Jyoti Basu‘s death has resulted, as all death does in the eyes of a star-struck, ratings-driven, uncritical media these days, in a flood of faux reverence that would, in wiser days, have been reserved for demigods with the Gandhi surname, and not only the most deserving of them.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says the nation has lost “a great son who was a great statesman and great patriot.” As if a photocopy is floating around, home minister P. Chidambaram says, “he was a great patriot, great democrat, great parliamentarian and great source of inspiration.”
The posterboy of communism, the father of Indian communism. The titan who had a finger on the pulse of the people. The last bhadralok communist, a genteel communist, who provided to starving workers in Bangalore, who also had a sense of humour.
Yes, Jyotida probably had all those admirable qualities,and more. Yes, the strides made by West Bengal under his long 23-year leadership in land reforms, health and so on. But did he have nothing negative except for his “historic blunder” of enabling H.D. Deve Gowda become prime minister, who has oxymoronically called him “the king among communists“?
Three voices of dissent.
Suman K. Chakrabarti on IBN Live:
“The Communist patriarch, will remain for me a man who killed two generations of Bengal’s talent. And paved the way for the demise of a land which held much promise for the country. A man who presided over Bengal’s industrial decline, a man who enforced an education system where millions of students learnt “A, B, C, D” after six years of schooling, a man who ensured Bengal’s brain-drain and led to the economic marginalisation and decline of the state.”
Abhijit Majumder in Mid-Day:
“The man I grew up hating is dead. It is impossible for me to look at Jyoti Basu except through the glasses of my adolescent and early years in Calcutta. From massive cutouts, from street-corner rallies, from behind the dark windows of his car at the middle of his anaconda convoy, from the misty black drape of power cuts over sleepy colonies in winter, Basu silently watched over us.”
Swapan Dasgupta on his blog:
“As someone who grew up in Calcutta and witnessed the beginnings of its long-term decline, I find it difficult to lionise Jyoti Basu.Whatever his personal inclinations, he was the public face of a socially regressive movement that destroyed Bengal’s age-old refinement. He led the mob that made the Bengali coarse. He unleashed forces that caused the complete destruction of Bengal’s manufacturing industry. He killed the work ethic in Bengal. He helped make Bengalis a tribe of the permanently aggrieved.”
One more London graduate
I still wonder how can party be elected by vote bank inside democracy can indeed be called Marxist!!
More of a historic blunder is Bengali leaders who wear communist mask under congress and degrade it. Him refusing to be PM shows his dilemma under congress.
The dissents shown here shows how much ineffective is Bengal Marxism while there is no Marxism at all at ruling .it remained confined to sickles and hammers as does ‘M’ which is hidden in braces of CPI(M). Just a land reform act begging to be revised a bit from 1955 was needed which they didn’t and hence put whole Marxism at stake.
The CPI of terrible Bardhans Rajas Budhdha and Carrots made sure all those who talks about Marxism can be safely called naxals and gunned down.
These middle class bloggers should relatively be happy the lowest strata of their society are atmost landless not hopeless like ours.
Probably they are fascinated by foreign trips made by NRN’s employees and TATA ,Mittal ,Mallya,Reddy empire which still follow father son capitalism – totally turning the psyche towards it – just like Gowda Khoda who are supported at churumuri also by some commentators .
superb writing and an excellent roundup by churumuri.
it seems deve gowda is wanting in his readings on communism — he clearly doesn’t understand the theory.
nowdays, abhijit majumder seems to be the only journalist who can write anything intelligent in mid-day (mumbai).
in my own view, jyoti basu must take a great chunk of the blame for the great decline of bengal — from a state that produced vivekananda, netaji bose, bipin chandra pal, bankim chatterjee, rabindranath tagore, jagdish chandra bose, and ram mohun roy — bengal of the later 20th century became a wasteland of the human potential thanks to the nonsensical and hypocritical “labor struggle” feigned by the CPM.
jyoti basu was a deadwood leader with all the pseudo intellect of the typical communist and all the pseudo detachment of a man who clung to the cm’s gaddi for 23 years.
i mourn jyoti-da’s his passing, as i would anybody’s, and i do hope he is liberated from the eternal cycle of births. but i do not feel indian politics is any poorer that he’s gone.
Another scathing assessment:
http://kanchangupta.blogspot.com/2010/01/destroyer-of-west-bengal.html
Thank you Churumuri. It is disgusting to see the way media – prannoy roy,sagarika ghose, N ram and others are idolizing this man. In today’s ‘Hindu’ there is nothing except JB all over as if there is no other news. Jyothi Basu killed the industry and enterprise of Benagalis. A man of no positive accomplishment. He safegaurded his seat for two decades. Good Riddance. Hope the medical college can find some benefit from his old body.
I loved the hypocrycy of the people what our Deve Gowda mentioned yesterday.Jyoti Basu suggested that DG be the primeminister in 96. And DG was telling on TV that he initially refused and only upon further taunting he accepted the Gaddi. What joke and what hypocrysy.Can anyone everbeleive these stories.
I find it hard to praise a leftist because he, never mind even if it is Jytoi Basu, always has a closed mind. That is the facet of any thing that is doctrinaire.
We usually would like to forget bad, misdeeds and fumbling when a man is dead. that is supposed to in bad taste
But as one who used to go to Calcutta during the worst days of Gheraos, power cuts etc i agree with what ever is reproduced above.
Communist do not believe in revolution through ballot boxes. I suspect communist regime was kept in tact by its cadre by extraconstitutional methods.
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
JB single handedly pushed to penury one of the most indusrialised states in India, pre-independence. He made thousands of bengalis migrate from WB to other parts of the country in search of livelihood, he institiounalised booth capturing and honed it to a fine art during his 25 years of misrule. Thanks for small mercies he did not succeed in becoming the PM of this nation, or else we would be subjected to the waste bengal experiment nationwide. He was an out and out traitor who supported Chinese during the 1964 agression. A guy who opposed to capitalism tooth and nail had to go with a begging bowl to Peerless insurance to borrow money to pay the state employees.
I am waiting for the day when other communist stalwarts(?), prakash carrot, brinda beetroot, harkishen surjeet (if he is not already dead), sitaram yechuri, n raja will croak…
Jyoti Basu did nothing for Bengal.His greatest contribution to the country is the fact that he did not become the Prime Minister.India would have progressed backwards under him and every part of the country would be in the grip of civil wars.
Mr Basu now that you gone i just have one request.wherever you are,please do not unleash your regressive policies and your anti development mindset.In case your in heaven,i pity the Gods.
Even they are not safe…red flags everywhere!!!!!!!!!
Lal Salaaam
Chombu
After a long time, a good unbiased post and correct opinions. Keep it up.
Jyoti Basu preferring H D Deve Gowda as prime minister rather than any other worthies reflects the mindset of Indian communists. Basu and communists of that ilk always prefer mediocre people at the helm of affairs. For example, EMS Namboodiripad made EK Nayanar chief minister, not once but twice, in Kerala. Nayanar was a laughing stock, an embarrassment to the party and the state. Yet, the party, and the state, chose to grin and bear it.
The communists want India to wallow in squabbling and poverty, forever.
Their comeuppance is looming large over the horizon.
Kudos! Right Wing Churumuri, tighten your Knickers. It;s time you got out of your closet
sheesh…for people who claim to be open minded and just, the people commenting here are sure as hell have closed minds to anything that is not “capitalist democracy”. And they also talk about doctrinaires!
People who like to sell themselves out to the highest bidders talking about doctrines any hypocracy… Can it get any more ironic?
nicely side it churumuri
Bull crap.
SK Kumar doesnt seem to be knowing anything about Kerala politics.
His derisive comments about Nayanar shows that.
Who told you that he was a laughing stock?
Retards.
@kavitha
why do you try so much sensationalism in your comments. while some may be informative some are too pathetic. he helped china, peerless and what not.
Tell me one thing : Are you ok for Gowda’s grandson getting hummer imported.
Are you ok for Ambani row for personal gains.
Are you ok for pathetic poor malnourished agri population of great capitalist karnataka.
I would have lauded him if he had made India a part of china atleast they are much progressive and hardworking than lazy buggers of India known only for tripling densest population of world. Atleast nobody would have owned any land in Karnataka to fight every now and then on real estate.
Bengal is what is today because UP Bihar and Bengal are in a belt which have around 30-40 crores-(most dense in world) of people in ganga brahmaputra plain.
No capitalism would have developed such a population. One Lalu and one Maya were enough to start communal riots in such parts with a East Pakistan on other side.
It’s self evident that Media at large does go overboard in heaping praise on a departed one. I don’t know whether it’s typically and Indian trait or a universal one. May be something to do with our own samskara of speaking no evil about the dead?
He was a leftist and by that definition he was a polarising personality. So is the case with rightists too. The folks who thrive on the extremes generally tend to be so – the so called ‘closed mind’ isn’t the curse of communism/leftists alone.
MP comments //
in my own view, jyoti basu must take a great chunk of the blame for the great decline of bengal — from a state that produced vivekananda, netaji bose, bipin chandra pal, bankim chatterjee, rabindranath tagore, jagdish chandra bose, and ram mohun roy — bengal of the later 20th century became a wasteland of the human potential thanks to the nonsensical and hypocritical “labor struggle” feigned by the CPM.
//
Where would you fit in folks like Pt. Ravi Shankar, Mahashweta Devi, Sunil Gangopadhyaya, Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Amartya Sen? Aren’t they worthy sons of Bengal in the modern era?
Also what Marxism/communism has to do with the decline of human potential as exemplified by the names mentioned? Isn’t it evident that such decline is visible in every region of India irrespective of the ‘ism’ in play in that region?
For eg. is Karnataka any different? Do we have the likes of Da Ra Bendre, Kuvempu, Masti, Rajaratnam, K. Hanumanthaih, Shishunala Sharief, Vishweshwaraih, Dr. Raj, Sivarama Karant, B V Karant any longer? Isn’t that a decline irrespective of the regime?
I would rather pose a counter point. The decline in human excellence (in the fields of arts, fine arts, culture, philosophy and religion) is directly related to rise in consumerism, unbriddled capitalism and materialism.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T83h3utJ8LA&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
No one from Karnataka . No political party, no mediaperson .What a pity and pitier comments.
oh.. at last some real sense dawning up here.
The comparison of Bengal to the neighbours such as Bihar and UP drills the point.
The decline in human excellence (in the fields of arts, fine arts, culture, philosophy and religion) is directly related to rise in consumerism, unbriddled capitalism and materialism.
and this nailed it.
Thanks.
@Vishala Manassu:
This is a free market. Why don’t you start your own media outlet.
VM,
>>why do you try so much sensationalism in your comments. while some may be informative some are too pathetic. he helped china, peerless and what not.>>
Whatever I have written are hard facts and are verifiable by simple google search. I never said he helped China, the Communist Party then headed by JB, issued a statment saying that the 1964 Chinese aggression was a internal matter of China…go figure what that means.
Regarding Peerless Insurance, I was in calcutta when this happened and I know for a fact that WB government headed by JB borrowed money from Peerless Insurance to pay the salaries of the state employees, same way Chandrashekar pawned the gold reserve to raise money in the international market. This clearly shows what a startk hypocrite this guy was.
>>I would have lauded him if he had made India a part of china atleast they are much progressive and hardworking than lazy buggers of India known only for tripling densest population of world.>>
I know you root for China even now, but before you do that I suggest to do some reading on the pathetic existence of chinese in northern china and mongolia (most of the southern china is booming). What JB could not achieve may be achieved by his cronies Sitaram Yechuri, Prakash Carrot et all. So have patience.
>>Tell me one thing : Are you ok for Gowda’s grandson getting hummer imported.
Are you ok for Ambani row for personal gains.
Are you ok for pathetic poor malnourished agri population of great capitalist karnataka.>>
Where have I condoned the above acts? Moreoever what have these got to do with JBs 25 years of misrule in WB?
>> I would have lauded him if he had made India a part of china atleast they are much progressive and hardworking than lazy buggers of India known only for tripling densest population of world. Atleast nobody would have owned any land in Karnataka to fight every now and then on real estate.
Bengal is what is today because UP Bihar and Bengal are in a belt which have around 30-40 crores-(most dense in world) of people in ganga brahmaputra plain.
No capitalism would have developed such a population. One Lalu and one Maya were enough to start communal riots in such parts with a East Pakistan on other side.
>>
Ya ya you are right, more population so no capitalism can develop these states….Well we are delighted to watch 25 years of communist rule in WB atleast has provided 2 square meals to everyone, a house of their own and a fat bank balance, not to mention the flow of milk and honey in river hoogli on alternate days :)
@kavitha
“Chinese aggression was a internal matter of China…go figure what that means ”
it was a very sensible argument i think , while undivided soviet and US were into cold wars, and there was a clear demarcation of marxism and non marxism . You never know who instigated what and what exactly they wanted. Tibet and other issues were lame ones to show to media!
“Peerless”
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?221854 . The report says it made profits in 2001. Isn’t it that Tata also had lockout.
“I suggest to do some reading on the pathetic existence of chinese in northern china and mongolia”
I really have no information on that . Can you provide some links apart from something which bar internet and American and European caucasian pornography or is it only big buildings denote development.
“2 square meals to everyone, a house of their own and a fat bank balance, not to mention the flow of milk and honey in river hoogli on alternate days :)”
I think it’s a complicated one to be put so simple in often flood stricken and densely populated state; crime rate was low, stable and more importantly Agriculture is the leading occupation. With such water resources and no Tamil Nadu we are standing on opposite side to comment upon except for may be tea and coffee. I think workers of those estates enjoy much better rights than ours.
They haven’t drilled earth for exporting it out. They have better human rights . They have their own medium. Though human development with it’s misleading terms that there is no industry may put it at last spot.
It’s just that how you look things up.
i think frequent users of milk and honey are children. i hope they have sufficient. if adults start taking it on even alternate days from a river, law and order could become a problem.specially where arts and intellectual development without an able administration agenda – can only develop Sonagachi – not that Mumbai-the 70% slum is any lesser.
The drawbacks:
Marxism was not what was practiced fully but copied which have put them down. It would have been better if they had east bengal and west bengal out of india ; that would have paved the way for all to disintegrate politically like europe and be more independent and stable; instead of hearing home minister saying “internal threats are greatest security issues” every now and then while supporting corruption at all levels.
Still for all those who bat for bourgeosie and classful societies they have to look with wide eyes that some of the most reverred masters of what they think capitalism are mixed like
“A Waitress who became the world leader” was made by Rajiv Gandhi crossing borders.
A NRN for his starting communist days was made by Sudha Murthy.
Who can be as much closed as parsis?Still they have to adopt even if within families like TATA.
So all these are distributed forms of communism which are heartening.
But people forget their origin and fall into myth of capitalism.
@Complex
Free market , free competition are all myths. ideas , media brains, co workers and supporters are needed. elevating churumuri to a online news streaming portal would not be a bad choice though. are you ready?
communists are farce, bogus, and fake. They are no different from any other politicians. But they create an image as if they are greatest nationalists, patriots, seculars etc. etc.
Vishala Manassu,
Video you posted was related to media persons who were related to each other and has no relevance. Still if you are looking for Kannada Link.. Look at the end of the video for creators information :-).
Kavitha was right in pointing out Jyoti Basu deserved a “good riddance”. I have seen from very close quarters on how Jyoti Basu screwed up Bengal. He was a hypocrite. He used to lambast US during the day and used to drink Jack Daniels in the evening!!!
Supposedly, Jyoti Basu was also responsible for getting Bengal-ooru’s two famous mills — Raja & Minerva locked down for more than a year!?
Is it true? When did it happen?
Narayana,
JB was a hypocrite of all hypocrites. I have read a article by him long ago where he has written about his experience in a Israeli Kibbutz….this was the time when anti-semitism and israeli hathred was at its height among the communists and they were lionising sand land and its monarchs.
Basu said he made a historic blunder by saying no to PM’s kurchi..LOL..
a question now..
“Deve Gowda mattu Jyoti basu, ivaribbaralli yaaru better PM aagtidru?”
Well, Democratically elected Communists never made sense in India. I wonder how they survived for so many years in intellects filled Bengal duping them? Ppl must be so senseless and blind.
Jyoti Basu is a manifestation of Wesley Mouch from Atlas Shrugged. I guess that explains the state of Bengal as it is today.