Farewell, comrade Jyoti Basu

The steady hum in front of the private hospital in Kolkata became a stony silence at around 12.20pm on Sunday as the pale-faced Left Front chairman, Biman Bose, emerged from the building accompanied by an equally grim-faced Chandan Basu, Jyoti Basu’s son.

The growing apprehension became a harsh reality as Bose announced the demise of the legendary CPI(M) patriarch at 11.47am on Sunday. “I have sad news. Our favourite Jyoti Basu is no more with us,” said Bose, closing a long, illustrious chapter in the history of West Bengal, communism and, indeed, Indian politics.

The 17-day prolonged struggle came to an end on Sunday, as the 96-year-old fighter ended his last battle. As the news of Basu’s death spread across the city, the stretch of road in front of the hospital turned into a human sea.

Leaders cutting across political affiliations, celebrities from the world of culture, film and sports, and the common man rushed to the hospital to pay their last respects to the patriarch who rose from the ranks of a humble trade union leader to a legendary communist of global repute.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi sent a letter to Chandan Basu calling the veteran leader a “warrior for social justice” while Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, who had many political run-ins with Basu, described him as the “first and last chapter of the Left ront government”.