Why Jyoti Basu matters so much?

I was quite surprised at the inflow of messages from people all over the country wanting to know about the health of the 96-year old veteran communist leader Jyoti Basu undergoing treatment at AMRI hospital in Kolkata. ‘He did matter to us but I did not know that all over people would be that concerned”. But they were and as days are passing and he still remains critical people from unexpected quarters seem concerned.

It could be because Basu is an era in Indian politics. As far as I could remember, I had seen him and known him as the chief minister of West Bengal until he retired. During his last day in the assembly, I as a new reporter asked him, “ How does it feel to retire”, He responded, ‘How old are you?’ ‘I have been the chief minister of this state probably all through your age’, ….I was quiet and upset with his arrogance, as he continued, ‘Who said I am retiring. I have been the chief minister for twenty-three years’, ‘it feels great not because I was the Chief minister but because I represented a democratic elected government’.

He really did not retire even after not contesting his seat in 2001. His seat, after him was lost to the Trinamool Congress then.

But he remained very much in active politics even much after that. His small sound bites days after his retirement mattered to all of us. For he, remained above all in his party. Jyoti Basu until recently was considered to be the voice of the party and even in matters the party had varied opinions his voice stood firm for all of us. Though in communist party personality cult never seems to be promoted, yet for Jyoti Basu it was different. Not that he was the eldest member of the party in terms of age but that he was the tallest as the democratic communist in India.

Later just before the 2004 general elections, I had the opportunity to interview him once again. It was then he was being filmed for a documentary of his life by filmmaker Gautam Ghosh. Sometime back he had donated his body and I asked him if it was his philanthropic ideas or his communist belief so as to donate his body. He said, ‘Nothing like that. I was, approached by some people to donate my body and I agreed. I would anyway be dead by then. They wanted to make me useful for medical purposes even after my death and I agreed.’

‘Any more desires now’.

“What more would I want. I have been the chief minister for so many years and I have got the support of the people. Only regret is that the ideology (of my party) could not go beyond certain pockets in India’.

Indeed, it could be true as he fights back in the hospital in a critical condition. The party waits to be unseated even in West Bengal after almost thirty-five years of being democratically elected. The regret of losing own ground after so many years could be really difficult.

Jyoti Basu’s death means the end of a political era through which two generations have lived. And we cannot deny his individuality and stature as a politician around us till now.

It is not supporting or opposing his ideology. It means to get used to the changed directions of the wind we were so used to.