Jyoti Basu: Sikhs Remember and Honour a Friend
by KINSUK BASU, SUBHAJOY ROY & POULOMI BANERJEE
Jyoti Basu (July 8, 1914 - January 17, 2010) was the Chief Minister of West Bengal, India from 1977 to 2000. He passed away at the age of 95 in Calcutta last Sunday. Our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones, and our sincerest prayers for lasting peace for his soul.
Jyoti Basu's good deed of the day a quarter century ago helped quench the thirst of those waiting for hours on Tuesday, January 19, 2010, to catch a last glimpse of him.
"This is our way of paying our respects to him for the way he saved the Sikh community in Calcutta during the 1984 pogroms," said Indrajit Singh of the Guru Singh Sabha, busy serving water opposite Citizens' Park in Calcutta (West Bengal, India).
Indrajit and a batch of 20 members of the Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara and the Punjab Sevak Sabha offered water to anyone who asked for it while waiting for Basu's body to be brought to the patch of green opposite Rabindra Sadan.
The Sikhs came with a 9,000 litre capacity water tank and over 10,000 plastic glasses. The spontaneous act drew a smile, even from the teary-eyed. "Even his harshest critics would admit that Jyoti babu was a secular leader. And this gesture from the Sikhs symbolises that," said Pranab Adhikary, a Congress supporter.
"Sikhs were killed in every other state in 1984, but not in Bengal" said Indrajit, recalling how Basu had rushed back to Calcutta from Delhi after Indira Gandhi's assassination.
As Basu's body headed for SSKM Hospital, many of his followers who had walked miles with their leader on his last journey made a beeline for the water counter. They all went back relieved and thanking the volunteers.
[Courtesy: The Telegraph]
January 21, 2010
by KINSUK BASU, SUBHAJOY ROY & POULOMI BANERJEE
Jyoti Basu (July 8, 1914 - January 17, 2010) was the Chief Minister of West Bengal, India from 1977 to 2000. He passed away at the age of 95 in Calcutta last Sunday. Our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones, and our sincerest prayers for lasting peace for his soul.
Jyoti Basu's good deed of the day a quarter century ago helped quench the thirst of those waiting for hours on Tuesday, January 19, 2010, to catch a last glimpse of him.
"This is our way of paying our respects to him for the way he saved the Sikh community in Calcutta during the 1984 pogroms," said Indrajit Singh of the Guru Singh Sabha, busy serving water opposite Citizens' Park in Calcutta (West Bengal, India).
Indrajit and a batch of 20 members of the Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara and the Punjab Sevak Sabha offered water to anyone who asked for it while waiting for Basu's body to be brought to the patch of green opposite Rabindra Sadan.
The Sikhs came with a 9,000 litre capacity water tank and over 10,000 plastic glasses. The spontaneous act drew a smile, even from the teary-eyed. "Even his harshest critics would admit that Jyoti babu was a secular leader. And this gesture from the Sikhs symbolises that," said Pranab Adhikary, a Congress supporter.
"Sikhs were killed in every other state in 1984, but not in Bengal" said Indrajit, recalling how Basu had rushed back to Calcutta from Delhi after Indira Gandhi's assassination.
As Basu's body headed for SSKM Hospital, many of his followers who had walked miles with their leader on his last journey made a beeline for the water counter. They all went back relieved and thanking the volunteers.
[Courtesy: The Telegraph]
January 21, 2010