End of an era

The internationally-recognized face of Indian communism is no more. Jyoti Basu (1914-2010), the charismatic communist leader who almost became India’s first communist prime minister (PM), passed away in Kolkata on Sunday. Basu, a pragmatic communist, was the chief minister of West Bengal for a record 23 years since 1977 and led his party to five consecutive state assembly election victories, rendering the national party, Congress (I) to a poor second position each time. Although he voluntarily stepped down in November 2000 because of poor health, he continued to remain fairly active and was a respected voice of India’s Left.



One of the biggest achievements of the trained barrister was to ensure stability and calm in a state that had been ravaged by the Naxalite movement and counter-repressive measures by his predecessor, Chief Minister Siddhartha Shankar Ray of Congress (I). Basu also ensured land reforms, and Panchayati Raj system was successfully implemented in the state, which paid the party rich dividends during parliamentary and state assembly elections. He was also known for his staunch and effective opposition to communal politics. No wonder the state saw a period of calm even as neighboring Bihar and Uttar Pradesh saw frequent clashes between Hindus and Muslims.



Nepalis in India, particularly those in Darjeeling and adjoining areas in West Bengal, are divided on his role over their demand for statehood. Some say he quietly killed their plans by luring Subash Ghising to accept autonomy for Darjeeling. There are others who love him for advocating regional autonomy for Darjeeling, his party’s long-standing commitment for the hilly region.



Basu was a towering personality. Although he never was the formal chief of the CPI(M), he was quintessentially its most powerful leader and crowd-puller, which reflected in electoral successes. And therein lies the rub. He was the authority in the Writers’ Building, the seat of the government in Kolkata. Yet, it was in the same administrative block that a cocksure, adamant and dogmatic State Coordination Committee, the interfering and lazy employees’ union affiliated with CPI(M), ruled the roost. They ensured that the work culture was a non-existent entity in the government departments as well as in industrial sectors. Basu presided over a state that saw industrial and economic stagnation, politicization of bureaucracy, police and educational institutions. The culture of banda, called by none other than the ruling party itself, became the norm. Investors thus shifted to friendlier Gujarat and Maharashtra.



Basu’s void will be hard to fill. He leaves behind him an illustrious career as politician and statesman. Among the dogmatic communist colleagues who constructed the party’s hard-line stance, his was a voice of reason. No less credit goes to Basu for making communists acceptable to a large Indian population. The party owes to this leader a lot. May his soul rest in peace!

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