West Bengal: Jyoti Basu Centre for Social Sciences Comes up Near Kolkata

Kolkata: On the 16th death anniversary of Jyoti Basu, Marxist leader and former Chief Minister of West Bengal, his party the CPI(M) held the inauguration of the building of the Jyoti Basu Centre for Social Studies and Research (JBCSSR) at New Town in Kolkata on Friday.

The well-attended programme in ‘Jyoti Basu Nagar’ in New Town saw the presence of well-known Bangladeshi Rabindra Sangeet singer Rezwana Choudhury Bannya as a “special guest”, along with Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo coordinator Prakash Karat, who inaugurated the building, and other top party leaders, such as Brinda Karat, Mohd Salim, Biman Basu among others.

As of now, only two floors of JBCSSR have been inaugurated. Basu was West Bengal Chief Minister from 1977 to 2000. The JBCSSR is built entirely from resources donated by the people of the state. On Friday, too, Rs 8 lakh was were collected from various individuals and organisations.

Speaking in the programme, Prakash Karat pointed out how “the barbarian forces” of Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtrioya Swayamsevak Sangh (BJP-RSS), as described by Basu, were in power now, heralding a new danger before the people of the country.

“When Jyoti Basu had described them as barbarian, then they were on the doors, but now they are holding power in the country. They are trying to break the secular fabric of the country and make India a Hindu country. Jyoti Basu, if alive, would definitely have led the fight against these forces of darkness”, recalling Basu’s role in protecting the country’s secular fabric in the communal aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992.

The foundation stone of JBCSSR building was laid exactly one year ago, on January 17, 2024, by the late CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.  Friday’s even time again remembered the leadership and contribution of Yechury and former West Bengal Chief Minister late Buddhadeb Bhattacharya to the progressive movement in the country and the state.

Karat also released two monographs -- Economic Deprivation in Rural West Bengal: Contours and Trajectory and Looming Crisis of Lives and Livelihood: Employment and Unemployment in West Bengal – and a memorial diary citing the life-long work of Jyoti Basu,

Professor Ishita  Mukherjee  of Calcutta University, who handed over the two monographs to Karat for their release, said at a time when the Central and state governments were “lying” about statistical information, these two books contained a “huge amount” of statistical information on the real condition of the falling economy of West Bengal and the condition of employment and unemployment statistics .

Karat said such “research-oriented work” be helpful to strengthen the working class movement in the country .

CPI(M) state secretary Mohd Salim said that JBCSSR-led studies would come in handy for the study of social sciences in the state and pointed out how during Basu’s Chief Ministership, he would lay emphasis on social studies in South Asia.

“Now, when in our country and in our close neighbourhood, democracy and secularism has come under attack, the need for such in-depth studies is greater. It is the need of the hour,” he said, adding that “in the state, some well-decorated houses have come up, but the education and health sectors were showing dismal performance.”

Bangladesh Rabindra Sangeet singer Rezwana also recalled her interactions with Basu during her student days in Santiniketan, and hoped the JBCSSR would play a role in strengthening the relationship between the two countries. She also sang Tagore songs on the occasion.

JBCSSR chairman and Left Front Chairman Biman Basu rued that the state government during LF rule had dedicated the New Town area to the former Cm and named it Jyoti Basu Nagar but after coming to power, the present ruling dispensation led by Mamata Banerjee has reversed the decision.

“We want the name of the New Town to be rechristened Jyoti Basu Nagar, as it was the then housing minister Goutam Deb who, with advice from Basu, who built the New Town city with his tireless efforts,” said Salim, who also demanded that the Metro station near JBCSSR be named after Jyoti Basu.

The event also saw cultural programmes by the Indian People’s Theatre Association or IPTA, as well as from artistes Riya Rahul and Diganta.