Jyoti Basu 

             ( 8 July 1914 – 17 January 2010 ) 

No one single leader of the Communist movement has contributed so much to its development as Jyoti Basu did if the canvas is restricted to West Bengal .His print is to be seen in the Party organization which he accomplished along with Pramode Dasgupta ,who was himself a tireless builder of the Party , particularly after the formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist ).As early as 1967 and 1970 , between two stints as home minister , Jyoti Basu established his reputation as a strong administrator when he did not allow police to intervene in peasants’ and workers’ legitimate struggles , heralding a new era . Even as a leader of small Opposition in the Assembly he proved how democracy could be improved and utilized for working class and teachers .His strong common sense and pragmatic outlook helped a lot to the Party in forming Left Front which ultimately succeeded   in trouncing the Congress Party in 1977. The winning spree of Left Front, even after he vacated the Chair after 23 consecutive years of his own accord for Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee, continued under his supervision.

                         When he became Chief Minister, Jyoti Basu enunciated clearly that industrialists should accept the existence of this Left Front Government just as it accepted the existence of capitalism all around and in this State.The Left Front wanted to ensure that the workers and poor peasants could live holding their heads high and with dignity and Jyoti Basu fulfilled this task admirably .

              That he made a distinction between the Chief Minister of a State and a member of Politburo was evident on many occasions when he refused to take any advantage or privilege , over and above, available ordinarily to a Party comrade  while attending a Party meeting .Once a daily newspaper reported that when he unboarded a plane in Delhi en route to a Politburo meeting some comrade offered to carry his bag for him , he politely declined it .He did not want to feel that he was in any way different from ,or superior to, him. This wasn’t a big deal,some might say, but that’s the man he was.

                      I had one opportunity to share the same platform with Jyoti Basu  at Manikpara in Midnapur  when he was on a whirlwind electioneering tour canvassing for , among others, Ajoy Mukherjee’s Bangla Congress .The organizers of the meeting in support of Bangla Congress candidate had requested me to continue my speech till Com. Jyoti Basu came . He was perspiring when he rose up to the platform .I finished five minutes after his arrival .He spoke for 25 minutes in terse Bengali in his unique masculine voice . 

                        I gave this personal reference in order to stress the fact that Jyoti Basu impressed, from my view, all those ~ whatever their stations in the Party ~ who came in contact with him on various calls of Party or personal work .Whether land reforms or panchayats – his stamp was highly visible .All this is not to build a cult of personality, or show someone as greater than the Party. Far from it .What is suggested is that it was the Party which planned but it was the hand of Jyoti Basu that executed it dexterously. His silence after his ‘historic blunder’ statement outside the parameters of the Party indicated that he was, after all, a disciplined comrade. He needs to be re-evaluated. Some people continue to ask questions about his larger-than-Party image but Jyoti Basu , like Shakeapeare, smiles .