Opinion The old order passes away

I remember Jyoti Basu as serious and reserved and yet a very warm and considerate human leader. My first job after my Doctoral degree and returning home was at the Indian Institute of Management at Kolkota and he was then a distant leader for us. I remember telling my historian friend Barun De that he sounded to me like a Planning Commission expert rather than a fiery mass leader. I was to run into him again many times. In the late seventies they protested very strongly on a Planning Commission document when I was working there but separately a senior official was sent to tell us that they believed very much in the planning process and for day day to day work,it was business as usual. Since I had a lot to do with the document the next time I was at Kolkota I asked for and got an audience and he was very understanding to my arguments. He mentioned to me that at the personal level he was very fond of and close to the national leadership.

As Science and Technology Minister we asked him to release the first digital map of a Municipal Corporation area this time Kolkota. The event was held in the Coprpration’s hall which was of historic significance having leaders like Subhas Bose as their former Preesident. He gave a great speech but was skeptical of the satellite and maps.After inaugurating the map at the computer he asked if we could retrieve the data for a tax payer who owned a house. He gave the name of a friend of his and while we held our breath the name came on the console. His friend the display said was in arrears on the house tax.

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JNU Presidents are always radical when they are students. Mine was a member of the People’s Group the Mishra faction which had a few years earlier also agreed to use non violent methods. He used to see me often to say that the differences were not personal. He respected me as a teacher but as VC he was opposed. I would tell him not to push me to the point where the State has to be called in for then things would get out of control and once he pushed me to the point where I went on a hunger strike to win my point of view without calling in the police. Many years later he was shot by a gang of a politician with a criminal record. I was broken and one of the men I went to for justice was Jyoti babu. He hectored me on expecting too much from the system but my lobbying worked.

There are disagreements on many issues but leaders who are human beings first leave their mark in history.