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Profile of Jyoti Basu | Veteran Communist Party of India-Marxist ( CPI -M) leader Jyoti Basu was born on July 8, 1914 as Jyoti Kiran Basu into an upper middle-class Bengali family in Kolkata (previously known as Calcutta ). *His father, Nishikanta Basu , was a doctor from the village
of Bardi in Dhaka District, East Bengal (now in Bangladesh ), while his mother
Hemalata Basu was a housewife. *Basu’s schooling started at Loreto School at
Dharmatala,
Kolkata, in 1920. It was there where his father shortened his name and he became
Jyoti Basu . However he was moved to St. Xavier ’s School in 1925. *He
completed
his undergraduate education and received honours in English from the Hindu. *After
completing his undergraduate studies in 1935, Basu set out for England for higher
studies in Law. It is said that Basu attended lectures of Harold Laski in late
1930. It was in England that Basu was introduced to the activities of politics
through the Communist Party of Great Britain. *During his stay in England , he
was actively associated with the India League and the Federation of Indian Students
in England . In England he was inspired by noted Communist Philosopher and prolific
writer Rajani Palme Dutt . *In 1940, he completed his studies and qualified as
a Barrister at the Middle Temple . In the same year, he returned to India . *In
1944, Basu became involved in trade union activities when CPI delegated him to
work amongst the railway labourers. When B.N. Railway Workers Union and B.D.
Rail
Road Workers Union merged, Basu became the general secretary of the union. *He
was elected to the Bengal Legislative Assembly for the first time in 1946. *After
partition, he was a member of the Assembly but was arrested when the Communist
Party of India was banned following a call for open revolt. He was released on
the orders of the High Court and was a Legislative Assembly Member between
1952
and 1972. *In the 1950s, Basu and Parmode Das Gupta became joint leaders of the
West Bengal Communists. *He was state party secretary and led the parliamentary
tactics of the CPI in Bengal against the Congress. *The anti-Congress nature of
Bengal Communism led Basu to align with the Communist Party of India ( CPI (M))
following the division of the Communist Party of India in 1964. *In 1967, Basu
became Deputy Chief Minister in a coalition United Front government in Bengal
in which the CPI (M) was one of the leading parties. This coalition collapsed
after eight months. *Fresh elections were held in February 1969 in which the CPI
(M) emerged as the largest party. Basu was again Deputy Chief Minister in a United
Front government that lasted until 1971. *In 1977 Basu was elected to the
Parliament
from Satgachia and became West Bengal Chief Minister. Under his leadership the
CPI (M) has won five successive elections since (1982, 1987, 1992, 1996). It is
the largest democratically elected Communist movement in the world. *Basu was
a member of the CPI (M)'s Politburo since 1964. He was influential in shaping
the party's domestic and international policies. Of particular importance, since
1991, was the tactical support given to parties and groupings opposed to the
Bharatiya
Janata Party. This brought the CPI (M) closer to Congress, but the party avoided
an outright coalition. *Basu was recognized as a clever tactician who used
parliamentarism
to create conditions for the success of Communism in West Bengal . *He acquired
a high reputation as a political leader and, following the national elections
to parliament (1996), was considered a possible candidate for Prime Minister.
*Basu seemed all set to be the consensus leader of the United Front for the post
of Prime Minister, but the CPI (M) Politburo decided not to participate in the
government, a decision that he later termed a historic blunder. * He resigned
from the West Bengal Chief Ministership in 2000 due to health reasons, and was
succeeded by fellow CPI (M) politician Buddhadeb Bhattacharya . *Basu holds the
record for being the longest-serving Chief Minister in Indian political history.
*The 18th congress of CPI (M), held in the national capital in 2005, re-elected
Basu to its Politburo, although he had asked to be allowed to retire from it.
*On September 13, 2006 , Basu entreated the CPI (M) to allow his retirement due
to his age, but was turned down. General Secretary Prakash Karat said that the
party wanted Basu to continue until its 2008 congress, at which point it would
reconsider. *At the 19th congress in early April 2008, Basu was not included on
the Politburo, although he remained a member of the Central Committee and was
designated as Special Invitee to the Politburo *The veteran leader was admitted
to the AMRI hospital in Kolkata on January 1, 2010 , following a severe chest
infection. The doctors after conducting a proper check-up had detected that he
was suffering from slight pneumonia. *On January 15, 2010 , haemo-dialysis was
done to remove toxins from Basu’s body, as there was a further deterioration in
his cardiac and renal functions. *On January 16, 2010 , his health condition became
extremely critical and he was suffering from multiple organ failure. *On January
17, 2010 , Basu died at the age of 95. |
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