Jyoti Basu: Difference between revisions

Jyotirindra Basu was born on 8 July 1914 to a middle-class [[Bengali Kayastha]] family at 43/1 Harrison Road, [[Calcutta]], [[British India]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Pandey|first=Samyak|date=8 July 2019|title=Jyoti Basu, the beacon of Indian Communism who almost became prime minister|url=https://theprint.in/theprint-profile/jyoti-basu-the-beacon-of-indian-communism-who-almost-became-prime-minister/260008/|website=[[ThePrint]]|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=WB Polls: Mamata's triumph, a victory of class over caste|url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/wb-polls-mamatas-triumph-a-victory-of-class-over-caste-sunanda-k-datta-ray|access-date=2020-10-10|website=Free Press Journal|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Political Collapse Of Bengal's Upper Caste Bhadralok Hegemony And BJP's Prize|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/opinion-political-collapse-of-bengals-upper-caste-bhadralok-hegemony-and-bjps-prize/357287|access-date=2020-10-10|website=Outlook India}}</ref> His father, Nishikanta Basu was a doctor whose hometown was the village of Barudi in [[Dhaka District]] of the [[Bengal Presidency]] while his mother Hemlata Basu was a housewife.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|date=17 January 2010|title=Jyoti Basu: A profile|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/jyoti-basu-a-profile/|website=[[The Indian Express]]|language=en}}</ref> He grew up in an Indian style [[joint family]] and was the youngest of three siblings.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5" /> He had an affectionate nickname called Gana.<ref name=":1" /> One of his elder uncles, Nilinkanta Basu was a judge in the [[High courts of India|High Court]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Chattopadhyay|first=Suhrid Sankar|date=12 February 2010|title=End of an era|url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/cover-story/article30179127.ece|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614204904/https://frontline.thehindu.com/cover-story/article30179127.ece|archive-date=14 June 2020|website=[[Frontline (magazine)]]|publisher=[[The Hindu]]|language=en}}</ref> His family also retained ancestral lands in Barudi where Jyoti Basu is described to have spent part of his childhood.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=Sengupta|first=Ananya|date=19 August 2010|title=Bangla to fulfil Basu wish - Barudi house to be turned into library and museum|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/bangla-to-fulfil-basu-wish-barudi-house-to-be-turned-into-library-and-museum/cid/486001|website=[[Telegraph India]]|language=en}}</ref> The Barudi home of Basu was later turned into a library after his death, reportedly on his wishes.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite news|date=18 January 2010|title=Basu's ancestral house in Bangladesh to be made a library|work=[[The Economic Times]]|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/basus-ancestral-house-in-bangladesh-to-be-made-a-library/articleshow/5472632.cms}}</ref>

Basu's schooling began in 1920 at [[Loreto Schools, Kolkata|Loreto School]] [[Kindergarten]] in [[Dharmatala]], [[Calcutta]].<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":3" /> His father shortened his name from Jyotirindra to Jyoti during the time of admission.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> However, three years later he was shifted to the [[St. Xaviers School, Calcutta]].<ref name=":2" /> He completed his [[intermediate education]] from St. Xaviers in 1932.<ref>{{Cite web|date=17 January 2010|title=ज्योति बसु के बिना भारत में वामपंथ का इतिहास अधूरा|url=https://aajtak.intoday.in/story/without-jyoti-basu-the-history-of-the-left-in-india-is-incomplete-1-24444.html|website=[[Aaj Tak]]|language=hi}}</ref><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":32">{{Cite web|date=17 January 2010|title=Life and times of a Marxist icon|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/kolkata/life-and-times-of-a-marxist-icon/story-gHv92izXE4UyVOBrMEbIjJ.html|website=[[Hindustan Times]]|language=en}}</ref> Subsequently, he took an undergraduate course in English from the [[Hindu College, Calcutta]] (later renamed to Presidency College).<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /> Following his graduation in 1935,<ref>{{Cite news|date=17 January 2010|title=Jyoti Basu: The Marxist who almost became India's PM|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/Jyoti-Basu-The-Marxist-who-almost-became-Indias-PM/article16840016.ece|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621052631/https://www.thehindu.com/news/Jyoti-Basu-The-Marxist-who-almost-became-Indias-PM/article16840016.ece|archive-date=21 June 2020|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> he acquired admission in the [[University College, London]] (UCL) to study Law and became a barrister at [[Middle Temple]] on 26 January 1940.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite web|last=Roy|first=Amit|date=18 January 2010|title=The second home - London, the land that turned Basu into a Marxist, was also his favourite holiday destination|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/the-second-home-london-the-land-that-turned-basu-into-a-marxist-was-also-his-favourite-holiday-destination/cid/555533|website=[[Telegraph India]]|language=en}}</ref> He had already left for India by the time he acquired his barristerial qualification which he received in absentia.<ref name=":6" />

During his stay in [[London]], he became involved in political discourse and activism for the first time.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> Besides his general curriculum at UCL, he would attend various lectures on [[political organisation]], [[constitutional law]], [[international law]] and [[anthropology]] at the [[London School of Economics]] (LSE).<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|title=A faded entry card opens up the class of 1935|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/a-faded-entry-card-opens-up-the-class-of-1935/cid/555552|access-date=14 June 2020|website=[[Telegraph India]]|language=en}}</ref> Due to which, he is also credited as an alumnus of LSE.<ref name="lse">{{cite web |url=http://www.lse.ac.uk/south-asia-centre/countries/india |title=India at LSE South Asia Centre |website=lse.ac.uk |publisher=[[London School of Economics and Political Science]] }}</ref><ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Chandran|first=Ramesh|date=15 January 1986|title=I.G. Patel: The 'old fashioned socialist and low-key' London School of Economics director|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/international/story/19860115-i.g.-patel-the-old-fashioned-socialist-and-low-key-london-school-of-economics-director-800492-1986-01-15|website=[[India Today]]|language=en}}</ref> He had reportedly attended the lectures of the political theorist and economist, [[Harold Laski]] and was influenced by his [[anti-fascism]].<ref name=":4" /> By 1937, Basu was an active member of several [[anti-imperialist]] Indian students unions such as the [[India League]] and the Federation of Indian Students,<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> and had become acquainted with young Indian communists such as [[Bhupesh Gupta]] and [[Snehangshu Acharya]].<ref name=":4" />

In 1938, he had also become a founding member of the London Majlis and subsequently its first secretary.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":2" /> Apart from raising [[public opinion]] for the cause of [[Indian independence movement|Indian independence]], one of the primary function of the Majlis was to arrange receptions for Indian leaders who were visiting England at the time.<ref name=":4" /> Through the Majlis, Basu came into contact with various Indian independence movement leaders such as [[Subhas Chandra Bose]], [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], [[Krishna Menon]] and [[Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit]].<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" />

On returning to [[Calcutta]], [[India]] in early 1940,<ref name=":02">{{Cite news|last=Yardley|first=Jim|date=17 January 2010|title=Jyoti Basu, Leader of Communists in India, Dies at 95|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/18/world/asia/18basu.html|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Basu enrolled as a barrister at the [[Calcutta High Court]],<ref name=":4" /> and married Basanti Ghosh.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|date=25 January 2010|title=Jyoti Basu: Marxist politician who combined realpolitik and revolutionary ideas|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/jyoti-basu-marxist-politician-who-combined-realpolitik-and-revolutionary-ideas-1877891.html|website=[[The Independent]]|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> However, in the same year, he also inducted himself as an activist affiliated to the [[Communist Party of India]] (CPI).<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":32" /> His entry into the communist movement at the time had reportedly been in opposition to the wishes of his relatively well off family.<ref name=":32" /><ref name=":9">{{Cite news|title=Jyoti Basu|work=[[The Economist]]|url=https://www.economist.com/obituary/2010/01/21/jyoti-basu|issn=0013-0613}}</ref> Following the [[Meerut conspiracy]] in 1929, the Communist Party had also been made illegal by British authorities,<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":67">{{Cite journal|last=Stolte|first=Carolien|date=1 December 2013|title=Trade Unions on Trial: The Meerut Conspiracy Case and Trade Union Internationalism, 1929-32|journal=Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East|publisher=[[Duke University Press]]|volume=33|issue=3|pages=345–346|doi=10.1215/1089201X-2378130}}</ref> as a result Basu was initially involved in providing liaison and safe houses for underground Communist leaders in the Independence movement.<ref name=":32" /><ref name=":4" /> However soon afterwards, he also became involved in organising railway workers, planning strikes and is described to have preferred [[direct action]] over [[ballot box]] in the initial years.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":13">{{Cite web|last=Roy|first=Bidyut|date=18 January 2010|title=Communist who almost became PM - Indian Express|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/communist-who-almost-became-pm/568487/0|website=[[Indian Express]]}}</ref>

In the following [[Bengal famine of 1943]], the members of the Communist Party including Basu were involved in famine relief work.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":10">{{Cite journal|last=Simonow|first=Joanna|date=2 January 2020|title=The Great Bengal Famine in Britain: Metropolitan Campaigning for Food Relief and the End of Empire, 1943–44|journal=The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|volume=48|issue=1|pages=168–197|doi=10.1080/03086534.2019.1638622|s2cid=199282464}}</ref> The party also organised "People's Food Committees" which would attempt to force hoarders into releasing their stocks for distribution; Basu participated in the organisation of such committees in [[Calcutta]] and [[Midnapore]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gupta|first=Ranajit Das|title=Economy, Society, and Politics in Bengal: Jalpaiguri, 1869-1947|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=1992|isbn=978-0195628418|pages=286–288}}</ref><ref name=":10" /> According to Basu's testimony, they only had a small organisation at the time and did the best they could while the famine took the lives of over 3 million people.<ref name="Menon">{{Cite news|last=Menon|first=Parvathi|date=18 January 2010|title=The Left Front has provided an alternative model of government: Jyoti Basu|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/The-Left-Front-has-provided-an-alternative-model-of-government-Jyoti-Basu/article16838203.ece|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619222721/https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/The-Left-Front-has-provided-an-alternative-model-of-government-Jyoti-Basu/article16838203.ece|archive-date=19 June 2020|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> Basu was elected to the Bengal provincial committee of the Communist Party in the same year.<ref name=":32" /> He would later participate in the [[Tebhaga movement]] between 1945–1947 that sought to end the food crisis in Bengal, in a supportive capacity as a [[Trade unionist|railway unionist]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Debroy|first=Bibek|date=20 January 2010|title=Column: A gentleman, then a communist|url=https://www.financialexpress.com/archive/column-a-gentleman-then-a-communist/568782/|website=[[The Financial Express (India)|The Financial Express]]|language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1946, Basu was appointed by the Communist Party to contest as the candidate for the Railway Employee's constituency in the [[Bengal Legislative Assembly]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Nagchoudhury|first=Subrata|date=15 April 1996|title=Jyoti Basu: Rock-solid cadre base assures Left Front that its trusted warhorse will deliver|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19960415-jyoti-basu-rock-solid-cadre-base-assures-left-front-that-its-trusted-warhorse-will-deliver-834705-1996-04-15|website=[[India Today]]|language=en}}</ref> He subsequently defeated [[Humayun Kabir]] of the [[Indian National Congress]] and was elected to the assembly.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last=Paul|first=Prasanta|date=18 January 2010|title=Man of seeming contradictions|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/content/47407/man-seeming-contradictions.html|website=[[Deccan Herald]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=17 January 2010|title=Date with history: chronology of Jyoti Basu's life|url=https://www.news18.com/news/politics/date-with-history-chronology-of-jyoti-basus-life-332197.html|website=[[News18]]}}</ref> He is noted to have given a "soul stirring speech" on the presiding food crisis in the Bengal Assembly;<ref name=":11" /> according to him the only means of solving the issue was to completely dismantle the [[Zamindari system]] and the [[Permanent Settlement]] agreement, and to drive out the British with haste.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Dev|first1=Bimal J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oo10MkzU5DQC&q=jyoti+basu&pg=PA211|title=Assam Muslims: Politics & Cohesion|last2=Lahiri|first2=Dilip K.|publisher=Mittal Publications|year=1985|location=Delhi 110035|pages=101–103}}</ref> Basu had also organised a continuous railway strike in support of the [[1946 Royal Indian Navy ratings revolt]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Vasudevan|first=H.|date=2017|editor-last=Naimark|editor-first=N.|editor2-last=Pons|editor2-first=S.|editor3-last=Quinn-Judge|editor3-first=S.|title=Communism in India|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-communism/communism-in-india/AABAF545CE8A7E6DAB9AC2B01681613D|journal=The Cambridge History of Communism|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|pages=491–517|doi=10.1017/9781316459850.021|isbn=9781316459850}}</ref><ref name="Menon"/> and later secured the release of various political prisoners on 24 July 1946.<ref name=":13" /><ref name=":14" />

The new assembly therefore instituted the [[Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act#History|West Bengal Special Powers Act 1947]] modelled on the [[Defence of India Act 1915]]; the act gave [[Checks and Balances|unchecked power]] to the [[bureaucracy]] and the police to suppress public agitations allowing [[law enforcement]] to detain individuals for up to 6 months without trial on [[reasonable grounds]], which was justified on the grounds of maintaining the [[Law and order (politics)|law and order]] situation.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|last=Bandyopadhyay|first=Sekhar|title=Decolonization in South Asia: Meanings of Freedom in Post-independence West Bengal, 1947–52|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2009|isbn=978-1-134-01823-9|location=[[Oxford]] & [[New York City]]|pages=71–74|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4" />  The bill was inordinately criticised and opposed by Basu who declared that "it seeks to perpetuate (the undemocratic rule)".<ref name=":12" /> In 1948, the government sought to extent the act through the West Bengal Security Ordinance which would remove the restriction of "reasonable grounds" for imprisonment.<ref name=":19" /> According to Basu, the new ordinance had made it clear that the Congress intended to establish a [[police state]] in [[West Bengal]].<ref name=":19">{{Cite book|last=Bandyopadhyay|first=Sekhar|title=Decolonization in South Asia: Meanings of Freedom in Post-independence West Bengal, 1947–52|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2009|isbn=978-1-134-01823-9|location=[[Oxford]] & [[New York City]]|pages=95–96|language=en}}</ref> By this time, the state of West Bengal had already been declared as a "problem province" by the Congress administration and [[Bidhan Chandra Roy]] replaced as the new chief minister.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":17" />

In the following period the Communist Party was made illegal by the government on allegations of trying to incite on open rebellion and Basu repeatedly arrested as a result;<ref name=":14" /><ref name=":13" /><ref name=":21">{{Cite web|last=Nagchoudhury|first=Subrata|date=24 January 2010|title=Jyoti Basu alias Bocha alias Bakul: fair,thin,oblong face,walks fast|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/jyoti-basu-alias-bocha-alias-bakul-fair-thin-oblong-face-walks-fast/|website=[[The Indian Express]]|language=en}}</ref> on 24 March 1948, he was imprisoned for a period of three months and released on the orders of the [[Calcutta High Court]].<ref name=":13" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":21" /> In December 1948, he married a second time, this time with Kamala Devi but soon went into hiding and kept changing residences due to an ongoing crackdown on communist leaders.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":32" /><ref name=":4" /> For a period at the time, he had reportedly lived alongside [[Indrajit Gupta]], who would later become the [[Home Minister of India]].<ref name=":4" /> In 1949, Basu had remained as the vice-president of the [[All India Railwaymen's Federation]].<ref name=":15">{{Cite book|last=Bandyopadhyay|first=Sekhar|title=Decolonization in South Asia: Meanings of Freedom in Post-independence West Bengal, 1947–52|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2009|isbn=978-1-134-01823-9|location=[[Oxford]] & [[New York City]]|pages=120|language=en}}</ref> In the same year, the federation had held a strike ballot which displayed overwhelming support for a railway strike on 9 March in demand of better wages and working conditions in the [[Indian Railways]].<ref name=":16">{{Cite journal|last=Park|first=Richard L.|date=1949|title=Labor and Politics in India|journal=Far Eastern Survey|volume=18|issue=16|pages=184–186|doi=10.2307/3024423|jstor=3024423|issn=0362-8949}}</ref> The strike notice was however withdraw by the [[socialist]] leadership of the federation to whom the government had shown a reconciliatory attitude but the communist members under the leadership of Basu insisted on proceeding with the strike which resulted in disciplinary action being taken against the communists.<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":16" /> Subsequently, the government also decided to crack down on the communist leadership by arresting 118 leaders involved in the railway sector in [[West Bengal]] including Basu. In the aftermath, the strike was a failure as the administration mobilised troops and [[West Bengal Police|police force]] to prevent any disruption from communist influenced union members.<ref name=":15" />

After the adoption of the [[Constitution of India]] in 1950, the ban on the Communist Party was lifted on the orders of the Calcutta High Court.<ref name=":4" /> In September 1951, Congress attempted to renew the Security Act with the introduction of the West Bengal Security (Amendment) Bill of 1951 which raised criticism in the assembly on the lines of creating an environment of fear and [[intimidation]] on the eve of the first elections to the assembly which were to be held in December.<ref name=":18" /> Although the bill was passed once again despite Basu's persistent opposition, this time he had garnered the support of a number of [[Gandhian]] Congress members including from the former chief minister and architect of the bill, P. C. Ghosh, all of whom had resigned from the party and formed their own [[Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party]] by the time of voting.<ref name=":18" /> In same year, the Bengali daily organ ''Swadhinata'' of the Communist Party was resumed and Basu appointed as the president of its editorial board.<ref name=":32" /><ref name=":4" /> The legislative assembly elections for 1951 were also held by the [[Election commission|Election Commission]] in March 1952 instead.<ref name=":22">{{Cite web|title=West Bengal 1951|url=https://eci.gov.in/files/file/3181-west-bengal-1951/|website=[[Election Commission of India]]}}</ref>

Even after the [[Independence of India]], the [[Calcutta Tramways Company]] had remained a British-owned company which operated in partnership with the [[Government of West Bengal]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=18 October 1951|title=West Bengal Act XXV of 1951: The Calcutta Tramway Act, 1951|url=https://sarthac.gov.in/view-act-file?file_id=2581}}</ref><ref name=":26">{{Cite journal|last=Roy|first=Siddhartha Guha|date=29 December 1990|title=Fare Hike and Urban Protest-Calcutta Crowd in 1953|url=https://www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/2014_49/25/SPECIAL%20ARTICLES_Fare%20Hike%20and%20Urban%20Protest-Calcutta%20Crowd%20in%201953.pdf|journal=[[Economic & Political Weekly]]|language=en|volume=25|issue=52|pages=2863–2867}}</ref> On 25 June 1953, the company announced a [[Fare|fare hike]] for [[Travel class|second class passengers]] that was to be implemented from 1 July onwards, which was supported by the West Bengal Government.<ref name=":26" /> In response to the move, the "Tram and Bus Fare Enhancement Resistance Committee" was formed in which Basu was inducted as the representative of the Communist Party.<ref name=":26" /><ref name=":21" /> The [[Calcutta Tramway Union]] announced their support for the committee and published statistical data through the ''Swadhinata'' which displayed that the company was privy to "swelling profits" concluding the fare hike to be "absolutely uncalled for".<ref name=":26" /> From the day of implementation of the new fares, the city underwent a series of agitations which began with [[disobedience]] to pay the new prices and caused severe losses for the company, culminating into police deployment and arrests of hundreds of disobedient passengers.<ref name=":26" />

Basu was arrested on 4 July alongside [[Ganesh Ghosh]] and [[Subodh Banerjee]] who were also involved in the agitations, he was bailed out the following day.<ref name=":26" /><ref name=":23" /> On 7 July, during a large [[picketing]] of the company headquarters at Mango Lane in Calcutta, five Resistance Committee leaders including Basu met with A.C.T Blease who was the agent of the company in India and presenting him with the demands of unilateral withdrawal of the fare hike.<ref name=":26" /> On the evening of the same day, 500 citizens including Basu were arrested under the [[Preventive detention|Preventive Detention]] Act which had been earlier implemented through the Security Act.<ref name=":26" /><ref name=":18" /> Over the course of the month the movement faced progressively increased [[police action]] and subsequently heightened [[civil unrest]] spreading all across [[West Bengal]] with [[general strikes]], [[mass demonstration]]s, tramway [[boycotts]] to [[hunger strikes]] from imprisoned agitators and even violent confrontations between the police and agitators on the streets. In the end, the five committee leaders including Basu were released on 26 July, the fare hike scrapped by the Chief Minister [[Bidhan Chandra Roy]] on 31 July and the remaining imprisoned agitators released by 2 August.<ref name=":26" />

In January 1954,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kautsky|first=John H.|date=1955|title=Indian Communist Party Strategy Since 1947|journal=[[Pacific Affairs]]|volume=28|issue=2|pages=158|jstor=3035378|issn=0030-851X}}</ref> the Communist party held its third congress in [[Madurai]] and Basu was elected as the new [[Central Committee]] member during the congress.<ref name=":32" /><ref name=":4" /> In February, Basu became involved in the 1954 teachers' agitation in West Bengal.<ref name=":20" /><ref name=":25" /> The All Bengal Teachers Association (ABTA) had been called for implementing the recommendations of the [[Higher Secondary School Certificate|Secondary Board]] for raising the allowances of secondary school teachers.<ref name=":24" /> The association was joined in by various [[labour union]]s and opposition parties in support of their demand.<ref name=":24" /> The government as a result decided to crack down on the leaders of the agitation but Basu escaped custody and took refuge in the [[West Bengal Legislature]]. The police force who were trying to arrest him through the Preventive Detention Act were reluctant to enter the assembly to arrest a [[legislator]]. In Basu's testimony, he states that it was easier for him support the agitation from inside the assembly by projecting the police action on the movement without getting arrested.<ref name=":20" />

Basu is noted to have opposed the proposal from both within and outside the assembly, he presided over the mass meeting at [[Dharmatala|Wellington Square]] in opposition to the proposal and severely criticised the governor's position in support of the proposal.<ref name=":27" /><ref name=":25" /> According to his testimony, the proposal was akin to a conspiracy to annihilate the basic identity of Bengal.<ref name=":27" /> Basu presented the idea of the proposal as a poll issue for the [[by-elections]] of the year, supporting the candidacy of [[Mohit Mitra]] who the Central Committee's secretary for linguistic reorganisation and declared that the results should reflect the [[Mandate (politics)|people's mandate]]. In the subsequent by-elections, Mohit Mitra won from the [[Calcutta North East (Lok Sabha constituency)|Calcutta North East constituency]] and [[Lal Behari Das]] won from the [[Khejuri (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Khejuri constituency]], defeating their Congress counterparts by a margin of over 20,000 in both constituencies which caused the Chief Minister Bidhan Chandra Roy to scrap the merger proposal.<ref name=":27" />

By the end of 1958, the Communist Party initiated the formation of the [[Price Increase and Famine Resistance Committee]] (PIFRC) in collaboration with the other primarily leftist members of the opposition.<ref name=":30" /><ref name=":29" /> Basu became one of the formative leaders of the committee.<ref name=":30" /><ref name=":28" /> Food insecurity in West Bengal had reached a critical stage at the time and its persistence was largely blamed on the Food Ministry and the [[Indian National Congress]] wherein the Communist Party had continuously asserted that the Congress party had been reduced to the representative party of hoarders, landlords and [[jotedar]]s and that there would be no solution without direct action and sustained public pressure.<ref name=":28" /> Initially the committee principally engaged itself in laying down demands for [[price control]], [[Land reform|redistribution of state lands]] and organising agitations with that in retrospect.<ref name=":30">{{Cite book|last=Rao|first=M. V. S. Koteswara|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3e0SAQAAMAAJ|title=Communist parties and United Front experience in Kerala and West Bengal|date=2003|publisher=Prajasakti Book House|isbn=978-81-86317-37-2|location=[[Hyderabad]]|pages=210–233|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":51" />

On 10 February 1959, Basu and other leaders of the PIFRC met with the Chief Minister, [[Bidhan Chandra Roy]] who gave them verbal assurances that ration shops will be restocked offering amenable prices but the assurances weren't followed through. On 26 April, Union Food Minister, [[Ajit Prasad Jain]] declared that the food situation in West Bengal was "easy, smooth and comfortable".<ref name=":28" /> This caused widespread public outrage and led to the intensification of the [[Food Movement of 1959|Food movement of 1959]] between May–June as the situation was further aggravated by hoarders attempting to save up stocks in illegal go-downs and [[warehouse]]s.<ref name=":28" /><ref name=":30" /> The persistent refusal of the Government of West Bengal to consider the demands presented also provoked the PIFRC into augmenting the demands to include enactment of ceilings on [[private land holdings]] and confiscation without compensation of excessive lands owned by ''[[Zamindars]]'' (trans: Landlords); these were presented in parallel with general strikes and organised [[direct action]] endorsed and supported by the committee to locate and force the sale of hidden stocks of rice.<ref name=":30" /><ref name=":51" />

In August, the police arrested 35 prominent leaders of the committee including 7 [[members of legislative assembly]] through the usage of the Preventive Detention Act and the West Bengal Security Act.<ref name=":31" /> The movement however continued with civil disobedience, continuous general strikes and [[mass demonstration]]s while Basu was also able to evade arrest.<ref name=":4" /> On 31 August 1959, a massive demonstration cum general strike was held in the city of Calcutta which brought the city and its surrounding districts to a standstill and ended with lathi charges and instances of [[police violence]] on protesters.<ref name=":28" /><ref name=":33">{{Cite journal|last=Mukherji|first=Asoke Kumar|date=1968|title=The politics of organised pressure: A study of the emerging pattern of political culture in West Bengal|journal=The Indian Journal of Political Science|volume=29|issue=4|pages=337–348|jstor=41854292|issn=0019-5510}}</ref> This caused an outburst of students protests against police atrocities and led to instances of [[Police shooting|police firing]] on student protesters. Over the course of the following days between 2–5 September, civil unrest with large scale participation from students of schools, colleges and universities erupted across the city accompanied by violent encounters with the police, [[vandalism]] and mass shootings by the police;<ref name=":34">{{Cite book|last1=Ray|first1=Asok Kumar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bjkBM3qyZ00C|title=Society, Politics, and Development in North East India: Essays in Memory of Dr. Basudeb Datta Ray|last2=Chakraborty|first2=Satyabrata|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|year=2008|isbn=978-81-8069-572-8|pages=89|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":33" /> in the end around 46–80 civilians were killed.<ref name=":33" /><ref name=":28" /> The opposition leaders including Basu accused the government of having turned "[[authoritarian]] and ruthless" and reasoned that there was no space for the continuation of a democratic mass movement.<ref name=":33" /> In light of the violence, the PIFRC formally withdrew the agitation by 26 September and the committee was disbanded.<ref name=":28" />

In the aftermath and over the course of the following years, Basu condemned the "police barbarism" against the agitators, engaging in fiery criticisms against the government and even brought a [[motion of no confidence]], although it was defeated due to a lack of requisite members.<ref name=":28" /> The series of events had also heightened public [[resentment]] against the Congress government across West Bengal, especially in Calcutta and would set the foundation for latter [[political activism]] in the following decade.<ref name=":28" /><ref name=":34" /><ref name=":33" /> The food movement would also go on in the form of a number of localised spontaneous agitations over the following years till the next large scale flare up in 1966.<ref name=":282">{{Cite journal|last=Basu|first=Sibaji Pratim|title=West Bengal: The Food Movements of 1959 & 1966|url=http://www.mcrg.ac.in/RLS_PML/RLS_PM/RLS_PM_Abstracts/Sibaji.pdf|journal=Calcutta Research Group}}</ref><ref name=":51" />

In the [[1962 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election|West Bengal Legislative Assembly election of 1962]], Basu was once again re-elected as the representative of the Baranagar constituency and the Communist Party increased its vote share from 17.81% to 24.96%.<ref name=":36" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=West Bengal 1962|url=https://eci.gov.in/files/file/3183-west-bengal-1962/|website=[[Election Commission of India]]}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> In the following period the Communist Party underwent a vertical split with a section of the party including Basu going on to form the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]]. There were several ongoing ideological conflicts between sections within the Communist Party with regards to the nature of the [[Indian State]] and the characterisation and method of interaction with the [[Indian National Congress]], with regards to the approach towards the [[Sino-Soviet split|ongoing debate]] between the [[Soviet Union]] and China and with regards to the handling of the [[border disputes between India and China]].<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":38" /> These debates were further exacerbated by the food movement in West Bengal and brought to the forefront by the rising border tensions between India and China.<ref name=":282" /><ref name=":37">{{Cite news|last=Doctor|first=Vikram|date=7 October 2012|title=1962 India-China war: Why India needed that jolt|work=[[The Economic Times]]|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/1962-india-china-war-why-india-needed-that-jolt/articleshow/16703076.cms}}</ref> The Communist Party had also become the second largest party in the [[Lok Sabha]] following the [[1962 Indian general election]] with nearly 10% vote share which is described to have brought prominence to the internal divisions of the party.<ref>{{Cite web|title=General Election, 1962 (Vol I, II)|url=https://eci.gov.in/files/file/4113-general-election-1962-vol-i-ii/|website=[[Election Commission of India]]}}</ref><ref name=":37" />

The party was broadly divided into two sections namely the National Front (referred to as the "rightist section") and the Democratic Front (referred to as the "leftist section").<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":38" /> Basu belonging to the latter advocated for radical change to supplant the domination of big landlords, capitalists and monopolists in the Indian [[polity]] and opposed any conditional support for [[Nehruvian socialism|Nehruvian policies]] while denouncing the "[[Revisionism (Marxism)|revisionist]] position" taken by the former to support [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] on certain issues.<ref name=":35">{{Cite web|date=27 January 2010|editor-last=C.G|editor-first=Manoj|title=Basu's first editorial|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/basus-first-editorial/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718002446/https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/basus-first-editorial/|archive-date=18 July 2020|website=[[The Indian Express]]|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":37" /> The militant food movement in West Bengal also emboldened the leftist anti-Congress section to overwhelm the rightist section which sought tactical cooperation with the Indian National Congress.<ref name=":282" /> On the other hand, with the flare up of the [[Sino-Indian War]], the leftist section of the Communist Party was portrayed as "pro–china" by their opponents from both within and outside the party.<ref name="Namboodiripad's writings">{{cite news|last=Bhaskar|first=B. R. P.|date=16 November 2004|title=Book Review: Namboodiripad's writings|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|url=http://www.hindu.com/br/2004/11/16/stories/2004111600451403.htm|access-date=14 March 2015}}</ref><ref name=":39" /> Before the outbreak of the war, the section had taken the stance that dialogue and diplomatic partnership with the Chinese would resolve the disputes, however Basu himself was more sceptical and advocated for the adoption of a twin strategy of maintaining the [[border outpost]]s inside Tibet and then engaging in talks using the outposts as a form of leverage ahead of any commencement on a new treaty.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bhaumik|first=Anirban|date=11 April 2013|title=Jyoti Basu was sceptic about Chinese|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/content/325289/jyoti-basu-sceptic-chinese.html|website=[[Deccan Herald]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Basu|first=Pradip|title=Towards Naxalbari (1953-1967): An Account of Inner-party Ideological Struggle|publisher=Progressive Publishers|year=2000|isbn=978-81-86383-76-6|pages=36–47|language=en}}</ref>

The leftist section continued to oppose the Chinese stand on the India-China frontier but was also opposed to providing unconditional support to the [[Fourth Nehru ministry|Nehru government]] because of its "[[Class in Marxist theory|class character]]" contrary to the rightist section which had declared outright support for the central government.<ref name=":39">{{Cite book|last1=Chandra|first1=Bipan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y5JEDxGZTOUC&q=class+charecter|title=India After Independence: 1947-2000|last2=Mukherjee|first2=Mridula|last3=Mukherjee|first3=Aditya|publisher=Penguin UK|year=2000|isbn=978-93-5118-120-0|pages=202–208|language=en}}</ref> This stance of the leftist section came as dissatisfactory to the Nehru government which had imposed a state of [[national emergency]] and introduced the [[Defence of India Ordinance, 1962]], and henceforth utilised them to imprison various opposition leaders and activists as well as [[Chinese Indian internment|Chinese Indian citizens]].<ref name=":40">{{Cite book|last=Omar|first=Imtiaz|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o6-wZP7Tz8YC&q=1962|title=Emergency Powers and the Courts in India and Pakistan|date=28 March 2002|publisher=[[Martinus Nijhoff Publishers]]|isbn=978-90-411-1775-5|pages=85–96|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":38">{{Cite web|last=Daniyal|first=Shoaib|date=26 April 2015|title=As CPI and CPI-M mull merger, a short history of how they split up in the first place|url=http://scroll.in/article/722209/as-cpi-and-cpi-m-mull-merger-a-short-history-of-how-they-split-up-in-the-first-place|website=[[Scroll.in]]|language=en-US}}</ref> Basu was imprisoned among other major communist leaders such as the former [[List of chief ministers of Kerala|chief minister]] of Kerala, [[E. M. S. Namboodiripad]], the organisational specialist [[Promode Dasgupta]], the [[Indian revolutionary movement|Indian revolutionary]] freedom fighter, [[Benoy Choudhury]], the [[Telangana revolutionaries]], [[Puchalapalli Sundarayya]] and [[Makineni Basavapunnaiah]] as well as some members of the rightist section such as the trade unionist [[A. B. Bardhan]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sharma|first=Pranay|date=22 October 2012|title=Dialectical Schism|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/dialectical-schism/282594|website=[[Outlook India]]}}</ref><ref name=":37" /><ref name=":4" /> Basu reportedly received the news of his father's death during this time in prison.<ref name=":4" /> Although, the war ended in November 1962, the detainees were only released in December 1963 after an order from the [[Supreme Court of India]].<ref name=":40" />

On 11 April 1964, in a landmark incident, 32 members from the "Leftist faction" in the CPI national council including Basu walked out of a meeting in [[Delhi]] with the stated intent of forming the "real communist party".<ref name=":41" /><ref name=":38" /> The section organised their own conference in [[Tenali]], [[Andhra Pradesh]] which concluded with a resolution to form a new party and in the seventh congress held between 31 October to 7 November in Calcutta, the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] was formally founded. Basu was elected to the first politburo of the new party being one of the nine founding members commonly referred to as the ''[[Navaratnas]]'' (trans: nine gems).<ref name=":41">{{Cite web|last=Chatterjee|first=Manini|date=3 April 2008|title=Nine to none, founders' era ends in CPM|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/nine-to-none-founders-era-ends-in-cpm/cid/593525|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100221050425/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080404/jsp/frontpage/story_9094771.jsp|archive-date=21 February 2010|website=[[Telegraph India]]}}</ref> On 27 June 1965, Basu also became the founding editor of the English language organ of the new party called [[People's Democracy (newspaper)|''People's Democracy'']].<ref>{{Cite web|date=28 June 2015|editor-last=Yechury|editor-first=Sitaram|editor-link=Sitaram Yechury|editor2-last=Karat|editor2-first=Brinda|editor2-link=Brinda Karat|title=50 Years of People's Democracy {{!}} Peoples Democracy|url=https://peoplesdemocracy.in/2015/0628_pd/50-years-people%E2%80%99s-democracy|website=[[People's Democracy (newspaper)|People's Democracy]]}}</ref><ref name=":35" />

Between February–March 1966, a second and more spontaneous food movement flared up across West Bengal.<ref name=":282" /><ref name=":51" /> As a result of price rise of essential commodities, the new chief minister, [[Prafulla Chandra Sen]] had suggested that people should shift from their staple of rice–potatoes to wheat–green bananas and subsequently agitations had broken out in the area of [[Swarupnagar]], leading to police firing and death of two participating teenagers on 16 February.<ref name=":282" /> Consequently, widespread spontaneous protests broke out over the following months and across the state of West Bengal with more frequent instances of vandalism and violent encounters between the agitators and police than in the previous agitations.<ref name=":51" /> This movement while having less organised backing from the opposition parties is described to have been impactful in its political ramifications in the subsequent years;<ref name=":282" /><ref name=":51" /> among others, leading to the [[Indian National Congress]] losing its absolute majority for the first time and Basu becoming the [[Deputy Chief Minister of West Bengal|deputy chief minister of West Bengal]] in the following year.<ref name=":282" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=12 May 2011|title=The rise and fall of the Left in West Bengal|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/assembly-elections-2011/west-bengal/story/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-left-in-west-bengal-133630-2011-05-12|website=[[India Today]]|language=en}}</ref> Civil unrest also peaked during the ensuing period which led to a succession of unstable governments, establishment of armed political cadres, [[Naxalbari uprising]] and widespread spontaneous agitations against prevailing conditions of [[extreme poverty]].<ref name=":56">{{Cite book|title=Contributions to Asian Studies|publisher=[[E. J. Brill]]|date=January 1971|editor-last=Ishwaran|editor-first=Karigoudar|volume=1|pages=49–60|language=en}}</ref>

In the [[1967 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election|West Bengal Legislative Assembly election of 1967]], fourteen opposition parties contested through two pre-poll political alliances;<ref name=":172">{{Cite journal|last=Chaudhuri|first=Amiya Kumar|date=1993|title=Control, Politics and Persepective of a State Legislature|journal=The Indian Journal of Political Science|volume=54|issue=1|pages=98–102|jstor=41855642|issn=0019-5510}}</ref> the CPI-M led [[United Left Front (1967)|United Left Front]] and the CPI and [[Bangla Congress]] (splinter of the Congress party formed in 1966) led [[People's United Left Front]].<ref name=":63">{{Cite journal|last=Mayers|first=James|date=8 May 2007|title=Economic reform and the urban/rural divide: Political realignment in West Bengal 1977–2000|journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies|language=en|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|volume=24|issue=1|pages=20–23|doi=10.1080/00856400108723422|s2cid=145773403|issn=0085-6401}}</ref><ref name=":30" /> The CPI-M became the second largest party outstripping its former party, the CPI.<ref name=":38" /> Following the election, the two alliances joined forces to form the [[United Front (1967)|United Front government]] in West Bengal. During the negotiations between the two alliances, Basu was denied the position of chief minister due to opposition to the idea from the CPI and Bangla Congress,<ref name=":60">{{Cite journal|last=Dasgupta|first=Biplab|date=1972|title=The 1972 Election in West Bengal|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=7|issue=16|pages=804–808|jstor=4361253|issn=0012-9976}}</ref> all of whom eventually settled for [[Ajoy Mukherjee]] of the Bangla Congress as the consensus candidate for the position while Basu became the deputy chief minister and in-charge of the finance department.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /> The government however collapsed within a year when the food minister, [[Prafulla Chandra Ghosh|P. C. Ghosh]] resigned from the government after facing persistent agitations led by the CPI-M (both part of the same government) against his policy of seeking voluntary measures from landlords and middlemen which were ineffective in resolving the food crisis.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rao|first=M. V. S. Koteswara|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3e0SAQAAMAAJ|title=Communist parties and United Front experience in Kerala and West Bengal|date=2003|publisher=Prajasakti Book House|isbn=978-81-86317-37-2|pages=236–240|language=en}}</ref>

For the mid term [[1969 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election|West Bengal Legislative Assembly election of 1969]], the United Front Committee was formed consisting of all the coalition partners of the previous government which agreed upon a pre-poll alliance to contest the election together under a 32-point programme.<ref name=":172" /> Under terms of the agreement, if the alliance were to attain a majority then Mukherjee would become the chief minister while Basu would become the deputy chief minister.<ref name=":172" /><ref name=":57">{{Cite book|last=Ray|first=Sudhir|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=loYOAQAAMAAJ|title=Marxist Parties of West Bengal in Opposition and in Government, 1947-2001|date=2007|publisher=Progressive Publishers|isbn=978-81-8064-135-0|pages=89–102|language=en}}</ref> In addition during the negotiations Basu was able to secure the portfolios of fisheries, food, excise, land, labour, education, civil defence and education for the CPI-M as well as the department of general administration and police from the home ministry forsaking the finance ministry which he had previously held.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Roychoudhury|first=Profulla|title=Left Experiment in West Bengal|publisher=[[University of Michigan]]|year=1985|pages=90–95|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":57" /> In the election, the United Front won an overwhelming victory with 214 out of 280 seats and as a consequence the CPI-M stood as the first party other than the Congress party to become the largest party in the assembly.<ref name="Mitra2007">{{cite book|author=Subrata K. Mitra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GuILNHwcT4AC&pg=PA99|title=The Puzzle of India's Governance: Culture, Context and Comparative Theory|date=7 May 2007|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-27493-2|page=99}}</ref>

In the subsequent [[second United Front cabinet]], Basu became both the deputy chief minister and in-charge of general administration and police.<ref name=":57" /> Under Basu, the police were instructed to not intervene in any labour disputes against striking workers.<ref name=":58">{{Cite book|last=Ruparelia|first=Sanjay|title=Divided We Govern: Coalition Politics in Modern India|date=2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-026491-8|pages=59–60|language=en}}</ref> The first six months of the second United Front government as a result experienced a record of 551 [[Workers strike|strikes]] and 73 [[General strike|union lockdowns]] across the state with a participation of approximately 570,000 workers.<ref name=":56" /> The [[Labour Department|labour department]] headed by [[Krishnapada Ghosh]] of the CPIM is also noted to have coordinated with the department of general administration to enable the registration of new trade unions and legalisation of ''gheraos'' (trans: [[picketing]]) as a method of protest.<ref name=":58" /> The labour militancy combined with the state policy of non intervention drove an exponential rise in daily wages ranging between a 100–200% increase in the unorganised sector and 100–300% increase in the organised sector.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chakraborty|first=P.|date=1975|title=Wage Differentials in West Bengal|journal=Indian Journal of Industrial Relations|volume=10|issue=4|pages=503–522|jstor=27765490|issn=0019-5286}}</ref><ref name=":58" /> Previously in light of the appalling conditions of agrarian poverty and rural discontent, a radical section of the CPI-M had also split due to the party's involvement in parliamentary politics and subsequently launched a peasant's uprising.<ref name=":56" /> Eventually this section known as the [[Naxalites]] formed the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)]] in 1969 under the leadership of [[Charu Mazumdar]] calling for the annihilation of the class of ''[[Jotedar|joteodars]]'' (wealthy landlords) and an armed revolution to overthrow the Indian state.<ref name=":58" /><ref name=":59">{{Cite web|date=9 May 2003|title=History of Naxalism|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/history-of-naxalism/story-4f1rZukARGYn3qHOqDMEbM.html|website=[[Hindustan Times]]|language=en}}</ref> Although the previous United Front government had tolerated initial landgrabs by the Naxalites,<ref name=":58" /> the police department under Basu launched a campaign of [[state repression]] on the movement which continued under succeeding governments.<ref name=":58" /><ref name=":59" /> According to Basu, "(The Naxalites), forgetting everything else that the country stood for, followed the China model with disastrous consequences which had no relation to Marxist philosophy."<ref name=":38" />

In the [[1972 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election|West Bengal Legislative Assembly election of 1972]], Congress (I) won an overwhelming majority and Siddhartha Shankar Ray who was previously in the Bangla Congress and later appointed as a specialised union cabinet ministry called West Bengal Affairs Minister became the new chief minister of the state.<ref name=":64">{{Cite book|last=Chander|first=N. Jose|title=Coalition Politics: The Indian Experience|date=2004|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-8069-092-1|pages=103–105|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":60" /> The CPI-M was only able to secure 14 seats and Basu for the first time lost his seat in the Baranagar constituency to his former associate [[Shiba Pada Bhattacharjee]], who had remained in the CPI after the split in the party.<ref name=":61">{{cite web|last=Singh|first=Shiv Sahay|date=19 January 2010|title=Shouldn't have contested, says man who defeated Basu|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/shouldnt-have-contested-says-man-who-defeated-basu/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305161708/http://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/shouldnt-have-contested-says-man-who-defeated-basu/|archive-date=5 March 2016|access-date=24 October 2015|publisher=[[Indian Express]]}}</ref><ref name=":60" /> Before the election, the Communist Party of India allied with Congress (I) while a section of the Bangla Congress had also merged with the Congress.<ref name=":60" /> The opposing alliance was led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) which included the previous members of the [[United Left Front (1967)|United Left Front]] alongside the [[Biplobi Bangla Congress]], a splinter of the Bangla Congress.<ref name=":60" />

In 1975, the [[Prime Minister of India]], Indira Gandhi imposed a [[national emergency]] on the premise of internal disturbances suspending elections, legitimising [[rule by decree]] and curbing [[civil liberties]].<ref name=":66">{{Cite journal|last=Prashad|first=Vijay|date=1996|title=Emergency Assessments|journal=Social Scientist|volume=24|issue=9/10|pages=36–68|doi=10.2307/3520142|jstor=3520142|issn=0970-0293}}</ref> The proposition for the declaration of the emergency and the formal draft of the ordinance were both notably corroborated to have been forwarded by [[Siddhartha Shankar Ray]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=C G|first=Manoj|date=13 June 2015|title=S S Ray to Indira Gandhi six months before Emergency: Crack down, get law ready|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/six-months-before-emergency-s-s-ray-to-indira-gandhi-crack-down-get-law-ready/|website=[[The Indian Express]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Narayan|first=S.|date=25 June 2020|title=Why Did Indira Gandhi Impose Emergency In 1975?|url=https://www.thehansindia.com/hans/opinion/news-analysis/why-did-indira-gandhi-impose-emergency-in-1975-630015|website=[[The Hans India]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Jacob|first=Jack Farj Rafael|title=An Odyssey in War and Peace: An Autobiography of Lt. Gen JFR Jacob|publisher=[[Roli Books]]|year=2012|isbn=9788174369338|pages=189|author-link=J. F. R. Jacob}}</ref> The Communist Party of India (Marxist) emerged as one of the primary opposition to [[the emergency rule of Indira Gandhi]].<ref name=":66" /> The following period witnessed a succession of [[authoritarian]] measures and political repression, which was particularly severe in West Bengal.<ref>{{Cite book|last=DeSouza|first=Peter Ronald|title=India's Political Parties|date=3 October 2006|publisher=SAGE Publishing India|isbn=978-93-5280-534-1|pages=217–221|language=en}}</ref> The members of the CPI-M's labour union became the first subject to political repression and [[mass arrest]]s while the rest of the members of the CPI-M went underground.<ref name=":582">{{Cite book|last=Ruparelia|first=Sanjay|title=Divided We Govern: Coalition Politics in Modern India|date=2015|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-026491-8|pages=71–72|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":65" />

For the [[1977 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election]], negotiations between the [[Janata Party]] and the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] broke down.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mahaprashasta|first=Ajoy Ashirwad|date=4 May 2016|title=Why Has Nobody Called It Yet? An Analysis of the West Bengal Elections|url=https://thewire.in/politics/why-has-nobody-called-it-yet-an-analysis-of-the-west-bengal-elections|website=[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]]}}</ref><ref name=":64" /> This led to a three sided contested between the [[Indian National Congress]], the Janata Party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) led [[Left Front (West Bengal)|Left Front coalition]].<ref name=":64" /> The results of the election was a surprising sweep for the Left Front winning 230 seats out of 290 with the CPI-M winning an absolute majority on its own,<ref name=":63" /> Basu became the chief minister of West Bengal for the next 23 years until his retirement in 2000.<ref name=":62" /> Basu was also repeatedly elected as the representative of the [[Satgachhia constituency]] from 1977 to 2001.<ref>{{Cite web|date=19 January 2010|title=Jyoti Basu pulls in the crowds - one last time|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/kolkata/jyoti-basu-pulls-in-the-crowds-one-last-time/story-ExpoMM4jnIE9pvIvqLQN9H.html|website=[[Hindustan Times]]|language=en}}</ref>

Among the more prominent measures initiated by the new government was that of [[Operation Barga]]. Introduced in 1978, it was a comprehensive and radical measure for land reforms which was further formalised through two legislation in 1979 and 1980.<ref name=":46">{{Cite journal|last=Chattopadhyay|first=Suhas|date=1979|title=Operation Barga: A Comment|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=14|issue=49|pages=2022–2024|jstor=4368206|issn=0012-9976}}</ref><ref name=":47">{{Cite journal|last1=Banerjee|first1=Abhijit V.|last2=Gertler|first2=Paul J.|last3=Ghatak|first3=Maitreesh|date=2002|title=Empowerment and Efficiency: Tenancy Reform in West Bengal|journal=Journal of Political Economy|volume=110|issue=2|pages=239–280|doi=10.1086/338744|jstor=10.1086/338744|s2cid=35935397|issn=0022-3808}}</ref> The operation sough to actively identify and record ''bargardars'' (trans: [[sharecroppers]]) by present occupational status without any reliance on ancestral records, producing official documentation for enforcement of the rights of ''bargardars'' to crop share from landlords and [[priority right]]s to lands in cases of both voluntary sale of land and forced sale of ceiling surplus lands.<ref name=":48">{{Cite book|last=Pal|first=Sasanka Sekhar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jgzePgAACAAJ|title=Impact of Tenancy Reforms on Production and Income Distribution: A Case Study of Operation Barga in West Bengal|date=1995|publisher=National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":47" /> The number of recorded ''bargardars'' increased from 0.4 to 1.2 million by 1982,<ref name=":46" /><ref name=":48" /> and resulted in the coverage of 50%+ [[Wage share|output share]] concessions towards ''bargardars'' to increase from 10% to over 50% among registered ''bargardars'' and over 33% for unregistered ''bargardars''.<ref name=":47" /><ref name=":49">{{Cite journal|date=18 November 2006|title=Operation Barga|url=http://team.univ-paris1.fr/teamperso/DEA/Cursus/M1/Doc4%20Operation%20Barga.pdf|journal=Théorie et Applications en Microéconomie et Macroéconomie|publisher=[[University of Paris]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061118154131/http://team.univ-paris1.fr/teamperso/DEA/Cursus/M1/Doc4%20Operation%20Barga.pdf|archive-date=18 November 2006}}</ref> The implementation of the operation is noted to have improved the social status and security of tenancy of ''bargadars'' as well as decreased [[economic inequality]].<ref name=":48" /><ref name=":47" /> In addition it accounted for approximately 36% of agricultural growth during the period as a consequence of greater production incentives due to a lack of [[eviction]] threat and increased output stake.<ref name=":49" /> The operation is also credited to have created a cushion against [[Farmers' suicides in India|farmers' suicides]] in West Bengal by improving the [[economic stability]] of farmers.<ref>{{Cite web|date=17 April 2006|title=Did Operation Barga save Bengal farmers|url=https://www.financialexpress.com/archive/did-operation-barga-save-bengal-farmers/162221/|website=[[The Financial Express (India)|The Financial Express]]|language=en-US}}</ref>

The Left Front government also identified 247,000 acres of readily reclaimable lands mostly in the Sundarban area ([[Ganges Delta]]) for the resettlement of 136,000 agriculturist refugees from [[East Pakistan]].<ref name=":43">{{Cite journal|last=Mallick|first=Ross|date=1999|title=Refugee Resettlement in Forest Reserves: West Bengal Policy Reversal and the Marichjhapi Massacre|journal=The Journal of Asian Studies|volume=58|issue=1|pages=104–125|doi=10.2307/2658391|jstor=2658391|issn=0021-9118}}</ref><ref name=":44">{{Cite journal|last=Sengupta|first=Debjani|date=1 February 2011|title=From Dandakaranya to Marichjhapi: rehabilitation, representation and the partition of Bengal (1947)|journal=Social Semiotics|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|volume=21|issue=1|pages=101–123|doi=10.1080/10350330.2011.535673|s2cid=144730817|issn=1035-0330}}</ref> Under the tenure of [[Bidhan Chandra Roy]], many of the refugees had been relocated to refugee camps in [[Dandakaranya]] and the Left Front government had taken up their cause for resettlement in West Bengal.<ref name=":43" /> Initially Basu and the Left Front government approved voluntary resettlement in the identified lands by the refugees from the Dandakaranya camps to the extent of actively encouraging them to do so,<ref name=":44" /><ref name=":50">{{Cite book|last=Butalia|first=Urvashi|title=Partition: The Long Shadow|date=24 February 2015|publisher=Penguin UK|isbn=978-93-5118-949-7|language=en|chapter=6. Reconstructing Marichjhapi}}</ref> however the implementation of the resettlement process turned lackluster and was bottle-necked with revised priorities for [[environmental protection]] in the [[Sundarbans]].<ref name=":43" /><ref name=":44" /> In a significant development between 1978–1979, a large group of these impoverished refugees who had returned to Bengal seeking resettlement from Dandakaranya had illegally occupied land on the remote island of [[Marichjhanpi]] and refused eviction.<ref name=":50" /><ref name=":44" /> In January 1979, following an economic blockade, the government conducted a forcible eviction leading to the death of several refugees in the consequent abuse by [[Police officer|police personnel]].<ref name=":44" /> The incident led to sharp criticism of the government and raised controversy in the [[News media|media]], [[Parliamentary opposition|the opposition]] as well as from within members of the Left Front coalition.<ref name=":43" /> The demand for a formal investigation into the eviction was however denied by the government with Basu convinced that it was greatly exaggerated by the media;<ref name=":44" /><ref name=":43" /> in the end the official figure put the deaths at 2 but the lack of an investigation led to various other estimates to circulate on the killing years afterwards.<ref name=":44" /><ref name=":43" />