Jyoti Basu was one of the most respected politicians of independent India. Although he belonged to CPM, he carried respect from across the political spectrum.
Jyoti Basu had the distinction of being the longest serving Chief Minister of any Indian state. He served as West Bengal CM for 23 long years. Jyoti Basu took over as CM of West Bengal on June 21, 1977 and continued in that position till November 6, 2000.
He was born in an upper caste Bengali family on July 8, 1914 as Jyotirindra Basu . His father, Nishikanta Basu, was a doctor while his mother Hemalata Basu was a housewife. Basu's father cut short his name from Jyotirindra Basu to Jyoti Basu once he started his schooling from Loreto School, Calcutta.
Jyoti Basu completed his graduation from Presidency College, Calcutta. After that he went to Britain for studying law where he got in touch with Rajani Palme Dutt, noted Communist philosopher and prolific writer. Basu started participating into activities of Communist Party of Great Britain and that was ,in one sense, his baptisation into communism.
On Jan 1, 1940, Jyoti Basu returned to India. He informed his family of his plans to join Comunist party of India. His family was not happy with his decision and in order to dissuade him, they got him married to Basanti Chabi on Jan 20, 1940. Unfortunately, Mrs Basanti Chabi died on May 11, 1942.
Jyoti Basi married for the second time to Kamal Basu on Dec 5, 1948. Kamal gave birth to a girl child on Aug 31, 1951 who died of diarrhoea and dehydration afet a few days. Chandan Basu, their son, was born in 1952.
In 1940 when Jyoti basu returned to India, CPI was declared illegal. Jyoti basu became interface between underground and outside faces of CPI.
In 1946, he was elected to the Bengal Assembly from the Railway Constituency. Since then he was in the W.B. State Assembly in a row except for a small gap between 1972 – 77.
In 1951, when the ban on CPI was lifted he became the President of the Editorial Board of the Swadhinata (Bengali mouth piece of CPI).
In 1953, he was unanimously elected the Secretary of the State Committee of CPI. He was elected to the Central Committee in Madurai Congress in 1954. In Palghat Congress he was elected to Central Secretariat. In Amritsar Congress (1958), he was elected to National Council.
In 1964, he was suspended along with 31 members of the National Council. After split of CPI he joined the CPI(M) and was elected to its Central Committee and Polit-Bureau.
In 1967, he became Deputy Chief Minister of W.B. with Finance and Transport portfolios.
In 1969 under second UF ministry, he became Deputy Chief Minister in Charge of General Administration and Home Department including Police.
On June 21, 1977, he took over as the Chief Minister of West Bengal and continued in that position for a record 23 years.
In 1996 Jyoti Basu's name was proposed for the prime minister of United Front government and there was wide consensus on his name among the UF constituents but CPM politburo vetoed the proposal . A disappointed Jyoti Basu termed Politburo's decision as a historic blunder.
A die hard communist, Jyoti Basu was a founder member of Communist Party of India (Marxist). He was politburo member of CPM from 1964 until 2008. From 2008 until his death in 2010, Jyoti Basu remained a permanent invitee to the central committee of the party.
On January 17, 2010 at an age of 95, Jyoti Basu breathed his last and an era of communist politics in India came to an end.
