Financial Express Bangladesh

A relentless crusader

against communalism passes away

Md. Masum Billah

JYOTI Basu, an iconic leader, has died but his memory will never go into oblivion. His death is an irreparable loss for India and South Asia in general. His achievements will be judged by the extent to which he transformed his ideas into reality. He brought political stability to West Bengal, implemented land reforms and established a thoroughly non-communal ambience in the state. He also developed a viable and multifaceted industrial policy for the state. As chief minister of West Bengal he wooed private domestic and foreign investment for industrial development of the state. He toured extensively to allure more investments in West Bengal and he showed enviable success in his efforts. Today West Bengal witnesses industries of various sizes. He showed his pragmatic approach to political and economic issues to attract foreign investors in the face of strong criticism by his own party comrades. He was the main advocate for the initial participation of the Tatas in the Haldia Petrochemical Complex in West Bengal, which was among the first major industrial initiatives during the left rule in the state. Basu said, "We want capital, both foreign and domestic. After all, we are working in a capitalist system. Socialism is not possible here." His land reform policy has brought smiles to poor farmers of West Bengal. He distributed land to two million landless families. From a very young age, Basu started taking interest in politics. In 1936 he joined London Majlis and was elected Secretary of London Majlis in 1937. Basu returned to India on 1st January 1940 and formally joined the Communist Party in India. Basu became the secretary of Friends of Soviet Union and Anti-Fascist Writers' Association in Kolkata. As member of the Communist Party, his initial task was to maintain liaison with underground Party leaders. He was entrusted with the responsibilities of the trade union front of the Party from 1944. In that year, Bengal Assam Railroad Workers' Union was formed and Basu became its first secretary. Basu was elected to Bengal Provincial Assembly in 1946 from the Railway Workers constituency. Ratanal Brahman and Rupnarayn Rory were the other two Communists who were elected. From that day on, Basu became a popular and influential legislator. He showed how the Communists can use the legislative forums for strengthening struggles. Basu played a very active role in stormy days of 1946-47 when undivided Bengal witnessed the Tebhaga movement, workers' strikes and even communal riots. Everywhere the struggling people got Basu by their side. Joyti Basu was the secretary of the West Bengal Provincial Committee of the Communist Party from 1953 to January 1961. He was elected to the Central Committee of the Party in 1951. Though 28 Communist candidates were elected to the West Bengal assembly in 1952, the then speaker refused to accord Basu the status of the opposition leader. The recognition finally came in 1957 when Basu was re-elected from Baranagore constituency, the seat he retained till 1972 when he suffered the only electoral defeat in his political career. He emerged as an influential member of CPI(M) after the 1964 split in Communist Party of India over sharp ideological differences over the Sino-Indian war in 1962. He was a member of the Politburo from 1964 onwards. After the sweeping victory of the Left Front in 1977, Jyoti Basu became the Chief Minister of West Bengal. He was Chief Minister of West Bengal for an unprecedented five terms. In the 1980s he played a key role in convening a meeting of non-Congress chief ministers of the various Indian states in Kolkata to raise their voice against the 'step motherly attitude' of the Congress government at the centre This he did in close liaison with late NT Rama Rao of Andra Pradesh and late Ramkrishna Hedge of Krantaka. Basu's political astuteness showed up once again when he succeeded in his efforts in late 1985 to convince late Indian premier Rajiv Gandhi of the utility of forming a hill council to restore peace in strife-torn Darjeeling where the Gorkha National Liberation Front under subhas Ghising had waged a violent agitation for a separate state. The United Front Government was formed in India in 1996. The Front offered Basu to become the Prime Minister but his party CPI(M) chose not to join the government. He followed the party decision as behoves a loyal communist. Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad paid a rich tribute to the great leader of the sub-continent Jyoti Basu by adopting an obituary reference unanimously, saying that he was a symbol of honesty, tolerance and ideology who will remain a source of inspiration for the posterity. Basu was a genuine friend of Bangladesh and he had helped the country in many ways for achieving independence and development. He played a very important role in signing the Ganges Water Agreement and Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Treaty. 'India has lost a leader, Bangladesh has lost a well-wisher and I have lost a guardian,' commented Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia said that this region has lost a great leader and Bangladesh a well-wisher. Dr. Manomohan Singh, the Indian Prime Minister, rightly said about Basu: 'He was a pragmatic visionary politician whose death marks the end of an era in the annals of Indian politics." The writer is Senior Manager: BRAC Education Programme, PACE. He can be reached at e-mail: mmbillah2000@yahoo.com