'THE WORKING CLASS' EDITORIAL

JYOTI BASU AT A CITU RALLY HELD ON 3rd Dec., 2006

We shall carry forward......

At last came that fateful moment. The Seventeen day fierce battle ended. Life conceded defeat. Death triumphed. Com. Jyoti Basu breathed his last at forty seven minutes past 11 AM on 17th of January 2010.

Death triumphed, but did it, really? In death itself, as in every moment of his life, Com. Jyoti Basu conquered death to finally join the immortals. He will continue to live in the warmth of billion hearts in his own country and beyond, as well as in the history of human endeavour for better life in a better world.

Lakhs and lakhs of people-how many lakhs? –nobody, not even the police could hazard an estimate who filled the streets, alleys, parks, every square inch of vacant space, turning the city into a vast sea of humanity, provided just a rough measure of the immeasurable, the greatness of the man whom they came to bid farewell. “Today’s moving and fitting tribute to Jyoti Basu… came not from the three-volley rifle salute nor the galaxy of leaders and VIPs…” writes a reporter in a prominent Calcutta daily “it came, instead, from lakhs and lakhs of ordinary people from the city and its suburbs, from distant villages and far flung districts…” She adds “An era had come to an end. They knew, and they had come to make their tryst with destiny”. Many had shared her views; the passing away of Com. Jyoti Basu marked the end of an era.

But life never stops, history goes on unfolding. It is only when an old era ends, a new era dawns. In bidding good bye to an era, consciously or unconsciously they welcome the dawn of a new era which is to succeed the old. This is all in human nature, the aspiration for the new and the better. A truly great leader is he who understands the latent aspiration in the minds of millions and billions, and prepares them to transcend the old for building the new. Few understood it better than Jyoti Basu, and it is because of this that inspite of his apparent aloofness he got identified with the masses who found personified in him their own aspiration.

It is the deep understanding of the aspiration that provided the dynamics of his extraordinarily long life of struggle. As a Marxist from the very early days of his public life he knew well that however important may be the role of a great man, it is the masses of the people themselves that are destined to bring in a new era, to create a new world. Leaders’ part is to show them the correct path and to be in the front line of action. Com. Jyoti Basu precisely played this role better than anybody else.

It is well known that Com. Jyoti Basu was sent to England by his family, at the age of twenty two, to become a barrister and a barrister he became, but he became much more. Apart from his activities among Indian students studying there, with his chosen friends he took lessons on Marxism from illustrious leaders of British Communist Party such as Hary Polit, Rajani Palme Dutta and the like. In the course of these lessons he not only learned that the working class at the head of all toiling and down trodden people was the class of the future; he also learnt that a theoretical understanding about the role of the working class and the downtrodden masses was not enough. The point is to change” the world and for that to understand the working class and the masses and complete spiritual identification with them was imperative. It is not so well known that even while in England he established relation with dock workers and seafarers. As everyone knows, as the most practical among practical men, even before leaving England he was determined to become a communist whole timer instead of being a barrister. Party immediately engaged him to work among port and dock workers. Soon he was assigned the job of organising the railway workers. It is his work among the railway workers that transformed the potential barrister Jyoti Kiran Basu into an undisputed leader of the masses, Comrade Jyoti Basu. In BA Railroad workers union he started work not as an absentee President, addressing mass meetings on special occasions, but as its General Secretary taking care of all its miscellaneous work. On one hand he along with other leaders confronted the railway authorities even at the lowest level if necessary, while on the other hand he conducted innumerable group meetings of workers.

The workers among whom he worked never tired in later days, of enthusiastically describing such meetings which were usually held not in union office but in the railway yards. Comrade Jyoti Basu conducted such meetings, sitting on rails in the yard. It is this work among railway workers in those days that taught him to understand the people, to recognize their aspiration and to identify with them. This identification helped him to acquire working class out look which has guided his political activity all his life. It is notable that the first time he got elected to the legislative assembly of (undivided) Bengal from a purely working class constituency, the railway constituency. As a member of legislative assembly, as a minister in the state government, and finally as the Chief Minister of West Bengal he was the greatest champion of the working class. Even as the Chief Minister he exhorted the working class time and again not to surrender their hard earned right to strike. It is squrely in the fitness of things that he was the vice president of CITU of which he was a founding father, till the end of his life. As a leader of the working class he did not fail to see the plight of the million upon million of the peasants and other down trodden people.

He knew only too well that the working class cannot emancipate itself without emancipating these vast masses of the poor people. Even before united front or left front government, came into being, the Party of which he was a leader, under the banner of the peasant organisation led daring struggle for the cause of the peasantry. It is due to the struggle of the peasantry and other sections of the exploited people that the Party came to constitute the major force in the United Front Government and later in the Left Front Government. Under the leadership of Jyoti Basu these governments with the limited power that the constitution allowed them to exercise, undertook land reform ensuring some land to the tillers, to the extent possible, as the primary task, and also brought to life the three-tier Panchayat system to give these vast masses due power and human dignity.

As the helmsman of the state on countless occasions he declared, \"we are responsible people, as a government we are cautious not to do any injustice to any section of the population, but there should not be any mistake, we are the government of the workers and the peasants, of all poor people. We are committed to stand for their cause.\" Not only the working class and the peasantry, both as a Party leader and the head of the government, undoubtedly from the stand point of the working class, he stood also for the cause of all sections of population, white collor employees, professionals, teachers, women, youth and students - every section of population considered him as their best friend, always extending his hand of support to every just cause of every section.

His unique personality which drew people across party line and ideologies not only during his last journey but even in his life time will undoubtedly be studied by scholars in the coming years. There is a multitude in our country who have genuine respect and even love for Com. Jyoti Basu but do not like his party, even hate it. There is nothing unnatural in it. However, as individuals often have extremely important role in history so also personal traits of character has its part to play. Yet profound understanding of Comrade Jyoti Basu will not be possible without what Comrade Jyoti Basu himself has repeatedly told about himself:

"And it would be wrong to conclude that I played the role in an individual capacity. What I was and what I am is because of the Party. The CPI(M) leadership had assigned a role to me which I carried out with help from innumerable comrades. It will be improper if I do not recollect the contributions and sacrifices of many comrades. To offer a perspective on the CPI(M), let me say that none of us can be viewed outside the context of the Party and its programme."

It was not a coincidance that while comrade Jyoti Basu had grown up as a leader in the working class movement and till the end of his life adorned the post of Vice-President of CITU, he was also a top leader of the CPI(M), a member of its Polit Bureau. We know though we often forget, the ultimate goal of the genuine working class movement is the the emancipation of the class from all exploitation which is possible only in a socialist society and such a society is achievable only through the instrumentality of the political party of the working class. What then is more natural for a far-seeing leader of working class movement, than to find a place in the Party of the working class to lead the class to its historical destination.

Comrade Jyoti Basu is no more. The void that his death has created will not be filled up by any individual in the foreseeable future. Prakash Karat has rightly said, there will not be another Jyoti Basu. People make history and history makes great men, great leaders. History does not make them in hundreds or even in dozens. When a great man leaves the world, people sometimes have to wait for a new era for history to create another great man. But before leaving, the truly great leave behind them enough material, their example, their teachings – for the people to enable them go ahead, create new history which in turn will gift us new great men as new great leaders of a new epoch.

Dear Comrade, we shall never forget what an immeasurably rich wealth of legacy you have left behind. We cannot also forget what a great responsibility you have left for us to shoulder. In bidding you good bye, dear Comrade, we pledge in all sincerity and seriousness, we shall carry forward the ideal for which you lived and died, whatever the cost.

Editorial, The Working Class, February, 2010 issue

http://www.citucentre.org/

Parliament pays tribute to Jyoti Basu

Tribute and closed eyes

New Delhi, Feb. 22: Jyoti Basu was never a member of Parliament, but the late communist received glowing tributes from Speaker Meira Kumar in the obituary references for former Lok Sabha members who died recently.

Kumar said Basu was an astute administrator and one of the leading figures of the communist and trade union movements in India as she heaped praise on the man who served as chief minister for a record 23 years.

There have been only a few instances when a person who never became a Lok Sabha member has received such praise during formal obituary references on the floor of the House. Mahatma Gandhi and Jayaprakash Narain are among such leaders.

Kumar said Basu’s administrative acumen and political sagacity had left an indelible imprint on the country’s political canvas. “Even after demitting office of chief minister owing to his frail health, Basu continued to remain actively associated with several projects for the welfare of people. A multifaceted personality, Basu was also an accomplished author. He penned a large number of essays in the Bengali language which have been compiled and published in five volumes,” the Speaker said.

“In his demise, the country has lost a worthy son and a committed votary of the humanitarian values and a legislator par excellence. He rendered a yeoman service for the welfare and uplift of the weak and the downtrodden sections of the society.”

Railway minister Mamata Banerjee and a few members of her Trinamul Congress appeared to be in visible discomfort as the Speaker praised the departed communist.

Mamata closed her eyes and her party colleagues looked askance when Kumar said Basu worked steadfastly for the all-round development of Bengal, introduced land reforms and decentralised power by strengthening the panchayati raj system.

The Telegraph,February 23 , 2010

FULL TEXT OF THE OBITUARY REFERENCE PRESENTED ON LOKSABHA BY HONOURABLE SPEAKER MEIRA KUMAR:

Hon. Members, you are all aware of the sad demise of Shri Jyoti Basu, former Chief Minister of West Bengal.

An astute administrator, Shri Basu has the unique distinction of being the longest serving Chief Minister in the country. He was the Chief Minister of West Bengal for more than 23 years, that is from June, 1977 to November, 2000. As the Chief Minister of West Bengal, he worked steadfastly for the all-round development of the State and introduced land reforms. A strong votary of decentralisation of power, he strengthened the Panchayati Raj system in the State. He rendered a yeoman service for the welfare and uplift of the weak and the downtrodden sections of the society.

In his long and distinguished political career, Shri Jyoti Basu’s stint as a legislator began when he was elected to the Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1946, and he continued to be its member till 2001 except for a short period from 1972 to 1977. He made his mark as the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly between 1957 and 1967. He was twice the Deputy Chief Minister of West Bengal between 1967 and 1970.

Shri Basu, one of the pioneers of the Communist movement in India, was a leading figure in the Indian trade union movement. He was the Vice-President of the CITU since its inception in 1970.

A multifaceted personality, Shri Basu was also an accomplished author. He penned a large number of essays in Bengali language which have been compiled and published in five volumes.

Even after demitting the office of the Chief Minister owing to his frail health, Shri Basu continued to remain actively associated with several projects for the welfare of people. In his demise the country has lost a worthy son and a committed votary of the humanitarian values and a legislator par excellence. His administrative acumen and political sagacity have left an indelible imprint upon the political canvas of this country. His absence will always be felt in many walks of life.

Shri Jyoti Basu passed away on 17th January, 2010 at Kolkata at the age of 95 after a brief illness.

We deeply mourn the loss of these friends and I am sure the House would join me in conveying our condolences to the bereaved families.

Monday, February 22, 2010/ Phalguna 3, 1931 (Saka). The House met at 1225 hour

MAINSTREAM Tributes to Jyoti Basu

Monday 8 February 2010

TRIBUTE

Jyoti Basu is no more. After 17 days of valiant struggle (that first began when he was hospitalised on New Year’s Day having been struck by a bout of pneumonia) he finally succumbed to multi-organ failure and breathed his last at 11.47 am on January 17, 2010. On July 8 last year the former West Bengal CM—the longest-serving head of any State Government in independent India—had completed 95 years in age.

More than 28 years ago when one of Jyoti Basu’s closest colleagues in the communist movement, Bhupesh Gupta (both were of the same age), passed away in faraway Moscow on August 6, 1981, it was written in this journal’s August 15, 1981 issue: “Bhupesh Gupta was the living refutation of the worn-out canard that Communists are out to destroy the parliamentary system.”

This was all the more true in the case of Jyoti Basu who since 1946 played a memorable role in the Bengal legislature highlighting the struggles of the working masses outside.

Soon after independence the Communist Party of India had taken a disastrous course under that arch-priest of sectarianism, B.T. Ranadive, of trying to dislodge the Congress Government at the Centre through armed struggle by aping Mao Zedong’s fight against the Kuomintang and blindly pursuing the Zhdanov Thesis spelt out by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin. Soon the party, battered by self-inflicted isolation from the public, realised its folly and decided, under the guidance of Ajoy Ghosh, S.V. Ghate and S.A. Dange as well as strong pressure from P.C. Joshi, to change course and enter the arena of parliamentary struggles. At that time there was no dearth of anti-Communists and even others who felt that the Communists’ change of tactics was intended to subvert the Constitution and Parliament from within. By dint of their persisting endeavours in Parliament and State legislature to use the parliamentary and legislative forum to safeguard the interests of the toiling people Bhupesh Gupta, Jyoti Basu, Indrajit Gupta, Hiren Mukherjee and others (notable among whom were S.A. Dange and A.K. Gopalan) exposed the hollownese of such accusations. Among them Jyoti Basu played the key role leading a small group of Communist legislators in the West Bengal State Assembly and standing up to the establishment then headed by such a towering personality like Dr B.C. Roy who, as the second CM of the State after independence, showered immense affection on young Basu when the latter was the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly in the fifties. That was the source of the young Communist leader’s rise in popularity—that he could speak with authority countering Dr Roy’s statements helped him to grow in stature with the passage of time. He was also helped by the fact that there were then few of comparable capability among Communists and the Left in the State Assembly. However, by this one should not underestimate the efforts that he himself made to stand by the people both within the Assembly precincts and outside on the issue of rehabilitation of East Pakistani refugees or the question of the rise in tram fares or the problems faced by the peasantry in the countryside that culminated in the 1959 food movement and the loss of as many as 80 lives due to police attacks.

Even before he assumed power—first as the Deputy CM in the United Front governments of 1967 and 1969 and then as the CM following the Left Front’s sweeping victory in June 1977 after the Emergency—Jyoti Basu’s name had become synonymous with the Left movement in West Bengal. This, of course, assumed a new dimension with the Left Front returning to power in successive elections and Basu achieving the record of being the Chief Minister for more than 23 years at a stretch before he stepped down due to old age and physical ailments in November 2000. Yet the fact that he was around gave a kind of reassurance to the people and he was used on more than one occasion to sort out problems both within the party and outside even if a section of the central party leadership led by the haughty and arrogant Prakash Karat did everything possible, albeit unsuccessfully, to undermine his authority starting from the refusal to make him the PM in 1996 (dismissing the offer to that effect from the entire political spectrum) to the rejection of his counsel for restraint in the wake of the Indo-US nuclear deal and not withdraw the Left support to the UPA Government in 2008 (his advice was ‘oppose the deal tooth and nail everywhere but don’t pull down the UPA Government’ because of the unforeseen consequences of any such adventurist move).

Now that he has passed on to history, the Left and communist movement would no longer be the same and the decline of the Left in the State, already set in motion for sometime, would be expedited and reach its logical conclusion. For Jyoti Basu could command respect beyond the confines of the Left due to his reserved, aristrocrastic, bhadralok image as well as non-doctrinaire approach to problems, both stemming from his being a pragmatist par excellence and a successful practitioner of realpolitic. This is what marked him out as an outstanding leader for he was neither an erudite Marxist like Bhowani Sen (the State party secretary before and immediately after independence), nor a firebrand orator like Bankim Mukherjee or Somnath Lahiri, nor an organisational wizard like Promode Dasgupta, nor a parliamentarian of the level of Bhupesh Gupta or Hiren Mukherjee, nor a trade unionist of the calibre of Indrajit Gupta, nor a kisan leader of the standard of Harekrishna Konar. But where he scored over all of them was his uncanny ability to comprehend how best to negotiate in the whirlpool of parliamentary politics such as not to alienate himself and his party from the bulk of the electorate. In fact he could understand the pulse of the people better than any of his contemporaries in the State’s communist and Left movement.

Despite such qualities he lacked depth and vision. He might have been a good administrator in relative terms but could never be compared with someone like Dr B.C. Roy in the State. He enjoyed unequivocal endorsement both inside the party and outside and hence his functioning as the Chief Minister was never marred by dissidence in the ruling party or Front. But he could have used that advantage to initiate measures that would have rejuvenated West Bengal as a whole—particularly in industry, education and health—thereby bringing down the magnitude of poverty in the State. That, it must be pointed out in all frankness and candour, he did not—or perhaps could not—do. Except for a comprehensive change in land relations in the countryside between 1978 and 1982—on account of ‘Operation Barga’—and the elections to the three-tier panchayats there has not been any genuine endeavour to transform and modernise the State. Thus West Bengal has declined steadily in all areas (and most markedly in education and health) and even in the sphere of upliftment of the Muslim minority its performance is dismal as testified by the Sachar Commission report. As for the belated.

Mainstream, Vol XLVIII, No 6, January 30, 2010

How I Found Comrade Jyoti Basu

By N Sankariah

IN the year 1963, when 32 members of the National Council of the Communist Party of India walked out of its meeting held in Delhi, Comrade Jyoti Basu was very prominent in leading this walkout. The same day there was a meeting of these 32 comrades held at 4, Ashoka Road, New Delhi, then the residence of Comrade A K Gopalan. At this meeting, views were exchanged on the future course of action needed to carry on the objectives of the walkout from the CPI’s National Council meeting.

Comrade Basu played an important role in this meeting which decided to call a convention of the party at Tenali in Andhra Pradesh to further plan out the steps necessary for the future of the party. The Tenali convention held between July 7 and 11, 1964 gave the call for convening the seventh congress of the party in Kolkata.

On the eve of the seventh party congress, when many leaders of the party in Bengal were arrested, Comrade Basu stood in the forefront in mobilising the people for the party congress in Kolkata, which took place from October 31 to November 7, 1964, and made it a great success.

Comrade Basu attended the third party congress and ninth party congress held in Madurai and the fourteenth party congress held in Chennai. He addressed many huge public meetings in several parts of Tamilnadu during his long association with our movement in the state. I accompanied him many times and translated his speeches from English to Tamil. His speeches were in simple language, direct and persuasive, and convincing for the audiences.

I must refer to his visit in June 1969 in particular, to commemorate the Kilavenmani incident in Thanjavur district, where 44 dalit agricultural labourers and poor peasants were burnt to death by landlords in 1968. Lakhs of toiling people attended this rally. Along with other leaders of our party in Tamilnadu, I was present on this occasion. This visit of Comrade Basu gave a great fillip to and strengthened the agrarian movement in Thanjavur district and Tamilnadu.

He inaugurated the Tamilnadu state committee building of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in T Nagar, Chennai, on March 30, 1991.

I was in the presidium of the party congresses along with him during the fourteenth party congress at Chennai and seventeenth party congress at Hyderabad. I greatly admired the outspoken and fair manner in which he conducted the proceedings and gave ample scope for various viewpoints to be advocated during the discussion.

He was the permanent chairperson during the meetings of the Central Committee. During the discussion in 1996 on the question of participation in the central government, he conducted the proceedings in the best democratic traditions of inner-party debate.

He was greatly interested in Tamilnadu as a non-Congress government was in power here, and he had had good relations with leaders of both the Dravidian parties, so that he could work out a joint approach on the question of state autonomy and more powers to the states.

He was very popular with various sections of people in Tamilnadu and helped the image of the party to grow here.

Jyoti Basu Shall Live Amidst Peasants &Toiling Masses

By K Varadharajan

COMRADE Jyoti Basu’s death was followed by an unprecedented show of love and respect from the masses cutting across political lines and they thronged the streets of Kolkata and across Bengal grieving his death. What was it that led to such a profound sense of loss for millions of people in Bengal and elsewhere?

Most political commentators talk about how he was the longest serving chief minister who held the post for 23 long years and thereby created a record of sorts in political history. What however is less spoken about is as to what was the basis on which the Left Front kept getting re-elected despite the most hostile opposition from political opponents, the corporate media and all kinds of reactionary elements. To put it simply this was possible because the government did not run from the Writers Building alone, but also from the villages of Bengal. While Mahatma Gandhi spoke about India living in villages and the run-of-the-mill Congress leaders and others kept repeating it, Jyoti Basu actually understood the pulse of the villages; he shared the sorrows of the peasantry, rejoiced in their joys, stood by their side and fought for their rights. This is what the Communist Party stood for and he never lost sight of that even when he kept getting re-elected as the chief minister for more than two decades.

Comrade Jyoti Basu’s commitment to the toiling masses and the peasantry was unquestionable. His association with the peasantry started with the Tebhaga movement. Kisan Sabha mobilised the peasantry around the demand of 2/3rd of the produce for the sharecroppers. The Tebhaga movement was met with brutal repression. He vociferously raised the demands of the Tebhaga movement consistently in the assembly and protested against police atrocities. The Communist Party entrusted him with the task of visiting different districts and preparing a report on the police atrocities against the peasantry. It was years later that the Left Front government with him as the chief minister guaranteed the rights of the sharecroppers and also put an end to evictions from land. The Left Front government also put an end to the use of police to suppress mass movements by workers and the peasantry. After independence when the assembly session took place for the first time on 21 November 1947, peasants who had come to Kolkata from their villages to greet their leaders were lathicharged. Comrade Basu raised the matter in the assembly and walked out when the chief minister’s response was found to be unsatisfactory. He then addressed the peasants outside the assembly and again tried to move a resolution condemning police brutalities on the peasantry. This zeal to take up the cause of the peasantry was witnessed throughout his life and he also made it a point to attend Kisan Sabha conferences where he placed his views candidly even when he was the chief minister.

In the midst of the food crisis, he made a scathing attack on the policies of the Congress government in the Bengal assembly which is a landmark in the history of the Food Movement. When the Communist Party wholeheartedly participated in the collection of food grains under the leadership of the Peoples’ Committee, Comrade Jyoti Basu was in the forefront of that initiative. He was also actively involved in providing leadership to the mass upsurge that engulfed Bengal from 1953 to 1959, be it against the hike in tram rates, the food movement or the different mass strikes of the workers. In 1967, Comrade Basu became the deputy chief minister in the United Front ministry and again in the second UF ministry in 1969. The role of these two governments and his leadership in providing a stimulus for the unleashing of mass movement and intense class struggles is memorable. He addressed the All India Conference of the Kisan Sabha at Borsul in Bardaman district in 1969 and gave direction to the Kisan Sabha by his call for being with the peasantry and mobilising them around the demand for Land Reforms. When the Left Front government took over in 1977, it translated the demand for land which was the slogan of Kisan Sabha into a reality with the implementation of far-reaching land reforms. The Left Front government followed up land reforms with the panchayati raj reforms. This strategy of the Left Front government termed as “walking on two legs” has transformed the lives of millions. The unleashing of productive forces through the land reforms gave a new lease of life to agriculture in the state while panchayati raj led to real political empowerment of the rural poor.

Land Reforms were taken forward under the leadership of the CPI(M) and West Bengal has seen the most equitable distribution of land in the entire country. Although West Bengal accounts for only around 3 per cent of agricultural land in India, it accounted for over 21 per cent of ceiling surplus land that has been redistributed in India. Operation Barga ensured the security of tenancy rights to the sharecroppers and this was also a move without precedence in India. Over 11 lakh acres of land was permanently brought under the control of sharecroppers and their right to cultivate land was firmly established. West Bengal has accounted more than half (54.5 per cent) of the total number of gainers from land distribution programmes in the entire country and the total number of beneficiaries was 29,71,857. The total number of gainers from all the various land reform programmes, including recorded sharecroppers (15,10,657) and recipients of homestead land (15,57,151), comes to 50,39,665 beneficiaries. This means more than half of the rural households have benefited from Land Reforms in the state since 1977 and West Bengal accounts for almost 50 per cent of all beneficiaries of land redistribution in post-independence India.

In West Bengal, 84 per cent of land is owned by small (2.5 acres to 5 acres) and marginal farmers (less than 2.5 acres) today, while the all-India figure is only 43 per cent. When contrasted with this, large holdings (more than 25 acres) accounted for merely 0.003 per cent of holdings and operated only 0.05 per cent of the total cultivable land. Around 56 per cent of the total beneficiaries of land redistribution in West Bengal were dalits and adivasis. They also comprised over 41 per cent of the registered sharecroppers. Till date, over 5.35 lakh women have been given joint pattas and 1.57 lakh women given individual pattas (ownership rights over land). Proportion of land owned by Muslims in West Bengal is the highest among all the Indian states. It is this fact that drew the attention of B P Mandal and West Bengal land reforms’ record as well as its emancipatory role in overcoming caste oppression has been documented by the Mandal Commission. Even when under neo-liberal economic Policies there has been an increase in landlessness in most states, in West Bengal an additional 95,000 acres of land was acquired in the 1990s under the land reform legislation and 94,000 acres redistributed. These figures for the decade of the 1990s account for almost all the land acquired and over 40 per cent of the land redistributed in the entire country.

The democratisation of the countryside through the panchayats threw up a new stratum of leaders from hitherto oppressed backgrounds and the political domination of the erstwhile village elite, including landlords and moneylenders was decisively broken. Panchayats also played a major role in the effective implementation of land reforms. They exposed benami land holdings, identified surplus land and also ensured that the legal rights of recipients of vested land and sharecroppers over land were not compromised. The panchayats were involved in the disbursal of institutional credit for the beneficiaries of land reforms and also for the sharecroppers. The rural poor and socially deprived groups like dalits and adivasis, as well as women soon played a dominating role in the elected bodies. In most Indian villages a major share of land is monopolised by a few families and whoever gets elected invariably came from the landed class and in many cases these sections also divided themselves among different parties and retained power within their families. In West Bengal, the panchayat elections were not mere tokenism and it has brought the villages under the control of the poor and oppressed irrespective of which Party emerged victorious. The proportions of dalit and adivasi panchayat representatives in all the three tiers were over 37 per cent and 7 per cent respectively, well over their share in population. It is noteworthy that over 35 per cent of the gram panchayat members are women.

The achievements of West Bengal in agriculture on the basis of these reforms demolish the argument of agricultural experts and economists that the small landholdings are detrimental to enhancing productivity. Under Left Front, food grains production has grown at the rate of 6 per cent per annum, which is the highest among seventeen most populous states of India. It has transformed from a food deficit state witnessing famines and food riots to a leading food producer in the country. It is the topmost producer of rice, vegetables and fish in India. There has also been significant expansion of irrigated land area through small and minor irrigation projects.

The face of villages in West Bengal is far different from the villages of most other states because of the strategy of “walking on two legs” and the political commitment of the Left Front government under the leadership of Comrade Jyoti Basu to pursue it genuinely. There is a general refrain that we hear in the villages of states like Tamilnadu where I come from: “Whether Rama rules or Ravana, Moghuls rule or the British, the Landlord remains our ruler”. This is a reference to the unchanging nature of the hierarchical relations in the rural countryside irrespective of who rules at the centre and also an indicator as to how the monopoly over land determines power equations in the countryside. This is the reality in our villages and in most parts of India it remains so even after 60 years of Independence. The Left governments in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura are the exceptions to this rule and their record on land reforms as well as political empowerment through panchayati raj is impeccable.

It is as the helmsman of a collective that brought about these radical transformations that Comrade Jyoti Basu is loved and respected and he shall forever continue to live amidst the peasants and the toiling masses for that. His mark on the minds of people remains indelible. I remember him for his unstinted commitment to the liberation of the oppressed and his consistency in pursuing that commitment to its logical culmination.

A Unique and Beloved Leader

By Brinda Karat

THE colossus of the Indian communist movement, the last of the navratnas who comprised the first Polit Bureau of the CPI(M), our beloved leader Comrade Jyoti Basu is no more. He bore his deteriorating health problems with a sense of dignity and will power through the suffering. Even when he was ill and unable to come to meetings, his wise counsel and guidance were always there for the party, for his comrades. But the inevitable came to pass. In his death the country has lost one of its greatest sons, a man who was born into privilege, who turned his back on it, to fight the fight of the dispossessed.

UNIQUE LEADERSHIP AT CRUCIAL JUNCTURE

Many movements led by communists in different periods of history suffered because of the gulf between theory, principle, programme and practical work. Unlike some other countries, in India the course of the freedom movement left the ruling classes with no alternative but to adopt a parliamentary system of democracy based on a multi-party system. Thus, one of the crucial questions before the communist movement was the role of parliamentary democracy in the strategy for the Indian revolution. This did not remain just a theoretical or academic question precisely because the growth of the communist movement got reflected in the increasing strength in legislatures in the three states of Kerala, Bengal and Tripura, enabling the formation of governments led by the party, though at differing times. This provided a unique opportunity for the party to show to the masses and help them learn by their experience the possibilities and the limitations of bourgeois democracy. The first communist led government under the leadership of Comrade E M S Namboodiripad showed the way, setting out an important framework.

In Bengal, a decade later, there was a parallel yet entirely different model based on the concrete realities of Bengal. The combination provided by the unique parliamentary skills and experience of workers movements provided by the leadership of Comrade Jyoti Basu on the one hand and the strong organisation and struggles built up under that of Comrade Promod Dasgupta and other leaders on the other, developed the communist intervention in Bengal to a plane unmatched in the country. How to combine parliamentary work with extra-parliamentary activity? What are the possibilities to run a government with an alternative vision within the framework of a bourgeois-landlord state? What is the relationship between such a government and the class struggles of the masses? These and so many other, related questions crucial to the implementation of the programmatic understanding of the party for the Indian revolution found some answers through the positive and negative experiences in the fields, factories and the legislature in Bengal. At the core of this historic period, which has so many lessons for us today, was the leadership of Comrade Jyoti Basu. Particularly at a time when there were no precedents or examples to follow, when new problems demanded new solutions, the party was indeed fortunate to have had as its helmsman in government Comrade Jyoti Basu. The profound impact of the government he led through the initiatives taken in crucial areas gave the party a prestige and profile which also enabled a larger role for the party in national politics. Under his leadership, the Left Front government in Bengal became the embodiment of the alternative policies being promoted by the party at the national level.

COLOSSUS WHO SET MANY PRECEDENTS

His was a unique role and he set many precedents. Seventy years in public life in the service of the people. The longest serving elected head of a government in the whole world. A communist who started his public activity as a trade union leader and who continued to remain associated with the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) even as the chief minister, thus sending out a strong message of the difference between a communist chief minister and others. Serving in the Bengal assembly for five decades, interrupted only because of the rigged elections in 1972 and the Emergency. A parliamentarian who used his brilliant skills to raise the voice of the people and later as head of government, to forge alternative policies. A statesman who set an example in united front politics heading the longest most cohesive coalition in the country. A leader who faced several death threats but who never flinched when the bullets flew at him showing exemplary personal courage. A champion of secular values throughout his life starting with his Herculean efforts to douse the communal flames set alight in Calcutta in 1946 who decades later as chief minister helped to make Bengal a safe haven for minority communities and a symbol of communal harmony. A popular leader who insisted on stepping down from the chief minister’s post in spite of the unanimous appeal of his comrades not do so, because he believed that his health did not permit him to work as he would like to. His acceptance of the decision of the Central Committee in 1996 to decline the offer of the prime minister’s post. On his return to Kolkata, when he was asked repeatedly about his personal reaction, he only replied, “I am a disciplined soldier of the party.” With that one sentence, he set a historical example of communist discipline. That too was unique. He deeply respected and set the highest example of maintaining communist norms.

Each and every one of the precedents he set add to the multidimensional nature of the legacy he has left.

He had the most emancipated social outlook, the very epitome of a progressive understanding of social issues, particularly on women. He strongly disapproved of the conservative and male chauvinist attitudes prevalent in society and in politics. His strong reactions to violence against women, his encouragement to building up women’s movements in resistance were a great encouragement to women’s movements and particularly all women comrades in the party. They looked to Jyoti Basu for support and he gave it unstintingly. At the eighth national conference of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) held in Kolkata in 2007, he made a most memorable speech. Speaking about the important role that women in panchayats were playing in West Bengal, he candidly said, “When Indian women have been given the opportunity they have done well. We are proud of the role of our women in panchayats. I have no hesitation to admit that we had doubts initially whether competent candidates could be found or not. But thanks to organised women’s movement they came out boldly and we find in many of the villages where we have women panchayat members those villages have performed well in all development projects and have also won many awards even at the national level.” Under his leadership, the West Bengal assembly adopted in 1998 a unanimous resolution in support of the women’s reservation bill, becoming the first to do so. Within the party he always urged his comrades to bring more women into the party and to give them more responsibilities.

UNDERSTANDING THE GRASS ROOTS

The higher his stature grew, impacting on national politics as the longest serving chief minister in the country and the one with the most impeccable record of integrity, the sharper his unerring instinct and understanding of the grass roots and the pulse of the people. In contrast to the perceived image of his “being aloof,” he was closest to the thoughts of the people. A true communist, he cared deeply for the interests of the people and was loved by them in return. He never cared for the trappings of power and that is why people identified with him. They believed that wherever he was he would be doing the right thing for them. In Bengal and all over the country, there must be numerous workers and the poor in the villages who grieve today the passing of a man who lived his life to create a world more just for them. For them Jyoti Basu was always “our man;” they knew that wherever he was their interests were uppermost in his mind. In many working class areas in the Hindi speaking region, the party used to be known as “Jyoti Basu’s party.”

They trusted him because Jyoti Basu always spoke the truth to the people. He never exaggerated what he could do for them, he always pointed out the pitfalls. At a time when melodrama and hyperbolic promises mark the political scenario, most striking was Jyoti Basu’s quality of being absolutely straightforward in what he said to the people in the hundreds and thousands of meetings he addressed in his life.

The greatness of Jyoti Basu also lay in his absolute lack of rancour against individuals who may have differed with him politically. He spoke his mind and expected others to do so too. He was extremely democratic and though his towering personality could have silenced any differences if he had wanted to, he never imposed his will but always went by the collective. In his autobiography, he writes how after 1946 when he was elected to the legislature he used to go every evening to the party office to inform and discuss with the party leadership the day’s proceedings and developments. This practice continued throughout his life. He set an example by coming every day to the party office before going on to fulfil his heavy responsibilities as chief minister.

In his reach to the world, Jyoti Basu went far beyond the party he built and loved. He not only touched the lives of millions but, by his pioneering leadership, he changed their lives, giving the poor confidence and dignity. He has left us grieving and bereft.

JOYKRISHNA GHOSH ON JYOTI BASU

Shadowing the veteran communist for 33 years till his last on January 17, 2010, Jyoti Basu’s confidential assistant Joykrishna Ghosh has been witness to some rare occasions that gives a measure of the man. Ghosh tells them to TIMES OF INDIA .

Like many of our generation I got attracted to Left politics in my student days. Leaders like Jyoti Basu and Harekrishna Konar were then the main crowd pullers. Konar was an agitator. He used to rouse emotions. Basu, on the other hand, was a good communicator and sounded like a man speaking to men. I listened to them from a distance.

The first occasion when I got see Basu closely was just a chance. My elder brother Harekrishna Ghosh called me one day, while I was studying law, and asked me to look after the CPM leaders who had come for a secret politburo meeting in 1973. Those were the days of semi-fascist terror. The party decided to hold the meeting at a house in Salt Lake (BD-249), because it was a less populated place then. The members including Basu stayed there for four days while I looked after their food and accommodation. Everything went fine except the mosquito bites that became unbearable during the night. I had not arranged for the mosquito nets. Leaders started grumbling as they could not sleep in the night. I saw Basu lying on the bed with his eyes shut but hands moving to minimise the bites. Pramode Dasgupta lost his cool the next day. He shouted at me and asked to get in touch with my brother. I was unnerved. Basu came to my rescue. "He has done his best. Poor fellow, he forgot to bring the mosquito nets," Basu said. I felt assured and arranged for the mosquito nets in the evening.

After the meeting was over, I returned to my daily routine and never came so close to Basu till I got a call from his political secretary Sankar Gupta days after the Left Front government came to power in 1977. I was a little apprehensive. So when Sankar Gupta led me to the chief minister’s chamber, Basu could read my mind. "Sit here. Are you okay?" Basu said, pointing to the chair opposite to him. "This is a difficult assignment. People come to Writer’s with lots of problems. Try your best to solve them. If you can’t, tell them why you couldn’t. Some will try to lure you, mislead you. Take care that you do not lose your cool. You are the face of the government to them. Whenever in difficulty, feel free to come straight to me," Basu said. I felt assured with his last sentence which I believe kept me working with him for all these years.

Two things that was a lesson for me was his respect for people and punctuality. Soon after I became his CA, I went him to a party meeting in Malda. We boarded the New Jalpaiguri Passenger. All through the journey he reminisced his days in Railway Workmen’s Union in the late forties. "There was no bridge that you see now. I used to board a steamer to cross the river. Our trade union was not recognised then. The coolies used to pushed me inside the third class compartment through the window, and I used to sleep in the berth putting my suitcase under my head. One day the suitcase was stolen. Later, when the union got recognition, I used to get the railway pass," he said. We reached Malda at 5.30 in the morning and went straight to the Circuit House. Basu asked me to arrange for the breakfast for he had some assignments. When I entered the dining room, I saw a single chair with a plate on the table with food all around. Basu entered a little later. "What’s this? Get another chair, and a plate for him. He will have breakfast with me," the CM said to the caretaker who was a little surprised. I pulled a chair and sat opposite to him while he went to the washroom. The caretaker got angry and asked me to get up from the chair. I followed him. Seeing me standing Basu understood. "Strange! Why are you asking him to get up. I asked him to sit with me. Get him some mishti and fruits." The caretaker felt awkward. He had never seen such a CM before. Later, the CM inquired about the security and ensured that they shared the CM’s food.

On another occasion we went to Burdwan. He was tired. "When are we going to the meeting, Joy?" he said. I told him we should start at 4 p.m. He asked me to pull the curtains and went to sleep. At 3.30, I found him sleeping. I went to my room and slept. At four, the orderly called me saying that the CM was sitting in his car. I did not know what to do. I hurriedly dressed up and didn’t have the time to tie my shoe. I reached minutes later and expected a snub. I apologised to him. Basu just smiled.

We were going to Delhi for the CPM politburo meeting. Basu, then the CM, sought an appointment with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He was in a hurry. The PMO asked us to come along. Basu left while I and the resident commissioner followed him in another car. When we reached I saw our CM sitting in the visitor’s chamber along with chief ministers of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh who have been waiting for the meeting for hours. A person came out and escorted Basu to Gandhi’s anti-chamber, keeping others waiting.

Basu also respected the Opposition. I recall one occasion when Basu was leaving for London. He was busy clearing files with his officers all in front when Congress leader Satya Bapuli sought his appointment saying that members of the Krishak Sabha were forcibly reaping his crops. Basu asked me to get in touch with the superintendent of police and told Benoy Chowdhury to look into the matter.

But he was not a robot. He found time to spend with his family and meet his friends Snehanshu Acharya and Buchu Mitra, who used to stay in Kurseong. Mitra studied with him at St Xavier’s. On his way to Darjeeling later, he left his convoy and met his friend Buchu and also had lunch with them — luchi and mangso.

Like all politicians, Basu also had his crest and trough in his political life. When he came back from Delhi in 1996 (after the historic blunder) Basu maintained a stony silence. Days later he said: "They offered me the PM’s chair not only because I am a CPM leader, but I have the experience of running a coalition for all these years. Given an opportunity, I could have placed a unique Budget to show what communists look at it. But then, they (those who opposed his views) also have some valid apprehensions. I can’t just rule them out." Party was his leading light and he swore by it despite differences. And in 2000 he relquished the CM’s post on his own, and set a rare precedent in the country.

I saw him upset when people started pointing fingers at him over his staying at Indira Bhavan. "I can leave this place, but I can’t function without a CA," he used to say. I assured him that I am not leaving you and offered to work with him till his last at a token one rupee honorarium from the government. State finance minister Asim Dasgupta approved it.

His eyes and ears were failing during his last days. When I sat beside him he said: "How long will you sit beside me? I can’t talk to you for long." Party leader Biman Bose used to frequent him and update him on party affairs. At times he was complaining. "You have asked them not to allow me outside. They are not listening to me," he used to say. He kept track of the daily developments though. The bloodshed in the districts and continuous killings of his comrades used to pain him the most.

COMRADE JYOTI BASU

By Prabhat Patnaik

EACH generation has its own dominant image of Jyoti Basu. For an earlier generation than mine this dominant image is of an intrepid fighter in the cause of the working class, an effective and unyielding “tribune of the people”, in the manner of August Bebel, in the West Bengal legislature of the fifties and the sixties. For a more recent generation than mine this dominant image is of a highly respected elder statesman, an architect of a broad coalition of forces to save the country from communal-fascism and a voice warning the country about the dangers of the imperialist embrace that is euphemistically referred to these days as “globalisation”. For my generation the overwhelming image of Jyoti Basu is that of the builder of a new Bengal.

All these images of Jyoti Basu have their own validity. And they all share a common perception: that of a remarkably courageous and straightforward person, totally devoid of cant, and capable of seeing things without the blinkers that most people have a habit of choosing to put on. I prefer here, however, to dwell on the image of Jyoti Basu that my generation has, namely as the builder of a new Bengal, because in my view that is a role which none other than Jyoti Basu could have played.

Before the Left Front came to power, West Bengal presented the quintessential picture of a state in decline. Once the centre of British power east of Suez, it had witnessed, over the half century before independence, an absolute decline in agricultural production per capita, and an even steeper absolute decline in foodgrain production per capita. Though the post-independence years had witnessed some reversal of these dire trends, it was far from adequate: West Bengal was afflicted by a deep-rooted and long-standing agrarian crisis. Its traditional industries, tea and jute, originally owned by British managing agencies and subsequently taken over by mainly Marwari businessmen, faced inelastic world demand and overall bleak prospects. The engineering industry which had come up mainly during the war years received a jolt from the mid-sixties recession from which it never really recovered. The freight equalisation scheme had hurt the state badly. The social crisis created by pervasive unemployment among the youth, refracted inter alia through the Naxalite movement, was captured chillingly in artistic creations of the time, such as for instance Mrinal Sen’s film Chorus. While a social revolution remained a distant dream, the way forward short of it was not clear. It appeared to be a society incapable as yet of making a leap, but hopelessly lost without such a leap. And this turbulent stasis came increasingly to be sustained through the use of semi-fascist terror by the State.

The remarkable turnaround in this situation which the Left Front achieved within a few years of assuming office under Jyoti Basu’s leadership in 1977 would appear unbelievable to any one who had witnessed the earlier situation. Indeed the dynamics of that turnaround are still not very clear and require a substantial theoretical endeavour. There is only one thing however that one can say about it with certainty, namely at the core of it was the overcoming of the long-standing agrarian crisis.

Lord Cornwallis’ Permanent Settlement had left two important legacies in Bengal’s economy. First, since the revenue accruing to the colonial government was fixed, the rate of return to the government from any investment in irrigation was nil, or at any rate way below the minimum rate of return which the colonial government insisted on earning on all its investments. Hence, Bengal saw very little irrigation investment in the colonial period. There was an additional reason for this: following the report of the Royal Commission on Agriculture (1926) a view had gained currency that the problem of Bengal agriculture arose from too much water and not too little. This neglect of irrigation from the colonial period, though slightly reversed after independence, continued to haunt West Bengal’s agriculture.

Secondly, as is well known, the Permanent Settlement had spawned a large parasitic class of rent receivers living off a pauperised peasantry. At the very top were the zamindars, but between them and the cultivators there were several layers of parasites, up to twenty-seven in some places, which obviously discouraged any productive investment on land. Post independence land reforms had removed the top layer of zamindars but already by the time of independence, as the Bengal Provincial Kisan Sabha had pointed out in its memorandum to the Floud Commission (1940), a new and powerful class of intermediaries, the jotedars, had emerged, so that zamindari abolition, far from freeing the peasantry from the stranglehold of these parasites, had the paradoxical effect of strengthening the latter. The disincentives to productive investment on land therefore continued, as did the abysmal state of the cultivators, so much so that an influential academic work of the time, which covered both parts of Bengal and the period from 1949 to 1980, was titled The Agrarian Impasse in Bengal.

The Left Front confronted both these constraints head on. Land reform measures, initiated by the short-lived United Front governments earlier, were carried forward through the recording of sharecroppers under Operation Barga, through the conferring on them of rights to land, and through the distribution of ceiling-surplus land. This was followed by the setting up of an alternative institutional mechanism in the countryside, the panchayats, which not only entailed decentralisation of power and decision making but also provided an alternative to the traditional power-structure dominated by the jotedars. The balance of class forces was altered in the countryside in favour of the oppressed peasantry and against the jotedars, which, apart from strengthening democracy, also encouraged productive investment by the peasantry, and hence the development of the productive forces. At the same time there was a substantial step-up in public expenditure on rural development in general and on irrigation in particular.

As a result of these measures a sea change occurred in the cropping intensity and in the cropping pattern. Areas which for centuries had witnessed only a single crop now started growing three crops. Local level plans began to be drawn up with the help of the democratically-elected representatives of the people serving on the panchayats. And agricultural growth in West Bengal began to pick up.

To some extent, even before the Left Front came to power, the potentials of, and the scope for, multiple cropping had become evident in small pockets in districts like Bardhaman and Birbhum, where potato and boro rice had been cultivated as a third crop in addition to the traditional aman and aus. But what had remained confined to small pockets now became the common practice over large tracts of the state, so much so that in the decade of the 1980s West Bengal witnessed the highest rate of growth in agricultural production among all the states in the country. In the nineties, the growth rate came down everywhere, a result inter alia of the neo-liberal policies adopted by the centre which squeezed the peasantry even as they forced a curtailment of public investment in rural development. Even so, among the states, West Bengal continued to be a high performer.

Rapid agricultural growth, together with increased government expenditure in the countryside, enlarged the rural market in the state, both for foodgrains and for a variety of simple industrial goods. It is interesting that among all the states in India, West Bengal and Kerala were the only two that witnessed a steady increase in the per capita cereal consumption by the rural population in the decades of the eighties and the nineties. The increased demand for simple industrial goods in the countryside brought about a remarkable “industrialisation from below” in West Bengal, with substantial employment effects, whose reach and significance have been inadequately appreciated till now. And with rising incomes, the state government’s revenues also rose, making possible enhanced social sector expenditures, and a general improvement in the quality of life of the people.

Just one set of figures will suffice to establish the point. In 1977-78, the percentage of rural population in West Bengal consuming less than 1800 calories per person per day, which really defines acute poverty (since the official poverty line is 2400 calories), was as high as 40 per cent, compared to 25 per cent for India as a whole. By 1993-4 the figure had come down to 17 per cent, compared to 18.5 per cent for India as a whole. True, this figure went up in West Bengal, like in the rest of the country, towards the end of the nineties and early this century, because the pursuit of neo-liberal policies by the central government undermined food security in the country as a whole; but even in 1999-00 the figure for West Bengal was just 22 per cent (though there are statistical problems in comparing 99-00 with the earlier years). The overriding objective of any government, functioning in a country like ours, must be the amelioration of poverty; by this yardstick the Jyoti Basu government’s record remains unparalleled in modern India.

The fact that something remarkable was happening in West Bengal was appreciated, before anyone else in the world outside could discern it properly, by that most insightful observer of the scene, EMS Namboodiripad. It was obvious to any participant at the first International Congress on Kerala Studies, organised through his initiative in 1994 at Thiruvananthapuram, that the question which haunted him was the following: why is it that Kerala with its remarkable record of land reforms and remarkable achievements in the social sector (which had prompted many to talk of a “Kerala Model” of development) continued to witness stagnation in the commodity producing sectors, while the other progressive state, West Bengal, had such remarkable successes in promoting growth in the major commodity producing sectors. EMS was not looking for “bourgeois” solutions, but solutions in keeping with the progressive traditions of his state which is why he had turned to West Bengal as his criterion for comparison. The answer he came up with was the role of the panchayats and accordingly launched his momentous “Peoples’ Plan Campaign”. But what is of significance for us is his implicit tribute to the “West Bengal model” (if one may call it that).

The travails of the Left Front government from the end of the nineties have been much discussed. But what is often missed by both the critics and even the supporters of the Left Front is that underlying these travails is the pursuit of neo-liberal policies by the central government. The hurdles created by the neo-liberal environment against the Left’s approach were not immediately obvious. Indeed it appeared at first, and not without justification, that the scrapping of licensing which had been used as a tool of discrimination by the central government against recalcitrant states like West Bengal, would usher in a new era of growth of modern industry in the state. And the state government, starting from the period when Jyoti Basu was at the helm, worked tirelessly for it. But there were two basic ways in which neo-liberalism impinged adversely on the Left Front’s strategy.

First, as the tax-GDP ratio of the centre declined over the decade of the nineties (the states in fact did much better in this regard), the centre not only cut back on its own expenditure, especially rural development expenditure, but even passed on the burden of its fiscal crisis to the shoulders of the state governments through reduced transfers to states and exorbitant interest rates (even exceeding the rate of growth of the average Net State Domestic Product) on its loans to states. The states thus became the victims of a fiscal squeeze imposed from the centre, and West Bengal was no exception. The problem of state indebtedness can be traced directly to this squeeze.

Having first imposed this squeeze, the centre then used it to force the states to fall in line behind its pursuit of a neo-liberal agenda. The eleventh finance commission insisted on a set of neo-liberal reforms which the states had to carry out even to qualify for the resources that were their constitutional due. The twelfth finance commission addressed the issue of state indebtedness by insisting that state governments pass fiscal responsibility legislation to qualify for assistance, which was both constitutionally questionable and uncalled for by the tenets of economic theory, and which the West Bengal government rightly refused to do. The origins of West Bengal’s fiscal problems lay inter alia in these developments.

Secondly, as a fall-out of the withdrawal of State support from peasant agriculture under the influence of neo-liberalism, the current century has witnessed a virtual stagnation in absolute foodgrain output, at least until 2006-07 (after which procurement prices were raised, in a reversal of neo-liberalism, and appear to have had a favourable effect on output). And West Bengal has not been spared the consequences of this stagnation.

The situation arising from the pursuit of neo-liberal policies continues to pose severe challenges before the Left even today. The fact that the Left will not have the benefit of Jyoti Basu’s sagacity in charting out a new course in this complex scenario is a great tragedy. But the legacy he leaves behind, and his counsel to comrades to be “always with the masses” and to “keep faith with the masses”, will no doubt help the Left to overcome its current challenges. And it can draw genuine pride from the fact that during the two decades or more when Jyoti Basu was at the helm in West Bengal, it achieved something, which, though somewhat unsung, was nonetheless quite outstanding.

Comrade Jyoti Basu , Torch Bearer Of The Down Trodden

By M K Pandhe

THE shocking news of passing away of Jyoti Basu put the entire toiling people in India into an ocean of grief. After engaging himself in a relentless struggle against the cruel clamps of death his will to survive ultimately gave in after 17 days to the aggressive forces of nature. The eventful life came to an end at 11.47 on 17 January 2010.

For nearly seven decades, Jyoti Basu consistently fought for the rights of the down trodden. His upbringing in an upper strata family did not come in his way of devoting his entire life for the working people of India. The ideology of Marxism developed a scientific world outlook in him. His father sent him to UK with the idea of making him an ICS officer but ultimately he studied law. The fond hope of his father that he would become a well known advocate and lead comfortable life failed to materialise. Jyoti Basu’s study of Marxian Philosophy converted him into a rebel against the unjust society based on exploitation of the vast toiling masses by handful but powerful rich.

On reaching India, Jyoti Basu joined the CPI in 1940 and started working in the railway trade union movement. Soon he became a prominent activist in Bengal by leading several struggles during the forties and fifties of the 20th century.

ADVOCATE OF UNITY

When I joined the central office of the AITUC in 1958, I had several occasions to meet him during AITUC meetings. He was critical of Dange’s pro-Nehru policies and individual style of functioning . In Mumbai conference of the AITUC in 1966, he was elected as the general council member of AITUC and attended meetings regularly despite his other pressing commitments. He did not frequently speak in these meetings but whenever he spoke he was forthright in expressing views. Jyoti Basu could make an impact on the organisation since his views were greatly respected.

When it was found impossible to remain in the AITUC due to undemocratic style of Dange’s functioning, it was decided to hold a national convention in Goa in March 1970 to decide future course of action. Jyoti Basu played a crucial role in deciding to hold a national convention at Kolkata with a view to form a new trade union centre. Time was short but enthusiasm among the ranks was supreme which could make it possible to hold a successful convention in Kolkata in May 1970.

On the eve of the founding convention of the CITU at Kolkata, Jyoti Basu was elected as chairman of the reception committee and made an inspiring speech before over 4000 delegates. In the convention he was elected as vice-president of the CITU, a post he held till his death. He visited almost all the states in connection with CITU state conferences and general council meetings and popularised the policies of the CITU .

Even after he became chief minister of West Bengal, he could find time to visit different states to attend trade union meetings. Before making speeches, he used to collect the details about the local situation and refer them during his speeches. He could effectively speak in a language which could be understood by the ordinary workers.

In one of his public meetings in Delhi, he was requested by the workers to speak in Hindi. He made an attempt to speak in broken Hindi using some Bengali words. Workers enjoyed his speaking in Hindi and repeatedly clapped seeing his attempt to speak in Hindi.

During the semi-fascist terror in West Bengal, despite risks, he addressed meetings of workers and exhorted them to fight against attempts to destroy the CITU through creation of terror.

During the Emergency period, Jyoti was denied guest house accommodation by the Bhilai Steel Plant management. He willingly stayed in the quarters of an employee in the Steel Plant.

When Jyoti Basu became chief minister and visited Bhilai for a rally, Bhilai Steel Plant Management offered him guest house facilities. He however refused to accept the hospitality and stayed in the retiring room of the railway station. A large number of workers assembled at Durg railway station to see the chief minister staying in railway retiring room. The local press wrote against Bhilai Steel Plant management for their treatment to him in the past.

The chief executive of the plant came to meet Jyoti Basu and profusely apologised for the past behavior of the management. He told them that next time he would accept their hospitality but not that time. When CITU working committee meeting was held at Bhilai next time, Jyoti stayed in the BSP Guest House. The management learnt the lesson by his behavior on the issue.

CHAMPION OF DEMOCRATIC FUNCTIONING

During his speeches in the trade union meetings, Jyoti Basu laid special emphasis on the democratic functioning of trade unions. He used to sharply criticise the bossism in trade union movement and point out how such tendency stifled the growth of trade union movement itself.

He always encouraged workers taking higher and higher positions in the unions. “ If the workers cannot function their own union, then how can they lead the struggle for social revolution” he used to ask.

When he read the CITU document on Organisation passed at Bhubaneswar, Jyoti Basu heartily appreciated the efforts made by the CITU to self-critically examine the weaknesses of the organisation. Referring to the question of democratic functioning of trade unions, he noted that the bureaucrats in the organisation may not like it, but the CITU should go ahead in implementing it, which alone can lead to building of CITU as a revolutionary trade union in the country.

As chief minister of West Bengal, Jyoti Basu addressed the meetings of striking workers and supported the legitimate demands of the workers. In these meetings, he appealed to the employers to concede the demands of the workers and settle the disputes through negotiations. There is no instance of any Congress or the BJP chief minister openly coming out in favour of the workers in such a forthright manner.

On a number of issues when the central government were involved in disputes, Jyoti Basu wrote several letters to the central government in support of the demands of the workers and advocating settlement of the dispute.

As the chief minister, Jyoti Basu was invited by the chambers of commerce and employers’ organisations. He always advised the employers to implement the labour laws and take steps to improve the working and living conditions of the workers. He never criticised trade unions in the gatherings of employers.

Jyoti Basu’s categorical assurance that police would not interfere in industrial disputes had immensely helped the trade unions in achieving success in their struggles. However, he always emphasised the need to implement the agreed norms of production by the trade unions. In several meetings, he stressed the need to ensure discipline in industry in view of the Left Front government adopting a pro-worker policy.

There were some instances of unjust gheraos by the workers when Jyoti Basu as a chief minister intervened and called upon the workers to lift the gherao and he later intervened to arrive at an amicable settlement.

RECOGNITION OF TUs BY SECRET BALLOT

In India for the first time a bill was introduced in West Bengal providing recognition of trade unions based on secret ballot of all the workers. Due to the hostile attitude of the Congress government at the centre for about seven years, the president did not give assent to the bill. There was an all India movement demanding giving consent to the bill which prevailed upon the central government to approve the bill by the president of India.

It was in Jyoti Basu’s tenure that policemen were given the right to form a union. No where in India this right has been granted to policemen till now by any Congress or BJP led government in the country.

Consultation with trade unions was a hallmark of his labour policy. Even on some specific issues, he was consulting INTUC unions. Such process of consultations was conducive to improve the labour relations in the state.

When Jyoti Basu found that during some years the total number of man-days lost due to lock-outs were more than the man-days lost due to strike in West Bangal, he called upon the employers not to resort to lockouts arbitrarily in industrial undertakings. When he saw that some industrial houses were not depositing the provident fund contribution with the authorities, he called upon the employers’ organisations to ensure that all their members regularly deposit with the authorities the outstanding PF dues.

Jyoti Basu continued to be president of some unions in West Bengal even after becoming the chief minister. He was a founder of the union in Indian Oxygen and was its president even after he became the chief minister.

EASY ACCESS FOR TUs

He was easily accessible to trade unions in the Writers Building. I remember some unions wanted his intervention in a dispute but they did not conduct any struggle. Jyoti Basu asked the unions to conduct struggle and then alone he would intervene. “Workers must earn their rights through struggles and not through outside efforts” he used to tell the unions. He never discouraged workers from conducting struggles but was emphasising on adequate preparations.

The new generation of trade union activists have much to learn from Jyoti Basu’s illustrious life. The message his life has given to the younger generation will continue to inspire lakhs of trade union activists in their forthcoming struggles.

On the eve of his last days, Jyoti Basu saw a remarkable unity of the trade union movement to fight class battles to protect their legitimate interests. As a strong advocate of working class unity, Jyoti Basu must have been happy to note these developments.

Let us learn from his valuable life's mission and carry forward the struggle till we achieve the objective of ending exploitation of man by man!

Long Live Jyoti Basu!!

REMINISCING COMRADE JYOTI BASU: Using Govt as an Instrument of Struggle

By Md Amin

FILLING the void created by the demise of Comrade Jyoti Basu would be very difficult and would take much time. The entire party has to make efforts and continue the struggle for achieving the aims and ideals for which Comrade Basu strove till his last. There is no other way.

I had had an opportunity to work closely with Comrade Jyoti Basu over the last 60 years and during this time I learnt from him a lot, which I will remember till my last breath. I first met Comrade Jyoti Basu in 1950 (it was actually March 29, 1950), at a public meeting in Alam Bazaar, Baranagar. He was the main speaker at the rally. This is how it happened.

At that time, with the support of the Congress party and also the police, reactionary forces were at that time unleashing communal riots in our area. Once they cut electricity at the dusk time and began to systematically burn the houses belonging to the Muslims in the area. The Muslims could not even flee to safety as the goons had already encircled the area from three sides, with the Hoogly river being on the fourth side. The police fired at the victims, in connivance with the rioters.

At that time, around 5000 Muslims took shelter in a jute mill in the area. The Army reached the spot at 3 in the morning and restored some order. The Muslims went without food for three days. The authorities forced the refugees from Pakistan into the empty houses. The district magistrate came and ordered the Muslims to go to Pakistan. Our party was then a banned party, and was also a small one. Our efforts to stop the riots failed. In fact, the then party leadership had to perforce ask the Muslims members to leave for East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and return after restoration of peace. I also left and could return only after six months.

When peace returned and the ban on the party was also lifted, there was organised a public meeting in Alam Bazaar, which was addressed by Comrade Jyoti Basu. He told in the meeting very clearly that we had to struggle for rehabilitation of those who had lost their homes during the riots. He explained how any move to remove the refugees forcibly settled in the Muslims’ homes would only create more tension and not solve the problem. It was then that I met Comrade Basu for the first time. We had only three MLAs at that time, with Comrade Basu as the assembly group’s leader. His speeches on rehabilitation were widely reported and keenly followed by everyone. The party kept up the pressure on the government on this issue. However, only in 1967, after the first United Front government came to power, was it possible to rehabilitate these uprooted people. It vindicated the correct understanding Comrade Jyoti Basu had had on this issue.

The following example illustrates Comrade Jyoti Basu's role in building the trade union movement in Bengal. The party had assigned us to work in Titanagar area. A strike was held in a jute mill in the area and the struggle continued for five years. Comrade Basu effectively raised the issue in the assembly and supported the workers in the field. It was after protracted struggles that the mill was reopened, and on that day he reached the place at 6 in the morning to take part in the happy occasion. That struggle was a very tough one as the area was a stronghold of the Congress party. But Comrade Jyoti Basu kept encouraging us and we felt confident with his strong support to the cause of the workers. Slowly we began spreading to other factories. In fact, 1967 was a memorable year for our trade union movement in Bengal. On the one hand, we were spreading in many factories and mills, and on the other, there was an upsurge in the rural areas due to land struggles. Comrade Jyoti Basu, as the home minister in the United Front, made it very clear that the police would not interfere in the disputes concerning land redistribution or in the industrial disputes.

When the second United Front government was formed in 1969, with Comrade Jyoti Basu as the deputy chief minister and home minister, I was also inducted into the ministry as the transport minister after being elected for the first time from Titanagar constituency. Since then, I had the occasion to see Comrade Jyoti Basu's administrative efficiency in government from close quarters. He made it a point to tell the ministers as well as the officers that the ministers would have the final say on any matter. But, at the same time, he told the officers too to convey their viewpoints on any issue without fear. He was clear that given the limitations of the bourgeois landlord set-up, all problems of the people could not be solved. So our striving would be to provide as much relief to people as possible. This has been vindicated by practice.

Another aspect of Comrade Jyoti Basu, which helped the movement a great deal, was that he made effective use of the United Front government as an instrument of struggle. While being the deputy chief minister and home minister in that government, he used to visit the strike places and openly announce his support for the struggle. This always bolstered the strength of the workers. As the rural people too clearly saw that land distribution was undone whenever the United Front’s government was dismissed, our support widely grew among the rural masses. It was thus that the Left Front came to power in 1977.

Another remarkable feature of Comrade Jyoti Basu was his absolute coolness in difficult situations. I remember an incident in the state assembly, which occurred in 1969. There took place a tussle between the armed police and political activists outside the assembly building. Provoked by a group of Congressmen, the police personnel stormed the assembly building and indulged in vandalism. Quite incensed, they entered Comrade Basu's room also. There were only two MLAs with him at that point, and I was one of them. Comrade Basu remained cool and said in a stern voice, “You think you can do anything as you have guns. Go out.” The policemen sheepishly went out without uttering a word. While dealing with his colleagues or staff also, even if he was angered, Comrade Basu would convey his displeasure in such a manner that they would not feel hurt. I never saw anger in his face.

Comrade Jyoti Basu's firmness in dealing with communal riots was remarkable. As the chief minister, he would directly visit the spots of trouble or mischief, announce publicly that his was not a Congress government and that orders had been issued to shoot the miscreants. I remember how his handling of the situation brought the riots in Jagatdal under control within 24 hours of occurrence. Similarly, it was his leadership that prevented any incident of attack on the Sikh community in 1984. at that time, Comrade Basu publicly announced that not just the Left Front government but the party too was in the forefront to protect the Sikhs. In fact, when I recently visited Hoshiarpur for a public meeting under the CITU’s auspices, some of the Sikhs recalled this exemplary record of the Left Front government.

In sum, Comrade Jyoti Basu proved himself not only as a theoretical leader but also as a field-level leader. I have truly learnt a lot from him and I cherish the experiences of working alongside him. I am confident that the party would take forward the aims and ideals for which Comrade Basu strove for all his life.

(As told to N S Arjun in Kolkata on January 18, 2010.)

Jyoti Basu: Partisan of Working People’s Cause

By S Ramachandran Pillai

COMRADE Jyoti Basu's commitment and partisanship to the cause of the working class and other toiling sections of people, his deep understanding of Marxism-Leninism, his mastery in respect of applying Marxism-Leninism in the Indian conditions, his genuine democratic approach, secular outlook, sharp common sense, openness, simple and loving nature --- all these qualities made him one of the tallest leaders of the communist movement in our country.

Comrade Jyoti Basu made great contributions to evolving the party's understanding about the need to form and join governments, the possibilities and limitations of such governments and the tasks of such governments and the party. He had no illusions that such governments formed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), together with its allies, could transform the economic and political set-up of the Indian state in any fundamental manner. He was, however, of the firm belief that the party should utilise all the opportunities for realising the government's pledge to carry out a programme of providing relief to the people and strive to project and implement the alternative policies within the existing limitations. Apart from providing solutions to certain problems facing the people, even though to a limited extent, the existence and functioning of such governments would boost the morale to the democratic masses all over the country and strengthen the democratic and revolutionary movement.

In West Bengal, the Left Front government took many path-breaking initiatives. It implemented certain land reform measures within the limitations of the Indian constitution and implemented the agricultural and rural development programmes. These measures benefited tens of lakhs of agricultural labourers, poor and middle peasants. The Left Front government also took a principled decision of not using the police force to suppress the agitations and struggles of the working class and other toiling sections of the people.

The devolution of powers to the elected panchayati raj institutions enabled the rural people to exercise their democratic rights in evolving as well as executing their own plans for development. The democratisation of the elected panchayats empowered the common people and their organisations to get involved in implementing the land reform measures, developmental activities, social security measures and administrative steps. All these things effected a change in the correlation of class forces in West Bengal, in favour of the poorer sections who constitute an overwhelming majority. Comrade Jyoti Basu always upheld the interests of the working class and poorer sections. While trying to implement alternative policies and programmes for providing relief to the people, he tried to educate the masses that such governments could not solve the economic and political problems of the country in any fundamental manner and thus there was the need to build a broad revolutionary movement for replacing the bourgeois-landlord state with the state of the people's democratic front.

Comrade Jyoti Basu was a great expert in applying the Marxist-Leninist united front tactics. The state unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in West Bengal made political interventions on all mass issues and in all political developments with the aim of strengthening the mass movements and struggles of the working people and all other toiling sections, and of developing their unity. The mass struggles, the effective political interventions, the patient efforts to find the points of agreements with the other democratic and Left parties so as to develop joint actions with them helped the CPI(M) to forge a united front. The party forged an alliance with the democratic and Left parties and individuals by adopting a patient attitude and flexible tactics but without compromising its principled positions. The flexible tactics adopted by the West Bengal unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) during the difficult periods of 1967-69, in the first half of the seventies and in 1977 helped the CPI(M) to emerge as the major Left force in West Bengal as well as in the country. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and its allies have won all the assembly elections since 1977 and the Left Front government has since then continued in office. Comrade Jyoti Basu's contribution in building and strengthening a united front of the democratic and Left parties in West Bengal and in the country played an important role in the political developments in India in the recent period.

Comrade Jyoti Basu actively intervened in all mass issues and organised agitations and struggles of the workers, peasants and other toiling sections of people. He played an active role in the Tebhaga movement and workers’ strikes, in giving relief and support to the people affected by communal riots, in campaigns for communal harmony and many others. He was in the forefront in the food movement organised in West Bengal. His excellent rapport with the masses enabled him to assess their mood, hopes, aspirations and anger, and give shape to their agitations and struggles. He had an excellent ability to raise appropriate slogans, both on mass and political issues, in order to meet the requirements of the rapidly changing situation. He combined the parliamentary and extra-parliamentary activities to build a powerful revolutionary movement.

Comrade Jyoti Basu was a great practitioner of the communist norms. He always encouraged comrades to stand up, express and assert their views. Anybody could boldly agree or disagree with him. He did not take anyone’s agreement or disagreement at the personal level. When in 1996 the Polit Bureau and Central Committee took the decision not to join the central government, he expressed his views in the party forums. In party committees and among the public, Comrade Jyoti Basu argued for and insisted on acceptance and implementation of the party's decision. For him, the party and its decisions were greater than anything. As a true communist, he had no hesitation or reluctance to implement the decision of the party. Comrade Jyoti Basu always upheld democratic centralism, communist morality and the highest level of party loyalty.

Comrade Jyoti Basu consistently fought against the communal forces and their effort to communalise the institutions of the state, the administration, the education system etc. The shocking memories of the communal riots and the sufferings of the common people at the time of the partition always reminded him of the dangers that emanate from the communal forces of all hues. He firmly believed that the unity of the multi-religious India could be maintained only on the basis of secularism and democracy. He adopted an uncompromising attitude towards the communal forces and upheld secularism.

Comrade Jyoti Basu's speeches in the party committees, party congresses and in public were always straightforward, simple and forcefully logical. I never saw him prevaricating. I watched his interventions with awe and adoration. He had an excellent knack to establish relations with the non-party masses and even with political opponents, and get their acceptance for his views through his measured and sharp articulations based on logic and common sense. His sharp common sense enabled him to identify the key elements in any complex and complicated situation. He had an extraordinary ability to suggest better solutions to difficult problems.

He was one of the greatest statesmen and communists India has ever produced. His contributions in building the communist movement is an integral part of India's history.