Jyoti Basu was chief minister of west Bengal for straight 23 years. Two days ago he took his last breath in the ICU of Advanced Medicare Research Institute In Salt Lake, Kolkata. For the past few days he was valiantly fighting all that nature threw at him. By the time he died all the vital organs resigned and he was on life support system. In the eyes of his “devotees” he will remain the finest prime minister India never had. yes! Many people won’t be able to recall that during 1996 election he almost made it to 7 Racecourse. It’s a different and i would say , “fortunate’ thing that his own politburo vetoed out that proposal.
Why fortunate? well, many people who are not bengalis or have never lived in bengal would think that he was a legendary communist and leader. Sure he was a leader but look what he did to Bengal. He presided over the fading of “Once glorious state of Bengal”. So i say that those who experienced Basu’s Bengal as opposed to those who idealized it from far would prefer a cold-blooded assessment.
Like me, there are many people who don’t live in bengal anymore. From Bombay to Boston, about every buzzling city has it’s share of bengali refugees. You can find “probashi bongs” who were compelled to re-locate because of contraction of opportunities to different parts of the globe, Only to occasionally return to the land once called the cultural and educational hub of country. West bengal is not a place of contemporary relevance; it’s the place time forgot.Kolkata now is a museum piece. somebody cruel once said that “it’s the worlds largest old people’s home”. You go there as if you are a heritage tourist, a nostalgic junkie or have a particularly beloved patriarch to visit one final time. Many claim, including few of my friends who are die hard communist, that he is worshipped by millions in rural bengal. 
I always wondered how true is this? In the 70’s and 80’s when india was embracing the revolutionary 5 year economic plans and was trying to make small attemps to come out of the days of misery and fallout . Basu deliberately resisted new technology and trade in bengal. State board schools were not allowed to teach english before 6 standard. Computers were kept out of the schools and government offices. Business was hounded and bengal lost that golden shine. What a pity! i remember my maternal uncles used to say that Calcutta looked exactly like London.Those same bronze street lights, stone paved roads and clean and majestic building lines. This was the state which taught indians how to speak english. During british period poets like Tagore and Sarat Chandra were giving European poets run for their money. Education was at it’s best and many used to compare Presidency college, Scottish Church with the best in the world. After basu came to power these colleges became the hub for student politics and hooliganism. Many would remember the ‘cadre-cracy’ of CPM. What happened with all this? As an early industrial state West bengal should have led the march into post industrialisation . With it’s excellent educational institutions and strong middle class, it should have been a service sector’s natural. The first IT companies and IT-ES boom should have happened in Calcutta. Basu didn’t allow this. History will never forgive him. Nor will all those people who are compelled to leave their birth land. Basu was a well travelled man. He himself studies English Honours in Presidency college, Kolkata( I still hear that it’s one the best departments in Literature studies) and also studied law in london. He knew what are the global trends and what will happen if technology and english are driven out of the country, all in the name of anti-elitism. Alright, back to the question..How successful was Basu in Rurals? My state has 18 districts and 14 of these districts are amongst the poorest in india. I ask what has changed. The comrades in communist parties have long cried about inequalities between kolkata and rest of the districts. I ask what have they done about it. People are revolting in Jhargram and Midnapur, many people in north and south dinajpur don’t have enough food for their familes ..they live in mud houses which are washed away by the river flood, every monsoon.
The path he charted, led my land to the heart of Darkness.I wish we can bring him back to life and put him on a public trial. He sent his country men to the period of misery and agony. I really think that he got a very easy death. But I am also sure that in his last few moments he must have asked one question to himself- What have I done?
About The Author
Iam a Lifestyle Photographer, SEO Consultant and Database expert.I studied Biological Engineering at Amity University.I grew up in India,Can't mention a single area here.. My family was like a japanese bagpacker. Roamed to many indian cities.I have several ideas of what I might do with myself in this lifeworld. Although I feel very much a part of this world, I spend a lot of time questioning it. That's the social scientist in me.People say i am full of attitude and i think that's good.I'm idealistic and maybe naive, but at this point in time I can't imagine living any other way.I have two business ventures- XpressoStill and OptSEO.Xpressostill is a lifestyle photography venture which i started in early 2010.Currently it has two portfolios for wedding photography and travel photography.OptSEO is a new idea, atleast for me. OptSEO is about managing e ventures. My main objective is to try to create,develop and execute a cost effective program to maximize the communication between enterprises and their customers and generate high quality sales inquiries. And if that is not enough..Iam also training to become a pro deep-sea diver. You Can write to me at rakesh.mahato@live.com
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