A Tribute to Jyoti Basu

A man born and brought up in elitist ambience was destined to be a mass leader.Yes he was Jyoti Basu who passed away yesterday.Educated in westernized atmosphere, all his life he was a Bengali from head to foot.A man of few words and matter-of-fact by nature, he was a gentleman to the core.A stictler of discipline, he abided by party mandate even if he differed from it .So when his party did not give him a consent to accept Prime Ministership offered to him, he didn’t hesitate to obey party’s dictum. However, he later called it a’ historic blunder’. He was the founder of LF govt in Bengal and for that matter a pathfinder of coalition govt in Indian politics. He successfully headed the coalition govt in the state for as many as 23 years and made a record of longest serving chief minister in our country. He deserved the credit of pioneering land reforms that immensely benefited thousands of peasants in the state.Introdution of Panchayet system added another feather to his cap. People will ever remember this colourful man and his eventful career dedicated to the well being of humanity.Salaam Jyoti Basu!