Editorial
With Jyoti Basu, an era ends
The politics of conviction and sacrifice is his legacy
THE death of Jyoti Basu at ninety six brings to an end an illustrious career in West Bengal and Indian politics. There was always something intrinsically substantive about Basu. His long journey in politics, his primacy in its growth and expansion, indeed the way he stamped his authority and influence on it turned him, long before his death, into a household name not just in India but around the globe. There was the larger than life individual in him, a man dedicated fully and unequivocally to a cause.
There was pragmatism about Jyoti Basu's politics in a very unique sense. Holding steadfastly on to the tenets of communism, he and his party made a stunning example of taking to the election path forsaking armed struggle and winning power for a record number of terms in the Indian state of West Bengal through the sheer means of democracy. His blend of communism with democracy is a great contribution to the evolution of polity in these parts.
He eschewed the demagoguery which generally characterises politics based on ideology. For him, ideology was pointless if it did not come with conviction. Beginning with his days as a student in Britain, he refined his politics as time went along. His identification with the problems of workers paid off when in 1946 he was elected to the Bengal Legislative Assembly. From then on, it was a constant struggle Basu and his comrades in the Left waged in defence of the underprivileged and the deprived. When India's communists split in 1964, Basu opted to identify with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and to the end of his life he kept his belief in the ability of the CPI(M) to bring about positive change in the lives of the people of West Bengal and, perhaps someday, in those of the rest of India. The degree to which Basu would become a pivotal figure in India was first manifested in 1967 when he became deputy chief minister in a coalition ministry in West Bengal. A decade later, he led his party and the Left Front it was part of to a convincing victory at the state elections. As chief minister, it fell to Jyoti Basu to put in place the reforms, of which land was an important component, that would leave West Bengal transformed. Empowerment of the marginalised and the poor was his singular achievement. It is a testimony to Basu's deep understanding of politics that he served as chief minister for twenty three years before handing over the reins to his deputy Buddhadev Bhattacharya.
Jyoti Basu comprehended full well the new realities that needed to be embraced following the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. His belief in communism was never shattered, though; but he did note the changes needing to be brought in. Under his stewardship, West Bengal opened its doors to investment without abandoning the leftist philosophy underpinning the state's politics. The communist that he was, Basu nevertheless refused to acquiesce to regimentation. When the CPI(M) vetoed the possibility of his taking over as India's prime minister in 1996, he called it a historic blunder.
The people of Bangladesh will fondly recall Jyoti Basu for some very special reasons. He hailed from Barodi in the old Dhaka district, which made him a native son who made good on the broad Indian stage. And his support for and cooperation with the Bangladesh political leadership on the Ganges waters treaty in the late 1990s were gestures that strengthened further the terms of endearment which bound him and the people of Bangladesh in warm camaraderie.
We mourn his passing. His was a soul the likes of which we will perhaps never experience again.
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