Communists never retire, Jyoti Basu said, and till the end, showed that he meant that in letter and spirit.
Jyotirindra Basu was born in Kolkata on July 8, 1914. The third child of Dr Nisikanta Basu and Smt. Hemlata Basu, he was affectionately called Gana.
He grew up in a joint family. It was when he went to Loretto School in 1920 that his father shortened his name to Jyoti Basu.
He was at Loreto for four years. In 1925, he was granted admission at St. Xaviers School. He finished his Matriculation there and joined Presidency College(then the Hindu College). He studied English.
Basu was a back-bencher along with his friend Rahaman. He graduated in 1935 and opted for the law rather than follow his father's profession.
He left for England to study law, became a Barrister, and returned to India in 1940, already intoxicated by Marxism and politics.(Photo: jyotibasu.net)
Back in India, Basu became actively involved in the Communist movement, much to the consternation of his family. They tried to dissuade him from taking up politics, but to no avail.
He got engaged in trade union activities in 1944 and was entrusted with the responsibility of working among railway labourers. (Photo: jyotibasu.net)
In this image, Jyoti Basu is seen taking part in a massive rally in Kolkata. The fiery leader was actively involved in the Communist movement.
Jyoti Basu is seen here with Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
Jyoti Basu with world leaders.
On the personal front, Jyoti Basu married Basanti Ghosh in 1940. Tragically, his wife died in 1942.
In 1948, Basu married Kamal Basu. Their son, Chandan was born in 1952, after they lost a baby girl to diarrhoea in 1951.(Photo: jyotibasu.net)
Basu's rise within the CPI-M was meteoric. He won his first election in 1946 to the Bengal Legislative Assembly, contesting the Railway constituency.
He was deputy chief minister in 1967 and 1969 and, on June 21, 1977, when the Left swept the polls in West Bengal, sworn in as chief minister.
In this picture, Jyoti Basu takes oath as West Bengal Chief Minister.
By 1996, when he became chief minister for the fifth time, Basu had acquired national stature. During this year, when the United Front was all set to form the Union government, Basu was asked to be prime minister. However, the CPI(M) Politburo decided not to participate in the government. (Photo: AFP)
Bowing to his party's decision, Basu declined the offer but later called it a historic blunder. Instead H.D. Deve Gowda from the Janata Dal became the prime minister.(AP Images)
Citing health reasons, Basu quit as chief minister in November 2000 but remained politically active as CPI-M Politburo member. Communists never retire, he said, and till the end, showed that he meant that in letter and spirit.
One of Jyoti Basu's last public appearances was on 8th July 2009, his 95th birthday. His birthday wish -- that the Left's 30 year reign in West Bengal would remain uninterrupted.(Photo: AFP)
Former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu is seen attending his last Cabinet meeting.
The veteran leader passed away on Sunday (January 17). He was admitted to the hospital with chest infection on Friday (January 1) and he was found suffering from pneumonia following CT-scan and X-ray tests.(AP Photo)
