failed to save a close relative — a district welfare officer — from imprisonment on corruption charges.

The district magistrate, said to be politically well-connected, ignored Manjhi’s pleas. Ironically, that same officer later became chief secretary of Jharkhand while the DM who had jailed Manjhi’s kin eventually faced prison himself in the Bihar State Finance Corporation scandal.Manjhi’s misfortunes did not end there. In 2005, he was dismissed as minister within hours of taking oath after being linked to a vigilance inquiry over his tenure in the Rabri Devi govt.

He returned to the cabinet only after the case was dropped.In 2013, during a Seva Yatra, the then chief minister stayed at the Gaya Circuit House. When Manjhi, then a cabinet colleague, went to pay a courtesy visit, he was denied entry. Security personnel, citing “standing instructions,” barred him in full public view, even as his aides and security staff watched helplessly.For a man who rose from the margins to Bihar’s highest office, Manjhi’s story remains a portrait of dignity amid indignities — a veteran leader whose humility often outshines his power.