People's Democracy

Fifth Volume Of Communist Documents Released

VETERAN CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu released the fifth and final volume of documents of the Communist movement in Bengal (Banglar Communist Andolan-er Dalil o’ Prasangik Tathya) at the Muzaffar Ahmad Bhavan recently. State secretary of the Bengal unit of the CPI(M) Biman Basu handed over the volume to Jyoti Basu for a formal release.

Jyoti Basu said that the volume and its preceding ones were filled with important details about the Communist movement in Bengal, and there should be a summarised volume published in English. Recalling the role of Comrade Anil Biswas in documenting the history of the Communist Party, Jyoti Basu recalled the process of growth of the Communist Party in Bengal from a membership of a mere five thousand (“that was during the time I became a Party member”) to the present membership of the CPI(M) at close to three lakh, Jyoti Basu said that it was imperative for the Party members to know the history of the Party and to realise the great struggles that had been waged.

Biman Basu summarised in brief the contents of the volume and said that it contained details including hitherto unpublished documents pertaining to the Communist movement in Bengal between 1972 and 1982. The volume and the four preceding ones would help Party members to realise the purport of the cross-roads that must be negotiated to forge ahead in the days to come. Biman Basu also touched on the continuity between agriculture and industry in Bengal under Left Front governance.