Publisher's Note There have books and books on Jyoti Basu, Five decades in active politics, longest serving Chief Minister of the world. It is not a small span of life. The first autobiography 'Janaganer Sange' (With the People) was published in two volumes spanning a great part of his carrier. A more intimate  'Jatadur Monepore' was published this year. Both have been in Bengali. There has been an 'authorised biography' in English, but this is the first time his personal Autobiography is being published in English. Translated from original Bengali 'Jatadur Monepore' by senior journalist, Abhijit Dasgupta Preface By Jyoti Basu Part I Childhood Days Part II In London Part III London Mazlish Part IV Back Home Part V Organising Labour Part VI In the assembly Part VII Riots of 1946 Part VIII Tebhaga Movement Part IX Independence & Partition Part X West Bengal assembly Part XI I am Arrested Part XII Party ban is Lifted Part XIII 1952 Elections Part XIV Resisting Tram fare rise Part XV I am a father Part XVI 1954 teachers agitation Part XVII Agitations unabetted Part XVIII Goa Liberation War Part XIX The Reorganisation of states Part XX Party Congress Part XXI Second General Elections Part XXII A wave of mass agitations Part XXIII Inflation Crisis Part XXIV 1957 Elections

 MEMORIES: The Ones That Have Lasted
(A political autobiography)
The Second General Elections

The second general elections were nearing. On July 11, 1957, our party issued a statement appealing to all Socialist, democratic, nationalist and progressive forces to form a general front and said, "All Left forces have to come together to form governments in some states and strengthen the democratic forces in Parliament." The West Bengal unit had always stressed the need for Left unity. We have also stood by the thesis that unity among the Left parties can only push forward the peoples’ movement both inside and outside the Assemblies and Parliament It is because of this belief that a powerful Left Front has come to stay in West Bengal. At the Seventh Provincial Party Conference in January 1956, the political and organisational report had a separate chapter on Left unity. I was then the secretary of the committee. The report said,"Left unity helps to strengthen peoples’ struggle and draws the general public towards such activity. Though the leadership of some of these parties are still not inspired to a large extent by the ideology of Left unity, the fact is that most of their members and the supporting masses believe in friendship with the Soviet Union and China, and Left unity".

Long years have passed since then. The PSP has been splintered into many groups and sub-groups. In West Bengal, because of our party’s initiative, we did have many issue-based united political agitations. For example, a joint committee of many Opposition parties was formed addressing itself to the issue of the division of states on the basis of language. This was in 1956. Other such committees were formed on the famine and the proposed merger of Bengal and Bihar. The PSP’s Suresh Chandra Banerjee, the Forward Bloc’s Hemanta Bose, RSP’s Makhan Pal and the Forward Bloc (Marxist) leader Amar Bose were all members of these various committees. Some of our party leaders, including myself, were also on these committees.